TAXSLAYER BOWL (Jacksonville, Fla.) -- Mississippi State star QB Nick Fitzgerald is out, and former coach Dan Mullen has bolted to Florida. Even so, the Bulldogs should be a live underdog Saturday against a Louisville team that ha fallen short of expectations with reigning Heisman winner Lamar Jackson. Fitzgerald's backup, Keytaon Thompson, has played well in limited action. Moreover, two of Louisville's top defensive players have skipped the bowl to focus on NFL draft preparations.

TAXSLAYER BOWL (Jacksonville, Fla.) -- A key injury to Bulldogs quarterback Nick Fitzgerald has skewed Saturday’s bowl line on Louisville’s side. Look for the Bulldogs' SEC defense to keep them in this matchup against the Cardinal. Grab the Bulldogs.

TAXSLAYER BOWL (Jacksonville, Fla.) -- Louisville has secured a seventh consecutive bowl berth, and in those previous six games, the total never topped 56 points. What's that have to do with brilliant QB Lamar Jackson, a Heisman Trophy winner who only partook in the last two? Last year, the Cardinals managed nine points. Mississippi State trots out a freshman quarterback after Nick Fitzgerald (ankle) went down in the Egg Bowl. Keytaon Thompson runs smack dab into a defense that yielded an average of 16 points and 233 yards over its last three games. The Bulldogs have been Under in five of the last seven. The sum total of these factors and stats equals an Under play.

TAXSLAYER BOWL (Jacksonville) -- Lamar Jackson and that electric Cardinals offense is laying less than a touchdown against a Bulldog team that lost head coach Dan Mullen, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and will be without injured quarterback Nick Fitzgerald? That's easy money. Jackson will wear out the Bulldog front seven, force Mississippi State to score 40 points to win and the Bulldogs won't come close to getting there.

TAXSLAYER BOWL (Jacksonville, Fla.) -- No matter how much you try to practice or game plan for the dynamic athlete at QB, you’re never really prepared. Louisville's Lamar Jackson is the X-factor in this game and even if its offense starts off slowly, Mississippi State doesn’t have the answer because QB Nick Fitzgerald is out injured.