Breakdown and prediction for Mississippi State football vs. Texas A&M

Mississippi State football (1-5, 0-3 SEC) hosts #14 Texas A&M (5-1, 3-0) this Saturday in Starkville. It’s a big home game for the Bulldogs, who are looking to end their losing streak with a big upset and kick off a strong finish to the 2024 season. But is this realistic for MSU? Let’s take a look at the Aggies and make a final prediction for the match…

Mike Elko knows how to coach defense, and his Aggies are strong on that side of the ball in his first season. In three conference games, A&M is allowing just 311 yards and fewer than 16 points per game. It starts at the beginning with one of the best D-lines in the country. Nic Scourton has 4.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss at the rim, and Shemar Turner is a force on the inside. If you can combine a great front with a strong secondary, you’re in great shape, and A&M offers tight coverage on the back end as well. Moving the ball against this group will be an arduous task.

Texas A&M has had some ups and downs on offense so far this season. Le’Veon Moss has been outstanding in the backfield with over 600 yards and six touchdowns, but his OL doesn’t have much offense in front of him on a regular basis. The passing game led by Conner Weigman was also quite inconsistent. But what helped the Aggies was their ability to achieve big things. They’ve completed 19 plays of 20-plus yards in three SEC games, and that’s been crucial for them when it comes to putting points on the board. It’s been a struggle for the MSU defense to prevent big plays, but they’ll have to do it against A&M.

Mississippi State is playing better football right now. There’s expected to be a good atmosphere at Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday, and for many years Texas A&M would be exactly the type of opponent I’d say they’d be willing to upset. But I think the Aggies are a bad pairing. I think MSU will struggle to hold its own against A&M’s defensive front and won’t have the big play opportunities it had last week. And the Bulldog defense has shown no reason to believe it will slow an opposing offense. I think the Aggies will win comfortably.

Mississippi State loses 37-19