Again? ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit picks Mississippi State as superdog vs. ASU for 2nd straight season

It was viewed as disrespectful enough for ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit to pick Mississippi State to cover in Tempe last season, but he did so again on College Gameday with his superdog pick over Arizona State.

“I have Mississippi State getting 6.5 at home,” Herbstreit said Saturday from Norman, Oklahoma. “The cowbells at night, let’s see if Arizona State — a very good football team getting a lot of hype — (let’s see) how they handle being on the road against the Bulldogs.”

kirk herbstreit picked mississippi state (+6.5) vs. asu as his super dog of the week.

rece davis and pat mcafee then seemed to disagree with the pick, or at least the energy he had: pic.twitter.com/qTEt1zagWY

— Damon Allred (@iamdamonallred) September 6, 2025

In 2024, also a Week 2 matchup, ASU was a 5.5-point favorite over MSSU. The game played out 30-23 in favor of ASU at home, the Sun Devils having built a 27-3 lead at halftime.

The college football personality had more reason to back his decision last September, with the Sun Devils predicted to finish dead-last in their inaugural season in the Big 12.

But, even after a College Football Playoff appearance and Big 12 title, Herbstreit felt pretty confident in his pick.

College Gameday host Rece Davis could sense this immediately.

“Did you notice how emphatic Kirk was about Mississippi State?” Davis asked his fellow ESPN panelists, including guest and Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young.

“Yeah, he’s very loud,” Pat McAfee, host of ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show, said in response. “Arizona State brings back everybody but (Cam) Skattebo, and I respect that.”

Herbstreit then doubled-down by referencing ASU not being able to “walk through most of their schedule” and he picked the Bulldogs to win during College Gameday’s final segment of game picks.

It was 3-2 in favor of the Sun Devils, with Young joining Herbstreit on the MSSU wagon while Desmond Howard, Nick Saban and McAfee backed the maroon and gold.

Catch Saturday’s matchup at 4:30 p.m. MST on the Arizona Sports app, ESPN 620 AM or 98.7 FM HD-2. It will be televised on ESPN2.

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