Memphis at Mississippi State 9/3/22 - College Football Picks & Predictions

The Mississippi State Bulldogs open the 2022 season Sept. 3 at home against the Memphis Tigers.  The Bulldogs lost 31-29 at Memphis last season.

Mike Leach is back for this third season as Mississippi State’s coach after going 11-13 over his first two years at the helm. The Bulldogs improved to 7-6 overall in 2021 and were 4-4 in the Southeastern Conference with wins over Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Auburn. Two of their SEC losses were by just three points —28-25 at home against LSU and 31-28 at Arkansas.

Ryan Silverfield has gone 14-10 in two seasons as the Memphis head coach. The Tigers were 6-6 in 2021 but just 3-5 against American Athletic Conference foes.

Junior quarterback Will Rogers leads the Bulldogs offense a year ago. He threw for 4,739 yards and 36 touchdowns while completing 74% of his passes. The Bulldogs will look to Jaden Walley to lead the receiving corps after he hauled in 55 passes for 628 yards and six TDs playing second fiddle to Makai Polk who is now with the Baltimore Ravens. Mississippi’s utilizes its running backs extensively in the passing game as well. Dillon Johnson led the team with 485 rushing yards and scored four times but also caught 65 passes for 422 yards and a touchdown. Jo’quavious Marks had 416 yards and six TDs on the ground while catching 83 passes for 502 yards and three TDs.

Memphis was also able to attack through the air last year with freshman Seth Henigan at quarterback but lacked an impact running game. Brandon Thomas led the Tigers with 669 rushing yards as a freshman, scoring eight times. He’ll be joined by Northern Illinois transfer Jevyon Ducker and others in the backfield hoping to make a difference in 2022. Get all of our best college football picks.