UL-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns vs. Mississippi Rebels Betting Odds, Prediction

The Ole Miss Rebels will try to start 3-0 for the second straight year on Saturday when they host the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns.

The Rebels have also covered the spread in their first two games this season, holding the opposition to just 16 points with the under cashing each time.

Point spread 

The Rebels opened as 26-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark (line updates and match report here).

Why the Ragin' Cajuns can cover the spread

The point spreads keep getting bigger and bigger in Ole Miss’ favor, which would seem to make it harder and harder for the Rebels to cover. Are the oddsmakers giving them too much respect this early in the season because they are an SEC team?

The Ragin' Cajuns got a wake-up call last week against Louisiana Tech, getting blown out 48-20 at home as 15.5-point favorites.

Oddsmakers must have thought Louisiana-Lafayette deserved to be favored by such a high number, and the team did come through as a 38-point favorite in a 45-6 season-opening win over Southern.

Why the Rebels can cover the spread

Ole Miss is 3-1 ATS in its last four games as a favorite of 20 points or more, with the lone loss against the line coming at home versus Southeast Missouri State as 49.5-point chalk in a 31-13 victory.

The Rebels are playing with a ton of confidence and were also able to rest some of their starters last week in a 4-1 rout of Vanderbilt, as star quarterback Bo Wallace completed 23 of 30 passes for 320 yards with one touchdown in less than three quarters of action.

Wallace is a sleeper pick for the Heisman Trophy right now and could continue to build his case with another good performance here.

Smart Pick

Bettors probably knew Ole Miss would score a lot of points this year with Wallace under center, but the team's defense has also played well through the first two games of this season.

The Rebels have seen the under go 5-0 in their last five games dating back to last year, and the under is also 10-2 in their past 12 games as home favorites. The toughest thing for non-SEC teams to adjust to is the speed and depth of the defense, and Louisiana-Lafayette has also seen the under cash in in its last three games against teams from the conference.

In last year’s season opener, the Ragin' Cajuns lost 34-14 to Arkansas, and the Rebels are a better team defensively. Look for Ole Miss to hold them in check and post another easy victory at home.

Trends:

• Louisiana-Lafayette is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games
• Mississippi is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games
• OVER 10-2 in Ole Miss’ last 12 lined games as home favorite

Note: All point spreads and line data courtesy of Odds Shark, all quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-move updates and get the free odds tracker app.