Mississippi State vs Minnesota is after Oklahoma-Michigan and before Ohio State-Texas – it’s a game you’re going to want to see for pure college football candy.
The Bulldogs and Gophers won’t be in the national title hunt. Both are going to be fighting through brutal schedules just to get to a bowl.
But Miss State has one of the most fun passing teams in the country, and if you haven’t seen Minnesota’s Drake Lindsey yet, put your NFL scouting hat on, and let’s go.
Mississippi State vs Minnesota: Quick Hits
- Mississippi State is coming off a 62-13 wipeout of ULM last week. It hasn’t played a Big Ten team since losing the ReliaQuest Bowl to Illinois to end the 2022 season.
- Minnesota tore up Eastern Illinois 59-7 without any drama. It hasn’t played an SEC team since beating Auburn in the Outback Bowl to end 2019.
- The Gophers get Akron next, then the Big Ten season starts at Washington, and then they host Michigan. Mississippi State starts the SEC season at South Carolina next week.
How To Watch Mississippi State vs Minnesota
Date: Saturday, September 12, 2026Game Time: 3:30 PM ET
TV: CBS
Location: Huntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN
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Why Mississippi State Will Win
Kamario Taylor is the real deal. The young Mississippi State star quarterback threw for 354 yards and four scores against ULM, ran for 59 yards and a touchdown, and he’ll be a problem for a Minnesota defense that’s fine but will give up plenty of short-to-midrange throws.Even more interesting was the running game. ULM isn’t anything special, but it’s still an FBS team with people on scholarship, and it gave up 762 yards of total offense and allowed the Bulldog attack to run for 345 yards and over nine yards per carry. Minnesota has to keep up the pace.
Why Minnesota Will Win
Minnesota was in midseason form from the start against Eastern Illinois.The ground game got some work in – Darius Taylor is as good a running back as the Bulldogs will see all year – and Drake Lindsey looked every bit the part of the high-rising NFL draft pick that he is.
The key here is ball control. Mississippi State doesn’t care a lick about the time of possession battle, and Minnesota will be happy to keep the offense off the field for over 35 minutes.
Mississippi State vs Minnesota Prediction, Betting Lines
This will be a whole lot of fun.Mississippi State’s offense will work all game long, but it’ll come up empty on a few early second half drives. Minnesota will start grinding, and then the home side will start taking over with tough drives that take over the clock and the game.
Minnesota 30, Mississippi State 26
Latest Consensus Line: Minnesota -1.5, o/u: 55.5
ATS Confidence (out of 5): 2.5
Must See Rating (out of 5): 4
Consensus line based on BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.