This blog needs more cowbell

VS.

Finally! It's game week for college football. The Fighting Tigers of LSU will travel to Starkvegas to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the nationally televised college football kickoff Thursday night on ESPN.

Questions will finally be answered. How will Matt Flynn look in new offensive Coordinator Gary Cowton's new scheme? Who will be the feature running back or will it be a committee approach? Who will step up to replace first round wide receivers Dwayne Bowe and Craig "Buster" Davis? Can LSU's defense live up to the hype? Will Miss. St. show improvement in head coach Sylvestor Croom's 4th season? How will both teams react to opening the season on a Thursday night against a conference opponent?

It will be exciting to see a game that actually counts as the NFL preseason has been in full swing for a few weeks now. There are a few other interesting match-ups Thursday night and this weekend, but the main focus will be on the #2 team in the nation and how they handle opening the season on the road against a conference opponent. It should be interesting with Virgina Tech looming as next week's opponent. I doubt LSU will show a lot of their offense and will likely focus on the running game against the Bulldogs.

LSU holds an edge in the overall series against MSU with a record of 64-33-3. The Tigers last lost to MSU in 1999, bringing in an impressive seven game winning streak over the Bulldogs. This year's game should be no different with LSU tuning-up for next week's match-up against the top-10 ranked Virginia Tech Hokies.

Prediction:
LSU 31
MSU 16