Once Upon A Time in America Betting Show
The #24 Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-4, 6-5-1 ATS, 6-5 O/U) collide with the Illinois Fighting Illini (8-4, 8-4 ATS, 4-7 O/U) in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Monday night. The Bulldogs went 4-4 in conference play. The Fighting Illini logged a 5-4 conference record and also did not make it to the Big Ten championship game.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs enter the bowl game with emotion after the tragic loss of head coach Mike Leach. The players decided coach Leach would have wanted them to play this one. The Bulldogs had a good season that was highlighted by a three-game winning streak. Three of their four conference defeats were against ranked opponents including losses to Kentucky and Alabama. The Bulldogs were 2.5 point dogs in a 24-22 road win against rival Ole Miss in the regular season finale. They have covered the spread in two out of their last three games.
Will Rogers is having a dominating season. The junior QB eclipsed 300 passing yards seven times this season and even had a few 400-yard games. Rogers has collected 3713 passing yards complemented by a dazzling 34:6 TD to INT ratio on the year.
The Bulldogs do not run often. Jo&#x 2019;Quavious Marks had a season-best 76 rushing yards in the win against Ole Miss and has 532 receiving yards on 5.2 yards per carry while Dillon Johnson has recorded 488 yards on 5.5 yards per rush. Johnson has entered the portal and will not play. The receiving core is stacked. Rara Thomas has entered the transfer portal and will not play in this game. Fortunately, they have a deep receiving core including Rufus Harvey and Caleb Ducking. Harvey amassed 472 yards while Ducking has 467 receiving yards. The Mississippi State offense was inconsistent at times due to the reliance on the passing game and reached 30 points three times in SEC play.
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— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) November 25, 2022
The Bulldogs' defense is solid. They will be playing without one of their best defensive players in Collin Duncan. The safety has declared for the NFL draft. The pass defense is still a strength without Forbes. They rank 36th against the pass and 55th against the run. Mississippi State is scoring an average of 32.7 points, ranking them 36th. They are conceding an average of 24.2 points, positioning them 51st in the FBS.
Key Injuries/Opt-Outs
RB Dillon Johnson, WR Rara Thomas, S Collin Duncan