CFB expert predicts Mississippi State football bowl matchup with Louisiana after week 8

As the Mississippi State football team continues to fight towards bowl eligibility, it seems like the MSU Bulldogs have a pretty good shot.

Zach Arnett is over halfway though his first season as the head coach of the Mississippi State football team and his Mississippi State Bulldogs are currently sitting at 4-3 overall on the season and 1-3 in SEC play.

That’s not where the Bulldogs should be and MSU has looked like an absolute disaster at times, but there are still a few very winnable games on the Mississippi State football schedule. And that means Arnett and the Bulldogs can certainly become bowl eligible.

That would be huge for a program that has underachieved in the first season of Arnett’s tenure. Bowl games mean bowl practices. Bowl practices means more reps. More reps (theoretically) means more opportunities at development and improvement for MSU.

And that’s something that would be valuable for this team. Especially if the Bulldogs can pick up two more wins over their final five contests (Auburn Tigers, Kentucky Wildcats, Texas A&M Aggies, Southern Miss Golden Eagles, and Ole Miss Rebels) and build some momentum.

As it stands right now, it looks like USA Today CFB expert Erick Smith is expecting the Bulldogs to be playing in a bowl game.

Mississippi State football bowl projections: USA Today puts MSU Bulldogs in bowl game against Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns

According to his bowl projections after the Bulldogs beat Arkansas, Smith has Arnett and Mississippi State meeting up with the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns down in Texas. Specifically, Smith projects the Bulldogs to face Louisiana in the Frisco Bowl.

That’s not exactly a bowl bid that would really excite many Miss. State football fans after the Bulldogs entered the season coming off of nine wins. This is the sort of bowl game that is okay to play in if the Mississippi State football team is in the midst of a rebuild.

That’s not really the case here. MSU wasn’t in a rebuild coming into the season.

But still, a bowl game is a bowl game. And at this point, MSU just needs an opportunity to compete in a bowl game. Get that extra time to practice and sharpen skills. Maybe even get another win and make this season look a little more respectable.

That’s not too much to ask.