Mississippi State: The Bulldogs came close to upsetting now-No. 18 LSU on the road last Saturday. Miss. St. almost erased a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit before falling short, 23-20. Dan Mullen can't be happy about the team's 1-2 start and this Saturday leads his Bulldogs on a trip to the Northeast for the first time since defeating Syracuse 24-17 back in 1986. Miss. St. is led by dual-threat sophomore QB Nick Fitzgerald, who has thrown for 298 yards (two TDs and one INT), as well as running for 219 yards, averaging an impressive 6.8 YPC (he ranks fourth nationally among QBs with 73.0 rushing yards per game). His favorite target is senior WR Fred Ross, who has 17 receptions and two TDs. However, the Bulldogs' top RB (Holloway) has only 111 yards on 3.6 YPC. The Miss. St. D is solid, allowing 19.3 PPG (39th) on 338.0 YPG (41st).

UMass: The Minutemen suffered through back-to-back 1-11 seasons in 2011 and 2012 but former head coach Mark Whipple returned to Amherst in 2014. He led UMass to the Division I-AA (now FCS) title in 1998 during his first stint at the school (1998-2003) but has only gone 3-9 in his first two season back at UMass. This year's team is just 1-2 but despite ranking last in the country in scoring (11.7 PPG), UMass has been competitive in all three of its games this season (2-1 ATS). The key has been a defense allowing a modest 21.0 PPG (50th) on 340.7 YPG (43rd).

The pick: Whipple had a string of jobs before returning to UMass, including that of QB coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers (2004-06), where he helped develop Ben Roethlisberger. He may have found a spark for his offense in sophomore QB Andrew Ford, who threw for 278 yards and three TDs in his first game, a 21-13 victory over Florida International last Saturday. Mississippi State is 25-4 in regular-season non-conference games under Mullen, including winning all seven on the road and 11 of its last 12 overall. However, a three-TD home dog is an inviting opportunity. UMass is a 10* play.