Mississippi State heads into the Reliaquest Bowl with heavy hearts to take on Illinois after head coach Mike Leach has tragically passed away.
The Bulldogs promoted defensive coordinator Zach Arnett to replace Leach, who died suddenly between the regular season and the Reliaquest Bowl. Mississippi State has made it clear that it wants a win for its downed coach, and from being handicapped on the field, all major contributors will be available while Illinois has several opt-out options.
Here are the odds and our best bet for the Reliaquest Bowl:
Odds and Totals in Mississippi vs. Illinois:
Betting trends in Mississippi vs. Illinois
- Bret Bielema is a 5-4 vs. spread (ATS) in bowl games
- Illinois is 7-4 ATS this season
- Mississippi State is 5-5-1 ATS this season
Mississippi State vs. Illinois Predict and Pick
While my initial inclination was toward Illinois, the Illinois opt-out is hard to ignore. First and foremost, Illinois will be without its top offensive player, linebacker Chase Brown. Brown rushed for 1,643 yards on 328 carries with 10 touchdowns, obviously the Illinois medium offense being the most effective.
Not to mention, the team would be without two future NFL high school players at cornerback Devon Witherspoon and Chase’s brother Sidney Brown safe. That would be influencing Mississippi’s air raid offense which ranks the 23rd highest hit rate in the country.
On the other hand, without Brown, Illinois would struggle to move the ball, 120 in explosive passing rate and 10 in red zone touchdown percentage. This was with the Browns, but now Tommy DeVito will need to play with a little help from the ground game. He would face a staunch Mississippi State defensive lineman who is 37 in yards per game allowed and turn opponents over at a high rate, 22nd in the country in forced TO’s.
With the Illinois side opted out and Mississippi State fully opted in to win this game in honor of Coach Leach, I will support the Bulldogs.
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