Wake Forest (8-4) vs. Mississippi State (5-7), Jan. 2 at 8 p.m. EST.
BetMGM College Football Odds Line: Mississippi State by 2.5. Against the spread: Mississippi State 8-4, Wake Forest 8-4.
How to watch: ESPN
Key stats
Mississippi State Offense
Overall: 398.4 yards per game (58th in FBS)
Passing: 237 yards per game (59th)
Rushing: 161.4 yards per game (65th)
Scoring: 30.5 points per game (44th)
Mississippi State Defense
Overall: 405.8 yards per game (104th in FBS)
Passing: 216.3 yards per game (60th)
Rushing: 189.5 yards per game (119th)
Scoring: 29.2 points per game (96th)
Wake Forest Offense
Overall: 389.1 yards per game (69th in FBS)
Passing: 232.3 yards per game (62nd)
Rushing: 156.8 yards per game (71st)
Scoring: 26.8 points per game (75th)
Wake Forest Defense
Overall: 321.9 yards per game (26th in FBS)
Passing: 199.7 yards per game (41st)
Rushing: 122.3 yards per game (34th)
Scoring: 21.5 points per game (38th)
Wake Forest ranks 104th in the FBS with a -5 turnover margin, compared to Mississippi State’s 54th-ranked +2 margin.
Wake Forest ranks 131st in the FBS with 68.9 penalty yards per game.
Wake Forest is 126th in FBS in red zone offense, scoring on 74.4% of trips. Mississippi State’s red zone defense ranks 43rd at 80.5%.
Mississippi State is 114th in the FBS with an average time of possession of 28:10.
Team leaders
Mississippi State
Passing: Blake Shapen, 2,436 yards, 15 TDs, 8 INTs, 64.1 completion percentage
Rushing: Da’Marion Bothwell, 639 yards on 128 carries, 6 TDs
Receiving: Brenen Thompson, 948 yards on 53 catches, 6 TDs
Wake Forest
Passing: Robby Ashford, 2,169 yards, 9 TDs, 7 INTs, 59.2 completion percentage
Rushing: Demond Claiborne, 907 yards on 179 carries, 10 TDs
Receiving: Chris Barnes, 547 yards on 39 catches, 3 TDs
Last game
Mississippi State was defeated by Ole Miss 38-19 on Friday, Nov. 28. Kamario Taylor threw for 178 yards on 15-of-31 attempts (48.4%) with no touchdowns and one interception. He also carried the ball 20 times for 173 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Bothwell carried the ball 17 times for 80 yards, adding two receptions for 11 yards. Thompson had six receptions for 80 yards.
Wake Forest lost 49-32 to Duke on Saturday, Nov. 29. Ashford threw for 342 yards on 27-of-43 attempts (62.8%) with two touchdowns and one interception. He also carried the ball 16 times for 44 yards and one rushing touchdown. Claiborne had 58 rushing yards on 13 carries, adding two receptions for 10 yards. Sawyer Racanelli had seven receptions for 123 yards and one touchdown.
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