Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 1/2/2023 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Monday, January 2, 2023

Location: Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Fighting Illini (+1.5)

Total/Over-Under: 45.5

The Illinois Fighting Illini (8-4) welcome the Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-4) at Raymond James Stadium on Monday, January 2, 2023 in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Mississippi State is 1.5-point favorites. The over/under comes in at 45.5.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs head into this matchup 8-4 for this season. In their last matchup, the Bulldogs faced the Ole Miss Rebels and notched a win by a score of 24-22. Will Rogers finished 27/39 with 239 yards passing and 2 TDs. He had a quarterback rating of 132.5 and ended the contest with 1 interception. Jo'quavious Marks was the rushing leader for the Bulldogs with 14 attempts for 76 yards (5.4 yards per attempt). Overall, they ran 77 plays which totaled 336 yds. The Mississippi State Bulldogs ran the ball 37 different times and accounted for 97 yards, earning them an average of 2.6 yds per carry. Against the rush, the Bulldogs gave up 78 yards on 39 tries, which is 2.0 yards per rush allowed. Mississippi State allowed 31 pass completions on 39 attempts for 257 yds, and a completion rate of 79.5%.

The Bulldogs currently have 4,718 yards in total for the season. With reference to getting in the endzone, Mississippi State has compiled 35 touchdowns through the air and 12 touchdowns on the ground. They have surrendered the ball 17 different times. Mississippi State has recorded 275 1st downs as a unit, and they have been called for 76 penalties for 736 yds. Offensively they're averaging 78.8 yards rushing which is 130th in the nation. When talking about putting the ball in the endzone, the Mississippi State Bulldogs have an average of 32.7 points per game.

The Bulldogs sit in 50th in Division 1 in terms of team defense, allowing 24.2 PPG. They are allowing teams to run for an average of 4.1 yards per rushing attempt and 143.6 rushing yards per game for the year. Over the course of this year, they have conceded 1,723 rushing yards through 12 outings. Regarding yards through the air, the Bulldogs are allowing 2,482 yards which puts them in 36th in the country. They have conceded 206.8 yards per outing through the air and allowed a completion percentage of 59.3%. Overall, they are giving up 350.3 yards per game which ranks them 38th in Division 1. They have surrendered 16 touchdowns by air in addition to 19 touchdowns on the ground.

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The Fighting Illini come into this matchup with a record of 8-4 this season. The last time they took the field, the Fighting Illini got the victory with a final of 41-3 against the Northwestern Wildcats. Tommy Devito ended the contest with 136 yds on 12/18 through the air while his QB rating was 119. He threw 1 pick and his average yards per attempt was 7.6. Reggie Love III carried the football 11 times for 85 yds, ending the game with 7.7 yards per attempt for Illinois. Illinois ran the ball for 4.3 yards per carry, finishing with a total of 156 yards on 36 attempts. The Fighting Illini ended up finishing with 292 yards and they ran 54 plays (5.4 yards per play). The Fighting Illini secondary gave up a completion percentage of 54.8%, surrendering 167 yards on 17 out of 31 passing. Illinois conceded 49 rushing attempts for 154 yards (3.1 yds per carry).

When it comes to the points being put on the board, the Fighting Illini sit 84th in D-1 scoring 25.4 PPG. During the season thus far, the Fighting Illini have racked up 2,500 passing yards along with holding an average of 208.3 passing yards per game, ranking them 96th in D-1. The Illinois Fighting Illini are averaging 386.6 yards per outing, which has them sitting 70th in Division 1. The Illinois offense has racked up 773 penalty yds on 82 infractions, which ranks 36th in Division 1 in terms of giving up free yards.

Illinois has surrendered a total of 1,181 rushing yards (98.4 yards/game) in addition to 6 touchdowns via the rush this year. They have allowed the opposition 8 touchdowns through the air in addition to 165.4 yards/game, which has them in 5th in Division 1. The Fighting Illini defense has participated in 743 plays, ranking them 13th in Division 1. The Fighting Illini are allowing 12.3 points per game, ranking them 1st in the country. Over the course of the season, they have surrendered 148 pts.

Who will win tonight's Bulldogs/Fighting Illini college football game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Bulldogs -1.5

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