Mississippi State football: SP+ prediction favors Auburn Tigers vs. Bulldogs

After a frustrating road win last weekend, Zach Arnett and the Mississippi State football team look to get another SEC win this week vs. the Auburn Tigers.

Last weekend’s Mississippi State football game was so remarkably frustrating in so many incredible ways. And yet, Zach Arnett and the Mississippi State Bulldogs were able to beat Arkansas in Fayetteville.

Now, Arnett and his MSU football team are headed to Jordan-Hare Stadium to meet up with the Auburn Tigers. Auburn is in the midst of a four-game losing streak while the Bulldogs have been able to get a couple of wins in their last two outings. As both the Bulldogs and the Tigers look to get something that resembles momentum in conference play, how will this game play out?

Given how both offenses have looked, there’s a very good chance that this game is another defensive slugfest that is hard to watch. And of course, given how both teams are playing, there’s a very good chance that both Auburn and MSU fans will find themselves frustrated with their respective first year head coaches at times.

But which team will come out on top?

Mississippi State football: ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s SP+ prediction picks Auburn Tigers over MSU Bulldogs

If you were to check in on ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s magical math machine and you happen to be a Mississippi State football fan, there’s a chance you’d be disappointed in seeing what the numbers have to say about the Bulldogs.

As you can see, Connelly’s SP+ prediction has the Tigers coming out on top of the Mississippi State Bulldogs. It’s close in that prediction, but MSU will apparently lose on the road this weekend, according to those numbers.

But, well, it’s hard to really evaluate what this MSU football team actually is.

Between the ups and downs of this team’s defense, the way that Arnett previously seemed to influence the pace of the offense on at least one occasion, how Mike Wright has only made one start this season, and some various injury issues, it’s hard to really get an accurate read for what this team is.

If Arnett can give Kevin Barbay, his offensive coordinator, plenty of freedom and Barbay was able to get on the same page with Wright as his quarterback, then maybe we see something better than expected?