College football picks: Auburn can make statement vs. Ole Miss

Three teams power their destiny successful the Southeastern Conference, and 1 of them is Auburn.

The Tigers are playing astatine location aft their bye week against Mississippi, which is playing its 3rd SEC roadworthy crippled successful 5 weeks.

The Rebels conscionable announced starting near defender Ben Brown is retired for the season. They’ve been playing without receivers Braylon Sanders, Jonathan Mingo and Bralon Brown, and choky extremity Chase Rogers.

Ole Miss receiver Dontario Drummond should get plentifulness of targets. But Auburn tin antagonistic with Roger McCreary, the third-best cornerback this play arsenic graded by Pro Football Focus.

The Rebels are a beardown moving squad but could beryllium one-dimensional connected offense, arsenic they’re 112th successful modular downs sack rate.

The Ole Miss tally defence is 110th successful Expected Points Added per rush, 115th successful modular downs enactment yards and 110th successful worldly rate. Auburn moving backs Tank Bigsby, Jarquez Hunter and the experienced violative enactment are licking their chops.

The Rebels person played 4 consecutive emotionally taxing games, including immoderate precocious drawback counts against Arkansas and Tennessee.

Take Auburn -2½.

Four much plays (home squad successful CAPS):

Kansas +30½ implicit OKLAHOMA STATE: Oklahoma State hasn’t scored much than 21 points successful a crippled this season. Kansas has covered successful back-to-back games aft a bye week and has averaged 19.3 points successful its past 4 games. The Jayhawks are 67th successful EPA per walk connected offense. Kansas backmost Jason Bean volition bash capable to pb 2 oregon 3 scoring drives and screen the number.

SOUTH ALABAMA (-9) implicit Arkansas State: The Red Wolves defence is 129th successful EPA per drawback and successful SP+. Arkansas State is 130th successful rushing yards per transportation allowed and 126th successful hostile passer rating. South Alabama backmost Jake Bentley is completing 69.1 percent of his passes, successful ample portion due to the fact that of Jalen Tolbert, 1 of the champion Group of Five receivers. The Jaguars request a triumph to enactment connected way to go vessel eligible aft losses to Louisiana (20-18) and Texas State (33-31 successful quadruple overtime).

Louisiana-Monroe (+27) implicit APPALACHIAN STATE: The Warhawks person 2 of assemblage football’s 5 biggest Football Bowl Subdivision vs. FBS upsets this season, winning outright arsenic 32-point underdogs against Liberty and arsenic 23½-point underdogs vs. Troy. They besides bushed South Alabama arsenic 13½-point underdogs past week. Appalachian State is successful a letdown spot aft a immense triumph against a ranked Coastal Carolina team. The Mountaineers are 109th successful EPA per rush, truthful it’s not a fixed they volition enactment up and summation 5 yards per transportation each game.

Michigan-MICHIGAN STATE U50½: Michigan runs the shot connected 66.2 percent of its snaps. Michigan State runs lone 57.7 percent of the time. But the Wolverines’ unreserved defence is sixth successful EPA per snap. Michigan is tied for 103rd successful explosive passing plays of 20-plus yards. Neither discourtesy pushes tempo. Against its strongest Big Ten opponents, Michigan State defeated Nebraska 23-20 successful overtime and Indiana 20-15.

Last week: 3-2

Season: 23-17

Christopher Smith of AL.com is providing assemblage shot investigation for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Follow @CFBlocksmith connected Twitter.