I like the Louisville Cardinals here when they take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the Taxslayer Bowl Saturday afternoon.

The Bulldogs are in a tough spot, playing under interim coach Greg Knox (running backs and special teams coach) as Dan Mullen accepted a six-year deal at Florida about a month ago. They'll also be without starting quarterback Nick Fitzgerald who dislocated an ankle early in their regular-season finale 31-28 loss to Ole Miss on Thanksgiving.

The Cardinals meanwhile can rely on star quarterback Lamar Jackson who's had fantastic season, recording 3,489 passing yards with a 25:6 TD to INT ratio while leading the Cardinals with 1,443 rushing yards with 17 rushing scores. Louisville closed out the season on a high note, winning four of its last five games and covering the spread in each victory. The Cardinals won each of of the last three and allowed an average of 233.3 yards and 16 points during the three-game winning streak.

Mississippi State is solid on the defensive side of the ball, but it's gonna be tough to overcome the loss of Fitzgerald, particularly with Mullen gone.

My selection is an 8* play on Louisville Cardinals.