The No. 23 Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-4) take on the Illinois Fighting Illini (8-4) Monday in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Kickoff from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa is at noon ET (ESPN). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s'lines around the Mississippi State vs. Illinois odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs come into this game after the passing of coach Mike Leach with heavy hearts and determination. The Bulldogs won the Egg Bowl 24-22 at Ole Miss in his final game on Nov. 24. Coach Zach Arnett will take over for this game and has been named the new coach after spending the past 2 seasons as defensive coordinator. While the choice to not go was an option, the Bulldogs players felt it was a proper way to lay tribute to coach Leach by playing in this game.
Illinois will be dealing with opt-outs from 3 of its most important players: twins RB Chase Brown and S Sydney Brown as well as CB Devon Witherspoon. As a run-first team that relied heavily on its secondary, these are massive losses for coach Bret Bielema.