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It is time to continue our college football odds series with a UMass-Mississippi State prediction and pick. Find out how to watch UMass Mississippi State.
Mississippi State is wallowing in misery this college football season. The Bulldogs have simply not been able to put the pieces together this year under first-year head coach Jeff Lebby. It has to be said that when Lebby was hired to take over the program, it seemed like a terrible move by the school. Lebby did not have a good 2023 season as Oklahoma's offensive coordinator. Though it is true that OU has gotten worse in 2024 under a new offensive coordinator (who was fired in the middle of the season), we have to keep in mind that the 2023 Oklahoma offense was led by Dillon Gabriel, one of the better quarterbacks in the country and someone who is in the Heisman Trophy conversation this year. Lebby had elite talent and resources on his 2023 Oklahoma offense, and he didn't do a whole lot with the material he had at his disposal. Mississippi State hired a coach who was struggling and was coming off a bad year.
All these months later, MSU has just one win through two months of play. If anyone criticized the Jeff Lebby hire when it was first announced, the unfolding of this 2024 season has not changed any minds or altered any opinions of the Bulldogs or their athletic department. Lebby is definitely a coach with a lot of work to do in restoring trust in Starkville. Right now, he doesn't have any of it. Lebby has already coached his way into a hot-seat position — not for this year, but certainly for 2025. A coach simply can't crater the way Lebby has this year at Mississippi State. Another season similar to this one will probably make Lebby a two-year head coach, someone who doesn't get to enter Year 3 of his tenure. It is therefore very important for Lebby that he takes care of business against a weak UMass team which, like MSU, is not going to go to a bowl game this year.
Here are the UMass-Mississippi State College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: UMass-Mississippi State Odds
UMass: +17.5 (-110)
Moneyline: +580
Mississippi State: -17.5 (-110)
Moneyline: -880
Over: 59.5 (-115)
Under: 59.5 (-105)
How to Watch UMass vs. Mississippi State
Article Continues Below
Time: 4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT
TV: SEC Network
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why UMass Could Cover The Spread/Win
Mississippi State is a one-win team, a terrible team. We have seen MSU falter and crumble week after week this season. Sure, UMass is not a particularly strong team, but the Minutemen are getting 17.5 points against a one-win opponent. That's crazy. You don't give a one-win team a spread that large. UMass just has to be somewhat decent and respectable in this game to cover the huge spread. Mississippi State sure hasn't earned the benefit of the doubt along those lines. We can all agree on that.
Why Mississippi State Could Cover The Spread/Win
MSU is not a good team, but neither is UMass. The Minutemen are several games under .500 and have simply not been able to play good football this season. Mississippi State is still an SEC team. UMass is a lower-rung independent program which is just trying to collect paychecks from prominent schools in an attempt to boost its budget and economically survive in a sport which is making it harder for smaller schools to compete. UMass is going to run out of steam at some point in this game, and when it does, Mississippi State will take advantage.
Final UMass-Mississippi State Prediction & Pick
We are leaning to Mississippi State, but we fall back on our advice to not bet on two bad teams. Pass.
Final UMass-Mississippi State Prediction & Pick: Mississippi State -17.5
