No. 17 Texas A&M vs. Mississippi State picks and best bets for Week 5 SEC West matchup

The Mississippi State Bulldogs host the Texas A&M Aggies this weekend as SEC play kicks off in earnest throughout the south. Despite A&M’s higher ranking, the Bulldogs come into the game as favorites. A&M is fresh off a big win over Arkansas while MSU may still be recovering from a loss to LSU two weeks ago.

The game kicks off at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 1. Here’s all the data you’ll want, and a pick for the game!

SP+ Rankings

Texas A&M: No. 22 overall, No. 73 offense, No. 2 defense
Mississippi State: No. 17 overall, No. 31 offense, No. 21 defense

Injury update

Texas A&M

WR Ainias Smith - Out for season (leg)

Mississippi State

RB Jo’quavious Marks - Probable (foot)
WR Jordan Mosley - Questionable (undisclosed)

ATS/Total

Against The Spread

Texas A&M: 2-2 ATS
Mississippi State: 2-1-1 ATS

Total

Texas A&M: Over 0-4
Mississippi State: Over 2-2

Returning/Overall Talent from 247Sports

Texas A&M: No. 4 overall, No. 6 offense, No. 5 defense
Mississippi State: No. 31 overall, No. 40 offense, 25 defense

Current lines at DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread: Mississippi State -4
Total: 45
Moneyline: Mississippi State -180, Texas A&M +155

Opening line: Mississippi State -2
Opening total: 46

Weather

79 degrees, 8 MPH wind, 0% chance of rain

The Pick

Texas A&M ML (+155)

A&M got beat by Appalachian State, but that’s happened to a lot of good teams over the years. They also beat a very good Arkansas team and a solid Miami team and should be able to take care of the Bulldogs this weekend. There’s plenty that Jimbo Fisher can fix with the program, but this is a winnable game for the Aggies if they can shut down Bulldogs QB Will Rogers, who leads the conference in passing yards right now. This will be a defensive win if A&M can pull it off.

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