Opening College Football Week 13 Odds, Spread & Early Predictions
Odds as of Nov. 19 at DraftKings and FanDuel. Bettors who have already registered at those sites can check out the ESPN Bet promo if they live in one of the 17 eligible states.
Ole Miss vs Mississippi State Odds & Early Egg Bowl Prediction
There is no debating who the stronger team is heading into the 2023 Egg Bowl. Ole Miss is 9-2 overall (6-4-1 ATS) with their only losses coming to #1 Georgia and #8 Alabama, both on the road. They own impressive wins over LSU (55-49 home), Texas A&M (38-35 home), and Tulane (37-20 away), which is otherwise undefeated on the season and ranked #24 by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee.
Mississippi State, on the other hand, is 5-6 overall (3-8-1 ATS) and an ugly 1-6 in SEC play. They broke a three-game losing streak last time out with a 41-20 non-con win over Southern Miss. They rate as a below-average team in Billy Connelly’s SP+ (69th out of 133 FBS teams) while Ole Miss is square among the top 25. The Bulldogs’ only conference win this season was a 7-3 home victory over fellow 1-6 Arkansas, arguably the least-watchable game of the season.
Yet, only one of the last six editions of the Egg Bowl has been decided by more than 10 points: a 35-3 Mississippi State win in 2018 (which was later vacated but that’s not relevant for betting purposes). The last time Mississippi State lost by two touchdowns or more in Starkville was all the way back in 2003 when Eli Manning led Ole Miss to a 31-0 victory.
Mississippi State’s defense has played some decent games this year and their run-first offense will at least keep the clock moving, especially against an Ole Miss defense that’s routinely been shredded on the ground and is averaging nearly 160 rushing yards against per game.
The early college football public betting splits are all over Ole Miss (93% of ATS handle so far), so it’s possible that bettors will get a better number on the Bulldogs by waiting a bit. But with the Egg Bowl on Thursday, don’t wait too long.
- Egg Bowl pick: Mississippi State +13.5 (-110)
Washington State vs Washington Odds & Early Apple Cup Prediction
The recent history of the Apple Cup isn’t nearly as narrow as the Egg Bowl. Each of the last eight editions has been decided by at least 13 points, and seven of those featured at least an 18-point margin of victory. But undefeated Washington (11-0, 5-5-1 ATS) hasn’t exactly been putting the boots to opponents, especially in recent weeks, evidenced by their .500 ATS record. Washington’s biggest margin of victory over the past seven games is just 10 points. During yesterday’s 22-20 win at Oregon State, the Huskies were outgained 317-272 on the day and can thank three Beaver turnovers for the win.
Quarterback Michael Penix Jr, the favorite in the 2023 Heisman odds for the majority of the season, has faded to third over the past two weeks.
After starting 4-0, including impressive wins over Wisconsin (31-22 home) and Oregon State (38-35 home), Washington State (5-6, 5-6 ATS) went on a brutal six-game losing streak which included a brutal 44-6 setback to then-unranked Arizona at home. Cameron Ward and company finally managed to end that streak last Saturday with a 56-14 rout of Colorado at home. While the losing streak included some puzzling setbacks to bad teams, including Stanford (10-7 home) and Arizona State (38-27 away), it also saw the Cougars put up a good fight against then-#9 Oregon on the road (38-24). Washington State put up nearly 500 yards of offense against the Ducks are trailed by just four at halftime (17-13).
The talent gap between the Huskies and Cougars doesn’t support a 14.5-point spread,
