mike-leach.jpg
Getty Images

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs will take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mississippi State went 4-7 in Mike Leach's first year as the head coach, while the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech went 5-5 under Skip Holtz. Mississippi State won the most recent matchup between these two teams, a 45-3 thrashing in 2018.

The Bulldogs are favored by 23 points in the latest Mississippi State vs. Louisiana Tech odds from Caesars Sportsbook, and the over-under is set at 52.5. Before entering any Louisiana Tech vs. Mississippi State picks, you'll want to see the college football predictions from the model at SportsLine.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of over $3,600 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It also enters Week 1 of the 2021 season on a 57-37 run on all top-rated college football picks. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.

Now, the model has set its sights on Mississippi State vs. Louisiana Tech. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college football odds for Louisiana Tech vs. Mississippi State:

  • Mississippi State vs. Louisiana Tech spread: Mississippi State -23
  • Mississippi State vs. Louisiana Tech over-under: 52.5 points

What you need to know about Mississippi State 

Leach didn't wait long in making his imprint on Mississippi State as he transformed the offense, making it extremely pass-heavy. MSU averaged 296.3 passing yards per game last season, which was among the top 20 in the nation. That was a huge increase over the 179.5 passing yards the team averaged in 2019, which ranked 109th out of 130 FBS teams.

A by-product of Leach devoting so much attention to the passing game is that the running game took a backseat. Mississippi State averaged just 43.5 rushing yards per game last year which was, by far, the lowest average in the country. The Bulldogs' two-headed backfield of Jo'quavious Marks and Dillon Johnson returns and they'll be hoping for more touches in 2021.

What you need to know about Louisiana Tech 

With a 5-5 record in 2020, Louisiana Tech has finished at least .500 in seven straight seasons. However, last year was also the team's worst record during this streak, and it ended with back-to-back humiliating losses to close out the year. Louisiana Tech lost 52-10 against TCU to close out the regular season before a 38-3 defeat to Georgia Southern in the New Orleans Bowl.

The well-traveled Austin Kendall is now manning the quarterback position for Louisiana Tech as a sixth-year senior. Kendall began his career at Oklahoma, where he backed up Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, before then spending two seasons at West Virginia. He spent only one of his previous five college seasons as a starter, but should provide a veteran presence for a team looking to rebound from 2020.

How to make Mississippi State vs. Louisiana Tech picks

The model has simulated Louisiana Tech vs. Mississippi State 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning under, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that hits in over 60 percent of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Louisiana Tech vs. Mississippi State? And which side of the spread hits over 60 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine right now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model that has crushed its college football picks.