Welcome to a special episode of Pac-12 After Dark, featuring host Arizona and the visiting Mississippi State Bulldogs, coached by air-raid offense master Mike Leach — also known as "The Pirate."
All season long, UA football writers Michael Lev and Justin Spears and Star sports editor Ryan Finley will predict scores and total points for every Arizona game during The Wildcast podcast. Up next: MSU vs. UA.
Mississippi State vs. Arizona
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Arizona Stadium
Point spread: Mississippi State -10.5
Over/under: 60.5 points
(The latest episode of The Wildcast can also be found on Apple and Spotify)
Michael Lev's prediction (over/under): Mississippi State 31, Arizona 27 (under)
Lev says: "I go back to the trench battle. That was kind of the reason why I chickened out and picked against Arizona last week. I underestimated how good Jayden de Laura was going to be, and dodging the pass rush, but there were a lot of pass-protection breakdowns, and I don't know if that's a sustainable thing. I think the spread is too high. I think Arizona is plucky. They're going to show out and be super competitive, but I think they're going to be just short against a team with better talent and more experience."
Justin Spears' prediction (over/under): Mississippi State 34, Arizona 24 (under)
Spears says: "I think Arizona is going to use their tight ends a ton in this game. We saw a lot of Jacob Cowing last game, so now that the jig is up with Jacob Cowing, Mississippi State is going to game plan around him, so it'll free up more guys like (Tetairoa McMillan). But I also think we're going to see more of (freshman) Keyan Burnett, this great tight end they brought, but we didn't really see much of him last week against San Diego State. We saw more Tanner McLachlan, it was more his show. I think with a big game at home, Jedd Fisch shows more of his tricks, and uses tight ends."
Ryan Finley's prediction (over/under): Arizona 34, Mississippi State 31 (over)
Finley says: "Vegas thinks Arizona's win over San Diego State is a fluke. I don't know if Vegas is right or not, but 10 ½ seems like a big number for a team that's 1-0 and just put on an offensive display against a really good and physical San Diego State defense. I like Arizona to win this game ... sending Mississippi State fans and their cowbells home unhappy."
