Greg McElroy makes his pick for Mississippi State vs. Arizona State

One of the most interesting games heading into week two of the college football season has to be No. 12 Arizona State traveling to Starkville for a Big 12/SEC clash with Mississippi State. The two programs met for the first time ever last season, with the Sun Devils coming out on top 30-23 in Tempe.

Kenny Dillingham‘s Arizona State program is fresh off a trip to the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. Meanwhile, Jeff Lebby and Mississippi State are coming off a 2-10 (worst record since 2003) season in his first year as the head coach.

ESPN‘s Greg McElroy took to the ‘Always College Football‘ podcast on Thursday to make his pick between No. 12 Arizona State and Mississippi State. A win for the Sun Devils would mark just their second over an SEC team since 2000, while a Bulldog win would give Jeff Lebby his first ranked win with the program and Mississippi State‘s first top-15 win since Oct. 30, 2021 (No. 12 Kentucky).

“I will take Arizona State in this game,” McElroy said. “But it will be close if you read between the lines there. Thinking about maybe placing a wager or something. I’ll take Arizona State, but it’ll be close in what should be a good one there in Starkville.”

Dillingham enraged Miss State fans with comments earlier this week

Both programs opened the season strong, as Arizona State handled Northern Arizona 38-19 and Mississippi State rolled Southern Miss 34-17. The matchup had a bit of fuel added to it earlier this week when Dillingham seemingly took a shot at the city of Starkville during a media opportunity.

“Interesting is now that we play in a lot smaller towns, we stay further away from stadiums on road games,” Dillingham said. “So we stay about an hour and 20, hour and 15 minutes away from the stadium this week because that’s the nearest hotel that’s not a casino to stay at. No, that’s the truth. Some teams stay at the casino. That wasn’t even a joke. It’s just the nearest hotel.”

Mississippi State fans were obviously enraged with the comment, which led to Dillingham joining notorious Bulldog fan Brandon Walker and others on Thursday morning’s edition of ‘Wake Up Barstool.’ There, he praised Jeff Lebby and the Mississippi State program prior to their clash on Saturday.

“It’s Year 2 and you can see it, so this is a tough challenge for us,” Dillingham said. “And there is going to be a lot of cowbell. And, because you’ve [referring to Walker] stirred the pot, there’s going to be more cowbell … I respect it! I love it! That’s what it’s about! You take something, you stir it up, you fire people up, I love it!”

According to BetMGM, Arizona State is a 6.5-point favorite over Mississippi State on the road. Kick-off between the Sun Devils and the Bulldogs is scheduled for 7:30 PM ET on ESPN2.