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M&WN Roundtable MSU Football Predictions: BYU

By Jared Aldridge

Oct 2, 2015; Provo, UT, USA; Brigham Young Cougars running back Algernon Brown (24) runs with the ball during the first half against the Connecticut Huskies at Lavell Edwards Stadium. BYU won 30-13. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 2, 2015; Provo, UT, USA; Brigham Young Cougars running back Algernon Brown (24) runs with the ball during the first half against the Connecticut Huskies at Lavell Edwards Stadium. BYU won 30-13. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /
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How does the Maroon and White Nation team think MSU football will fare in 2016?

The college football season is quickly approaching. The level of hope around the Mississippi State football program isn’t exactly at an all time high. The departure of several key players and, most importantly, the uncertainty at quarterback has MSU fans unsure how to feel entering 2016. Don’t worry Bulldog fans, the staff at M&WN is here to help. We are going to breakdown every game and tell you whether or not we believe MSU will win and why.

For week season of the 2016 football season MSU travels to Provo, UT to take on BYU. It is fairly unusual for a SEC team to play two non conference road games, particularly on almost opposite ends of the country. But that’s exactly what the Bulldogs have to do this season and this trip to BYU is the second such game. BYU is usually a average to above average mid level football team with the ability to upset a SEC school like Mississippi State. The Cougars lost long time head coach Bronco Mendenhall to the University of Virginia this offseason and hired Oregon State DC Kalani Sitake. So how do the Bulldogs fair in this non conference matchup?

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My Picks

In all honesty, I do not know a ton about the state of the BYU football program. It does appear that the Cougars had a pretty good team in 2015 that went 9-3 in the regular season with loses to UCLA, Michigan, and Missouri. This game is on a Friday night which creates a short week for both teams. BYU will be coming off what should be a butt kicking at the hands of Michigan State and hopefully that plays well for the Bulldogs. I’m picking the Dawgs to win by ten.

Josh Barnhill

Win at BYU – a lot of people, including State fans, are marking this as a loss. There are some things working against State like a short week (by 12 hours), longer plane ride (by 90 minutes) and the high altitude. Mullen coached at Utah so he should be able to coach his players on what to expect with the mountain air, and MSU has more depth. The Cougars also have a new coach and a really tough schedule – they are coming off a trip to Michigan State the previous week.

Andrew Norwood

BYU and MSU don’t have a friendly relationship, and we all remember why. This game will be full of bad blood, and I have no doubts that this one will cause much gnashing of teeth by the Bulldog fans and faithful. Given the short week after a game like Auburn, I think we will go in and struggle for the first quarter and a half. Then we will fight back and claim a narrow 4 point victory over the Cougars.

Dawg Smack

This one scares me for a lot of different reasons.  We’re playing on a Friday night, we’ll be a long way from home at a higher altitude than we’re accustomed to.  While it’s certainly winnable, I just believe those other factors will be too much to overcome.  BYU wins.

Another split decision from the staff. Win or lose the Bulldogs are at the half way point in the season and, according to the Jared and Andrew 5-1, Dawg Smack and Josh 4-2.

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