Game Information
#25 Missouri Tigers (2-0) vs Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (1-1)
Time: 12:00pm CT Saturday
How to watch: SEC Network+ / ESPN+
DraftKings Odds
Spread: Mizzou -26.5
Total: 47.5
The Missouri Tigers are ranked 25th in the country, and they’ll look to move to 3-0 on the young season when they host Louisiana on Saturday afternoon.
The betting public has taken notice of the Tigers after their impressive offensive performance in last week’s 42-31 win over Kansas. Mizzou opened as a 21.5 point favorite in this game against the Ragin’ Cajuns, but that was bet all the way up to 27.5 before slightly falling to the current number of 26.5.
The Tigers are ranked 5th in the country in total offense with 577.5 yards per game, so they clearly can put up points. But will they put up enough to cover this large spread?
This is a classic sandwich game spot for the Tigers against an opponent they are expected to beat handily. Mizzou knocked off its hated rival this past weekend, while #11 South Carolina comes to town next Saturday.
This is also a tricky spot because extreme heat forced this game to be moved up to a noon start. I could see a situation where Mizzou just wants to take care of business, get the starters out early, and keep everyone healthy for the Gamecocks next weekend - meaning they take their foot off the gas early and fall short of covering the 26.5.
So I would recommend staying away from this game with those factors, but if you’re going to bet this one, I would want to ride with the Tigers, as they should be able to name their score here.
Louisiana is 1-1 on the season, including a 14-12 home loss to Rice. The Ragin’ Cajuns have already lost their starting quarterback to a season-ending injury, so they are primarily a run-first offense - and we saw how Mizzou shut down the rushing attack of Kansas last weekend. So I expect Louisiana to really struggle to score, and that’s illustrated by their team total being set at just 9.5 points scored.
And the Tigers’ offense looks phenomenal led by Beau Pribula. The play calling is creative, they are spreading the ball around in the passing game, and the rushing attack looks dynamite with Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts.
Look for Mizzou to coast to victory here by a margin that ends up very close to the spread.
Lean: Mizzou -26.5 at -115 on DraftKings
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Wednesday night on the STL Sports Central YouTube channel. Follow him on X @GamblingDads, and click here for his daily picks on all of our St. Louis area sports teams. Picks = betting the game - minus odds betting to win 1 unit, plus odds risking 1 unit. Leans = no strong opinion, not betting the game. Disclaimer