Music City Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Mississippi State

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Neither team come into Nashville for this Music City Bowl matchup on a hotstreak. In fact, there was nothing “hot” about either team’s season, despite reasonably high expectations at the start (particularly for the Bulldogs) and flashes of brilliance along the way (well, maybe not brilliance, but impressive play at the least). But in the end, neither the Deamon Deacons, nor the Bulldogs could pull it together and go on a real run.

 

Wake Forest finished the year at a pedestrian 6-6, losing four of their last five starts, while Mississippi State needed to win their last game to become bowl eligible. That said, when digging into this game, we see a clear edge to the Bulldogs. Looking past their record, they’ve held their own, especially defensively, with several top-ranked programs (LSU, Bama, Georgia, South Carolina). They’ve been very stingy as a red zone defense (ranking 2nd in the SEC) and have become one of the better pass defences in the nation. Wake Forest will have problems with this Miss State D.

 

 

Yes, they have had their problems moving the ball at times, but remember, they faced SEC defences in most games. When stepping down in class, they showed they can execute. The Demon Deacons are not a difficult defensive unit to play against.

 

Music City Bowl Pick: When we break this game down, the Bulldogs are the better team. They should be able to handle the Wake Forest offense, while being able to move the ball vs. this Demon Deacon defense. We’ll lay the points with Mississippi State.

 

Play: Mississippi State -6.5