LSU vs. Mississippi State 2018 pick: Prediction, start time, and TV/live stream info

No. 5 LSU proved itself a College Football Playoff contender with last week’s win over then-No. 2 Georgia. But with one loss on their record, the Tigers can’t afford to slip up when they host No. 22 Mississippi State on Saturday.

LSU is very much alive in the race for the top spot in the SEC, but its road to the conference title game in Atlanta is a perilous one. The Tigers need a win over State Saturday, a win over Alabama two weeks from then, and probably a season-ending victory over Texas A&M in its regular season finale to claim the West’s crown. The good news is they’ve already handled a tough lineup just to get to 6-1; half of LSU’s wins have come over teams ranked in the top 10 when they faced Ed Orgeron’s team.

But the Tigers’ rise also presents a tremendous opportunity for first year head Joe Moorhead and the Bulldogs. Mississippi State earned its biggest win of the season and rebounded from an 0-2 start to conference play by running Auburn off the field in a 23-9 victory last week. A second-straight win over a top-10 opponent would set the tone for a prosperous future in the Moorhead era, especially in a hostile environment. It won’t be easy, though.

LSU has a loss on its resume, dropping the Tigers to the No. 14 spot in this week’s S&P+ Rankings. Mississippi State is coming into Saturday’s game as the nation’s No. 15 club, but Moorhead’s team is 1-2 against SEC competition and was limited to just 13 total points in losses to Kentucky and Florida. On Saturday, he’ll face a team that ranks 17th in the nation in scoring defense despite facing three different top-10 programs this fall. So don’t expect many points from MSU in a likely defeat Saturday.

Billy Cannon on Halloween, Hodson-to-Fuller, Donaldson picks off Florida, the Bluegrass Miracle; these moments didn’t precede championships, but they are etched in the history of LSU lore, right there with Mauck-to-Green or Tyrann Mathieu’s 2011.

And regardless of the ultimate fate of the 2018 Tigers, they gave us one of those moments that will live forever on Saturday, taking down the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs, 36-16. LSU, picked anywhere from fourth or lower in the SEC West this summer, now sits at 6-1 with five games left to go, three wins over teams that were ranked in the top 10 at kickoff. We have a month and a half left of this roller coaster ride, but so far, it’s been one helluva good time.

The Tigers rode a wave of emotion to topple Georgia in one of the Bulldogs’ rare trips to Death Valley. Now the LSU faithful will have to show out for a second-straight week against Bulldogs of a different breed. Florida showed you can beat the Tigers by flustering quarterback Joe Burrow, who had two interceptions (including a game-clinching pick-six) in the Gators’ Week 6 win. Mississippi State is coming off a game where it just made Auburn QB Jarrett Stidham look stupid — and a similar showing Saturday could lead to a major upset in Baton Rouge.