Kentucky opens as slight underdog against Mississippi State

The expectation is that Will Levis will be ready to roll next weekend after an injury sidelined him on Saturday, but Kentucky is still going to be the underdog.

According to Circa Sports, the No. 22 ranked Wildcats opened up as a three-point underdog against No. 16 Mississippi State, which is scheduled for Saturday, October 15 at 7:30 p.m. EST on the SEC Network. Looking at other betting outlets, VegasInsider has MSU as a 1.5-point favorite while FanDuel puts the Bulldogs as a 5.5-point favorite. DraftKings saw MSU open as a 6-point favorite.

According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, Kentucky has just a 40.2 percent chance to beat Mississippi State, which is now 5-1 on the season and continues to rise in the national rankings. MSU is coming off back-to-back wins over SEC foes Texas A&M and Arkansas while Kentucky is coming off back-to-back losses against Ole Miss and South Carolina.

Mississippi State is 4-1-1 against the spread this season, including a 1-1-0 mark as the away favorite. Meanwhile, Kentucky is 4-2-0 against the spread with a 1-1-0 mark as the home underdog.

Kentucky starting QB Will Levis did not play against South Carolina due to a minor injury, but he is fully expected to return when MSU comes to town. With a healthier Levis, one would think the ‘Cats don’t perform as poorly as they did on Saturday against the Gamecocks. We shall see.