What oddsmakers predict will happen when Mississippi State faces Arkansas

Mississippi State’s hope of reaching six wins and going to a bowl game this season are on life support.

The Bulldogs have lost their last four games, all SEC games, and in heart-breaking fashion, too. Two of those losses were overtime games and another was lost on last minute interception.

Mississippi State needs a win, not just for its bowl game aspirations, but also to give the fanbase something to cheer about instead of calling for a coaching change.

“One, thank you for the support, the atmosphere and the energy. And Saturday was as good as it gets,” Bulldogs’ coach Jeff Lebby said Monday when asked about what his message to the upset fans. “You’ve all heard me talk about how much I appreciate our community and our connection and the passion, the love that people have for Mississippi State. I love that. That’s one of the greatest things about our university.

“I hate that (the fans are) not getting to enjoy (wins). My hope is that we have the ability to go take care of business and go get a tough, hard win on the road on Saturday. And then come back home to another great crowd.”

Fortunately, Mississippi State’s opponent this week represents the most winnable SEC game left on its schedule, even if Lebby won’t admit that’s what Arkansas is.

“No, not in the least bit,” Lebby said. “We’re playing the best two and six football team in the country this week. They’ve got a quarterback that is elite at everything that he does. They have played really well offensively. Auburn did a really good job defensively the other day, creating some turnovers. Arkansas struggled in the red zone a little bit.

“But their ability to score and play great offensively is very well documented. And then defensively, they’ve played better. They haven’t been great against the run, but they were better this past week.”

But that doesn’t change the fact the odds for the Bulldogs this week are the best they’ll be the rest of the season.

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook