How to Watch: Texas A&M vs Mississippi State

On3 imageby:Tim Verghese10/01/22

TimVerghese

Coming off back-to-back wins over top-15 teams, Texas A&M travels to Mississippi State for their first true road game of the season. The Aggies are 5-5 against the Bulldogs since joining the SEC in 2012. Texas A&M has won two of the last three contests against Mississippi State, but are looking to avenge the 26-22 loss they suffered to the Bulldogs last season.

How To Watch

  • Game Day: Saturday, October 1, 2022
  • Game Time: 3:00 PM CT
  • Location: Starkville, Mississippi
  • Stadium: Davis Wade
  • TV Channel: SEC Network

The game will be broadcast on SEC Network at 3:00 P.M. central time. The game will also be streamed on the ESPN app. According to ESPN, despite the Aggies being ranked No. 17 and the Bulldogs being unranked, the Aggies only hold a 31.4% chance to win the game.

Betting Odds

Money line (ML): Texas A&M +160 / Mississippi State -185

Spread: Texas A&M +4 / Mississippi State -4

Over/Under (O/U): 45

One Lesson, Question & Prediction for Texas A&M vs Mississippi State

One Lesson

Evan Stewart can be a legit WR1 for Texas A&M

Stewart’s performance in the win against Arkansas wasn’t his best statistically, but it was the best sampler we’ve seen thus far of what the former five-star is capable of. He hauled in his first touchdown catch of his career with an impressive adjustment on the ball, nearly had another touchdown in which he went up and beat Arkansas cornerback Hudson Clark at the catch point, something we hadn’t seen just yet in college but had seen plenty of in high school, but couldn’t get a foot in bounds. His longest reception of the day came on a catch over the middle, in which he juked Myles Slusher and extended the play for an 18-yard gain. Stewart is more than just a speedy deep threat. He can win over the middle, can go up and out-physical defenders for the ball in the air and he’s a threat to With Ainias Smith out for the season, more will be asked from the freshman and based on what we’ve seen from him in high school and his college career thus far, he’s ready to take the step and become the WR1 the Aggies need.

One Question

Can Texas A&M’s defense continue to keep the Aggies in games? 

After letting up two quick scoring drives to Arkansas, Texas A&M’s defense stepped up, and kept a usually-potent Arkansas offense relatively at bay the remainder of the game. As long as the key pieces remain healthy, at the very least, this defense should be able to keep the Aggies in every single game from here on out. The offense should hypothetically continue to gel and have some semblance of rhythm down the stretch, but unless they revert to the offense that showed up against Appalachian State, Texas A&M should be able to rely on the defense to keep games close enough that the offense can do just enough to win. Now, that theory will be tested the next two weeks against Mississippi State and Alabama, two of the more dynamic offenses the Aggies will face this season. Save for their lone loss to LSU, the Bulldogs have scored over 38 points in each game this year. Expect to see a lot of three-man fronts, with eight defenders dropping into coverage on Saturday, as that’s what Durkin primarily used against Mississippi State last season when he was at Ole Miss. Thought the Rebels let up 336 passing yards to the Bulldogs last season, they allowed just two touchdowns. Texas A&M has better athletes at nearly every single position on the defensive side of the ball than Ole Miss had last season, so there’s reason to believe this defense should be able to create some stops, and potentially even some turnovers, against the Bulldogs’ air raid attack.

One Prediction

Devon Achane rushes for over 100 yards for the second consecutive week

In Mississippi State’s lone loss of the season thus far, to LSU, the Tigers as a team rushed for over 200 yards on the Bulldogs. Mississippi State hasn’t seen a running back like Achane yet this season and he’ll as mentioned above, he’ll be relied on a lot more to create explosive plays for the Aggies. The offensive line is starting to come together and should be able to create some holes for the speedy Achane.