Lafayette at Mississippi State 9/15/18 - NCAA Football Picks & Predictions

No. 16 Mississippi State is not starting out with the toughest schedule, but a convincing win over Kansas State last weekend was impressive. The Bulldogs are looking to keep pounding out wins when they host Louisiana this weekend.

Mississippi State's swarming defense was as expected, but the Bulldogs showed a little more offense that might have been anticipated last weekend. Senior quarterback Nick Fitzgerald returned from a suspension and led the offense as expected. Teams focusing on him made room for sophomore running back Kylin Hill, who ran for 211 yards and three touchdowns.

The Bulldogs rolled up 538 yards against a good K-State defense. Hill has run for 261 yards this season and is averaging 10 yards per carry. He also has two receptions, and two scores receiving this year. The Bulldogs are averaging 7.9 yards per carry through two games. Louisiana fired its coach, Mark Hudspeth after last season ended, and he is now on the Mississippi State staff.

Louisiana opened its season with a 49-17 win over Grambling on Sept. 1. The going will get a lot tougher for the Ragin Cajuns this weekend, but they have some weapons.

In last week's game, Andre Nunez was 19-22 passing, for 184 yards and two touchdowns. Trey Ragas ran for 142 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown. Raymond Calais has 69 yards and is averaging 10 yards per carry. The Cajuns are averaging 7.3 yards per carry.

These schools have not played each other since 1987.