ESPN’s SP+ predicts final score of Mississippi State vs. Arizona State in Week 2
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ESPN’s SP+ has predicted the final score of Mississippi State‘s Week 2 home matchup against No. 12 Arizona State.
The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2 on Saturday night, with the Bulldogs looking to pull the upset and get to 2-0 against a program that won the Big 12 in 2024 and went to the College Football Playoff.
ESPN’s SP+ is available for the Week 2 matchups and that model is projecting Arizona State to defeat Mississippi State, 32-22.
Here’s that prediction along with the rest of the Week 2 slate:
Mississippi State is nearly a touchdown underdog under the lights on its home field, but ESPN’s FPI is giving the Bulldogs a solid 45.9% chance to pull the upset. Mississippi State got an in-state victory to begin the 2025 season last week, fighting off Southern Mississippi in a 34-17 win after leading just 13-10 at halftime. The Bulldogs finally took control of the game with a big 3rd quarter, outscoring the Golden Eagles, 21-0, to take a commanding 34-10 lead into the final period.
Senior quarterback Blake Shapen went 26 of 33 for 272 yards passing, with 1 touchdown and 1 interception for Mississippi State. On Saturday night, he’ll be opposing 1 of the best quarterbacks in the country in Arizona State sophomore Sam Leavitt, who led the Sun Devils to that Big 12 title and Playoff appearance last season.
In Arizona State’s opening victory over Northern Arizona, Leavitt showed off his dual-threat talents, throwing for 257 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception while running for 73 yards on 7 carries with 2 TD runs. Leavitt led Arizona State in rushing in Week 1, and so the Bulldogs will have a hard assignment containing Leavitt through the air and on the ground in primetime.
The programs met for the first time last fall out in Tempe, with Mississippi State losing to Arizona State, 30-23. The Bulldogs staged a 4th-quarter comeback, with Shapen throwing 2 touchdown passes, but it wasn’t enough. This time, Mississippi State hopes for a different result in front of its home fans in the nonconference showdown against a ranked opponent.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
