#16 Mississippi State (7-3) @ Arkansas (4-6)
A week after a heartbreaking loss at the hands of the now number 1 Alabama Crimson Tide, the Mississippi State Bulldogs aim to get back to their winning ways on the road against the Arkansas Razorbacks who come into this matchup having just fired their athletic director. If the Bulldogs can stay focused and move past last week’s disappointing loss, they should be able to come back with a win. In last week’s loss, the Bulldogs had a chance to build on their lead and settled for a FG in the red zone. If the Bulldogs jump out to an early lead, they may keep their foot on the gas to ensure they don’t allow the Razorbacks to hang around. Arkansas still has a reason to give their best effort as they can become bowl eligible with wins in their final two games, so they will give MSU all they have.
Kickoff is set for 11 a.m.
Texas A&M (6-4) @ Ole Miss (5-5)
After routing Louisiana last week, Ole Miss welcomes the Texas A&M Aggies to Oxford. Jordan Ta’amu continues to progress filling in for the injured Shea Patterson and last week found WR AJ Brown 14 times, so look for the Aggies to disrupt that chemistry and make Ta’amu work to find other open receivers. Thankfully for the Rebel offense, there are several other targets at the young QB’s disposal. With both the Rebels and the Aggies averaging over 30 points per game, this could turn into a shootout if neither defense is able to step up. This matchup may come down to whichever defense can force a mistake and cause turnovers.
*It’s also important for both ole miss and Mississippi state to focus on this week and not next week’s Egg Bowl.
Kickoff in Oxford is set for 6:00 p.m.
Charlotte (1-9) @ Southern Miss (6-4)
Southern Miss gets a favorable matchup against the 1-9 Charlotte 49ers at home. Already Bowl eligible, The Golden Eagles are a 17 point favorite and have a great chance to pick up their 7th win of the season. Kwadra Griggs is back under center for USM, and last week he was able to return to his pre-injury form in the win over Rice. Griggs accounted for three touchdowns and threw for over 330 yards. If he’s able to replicate that type of performance while getting assistance from RB Ito Smith, the Golden Eagles shouldn’t have a tough time in this matchup. The defense did give up 34 points to the Owls last week, so they’ll have to bear down and keep the 49er offense from gaining any type of momentum or else this could be a closer matchup than the spread insists.
Kickoff in Hattiesburg is at 2:00 p.m.
