ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit was the lone panelist on the College GameDay desk who picked Arizona to beat Mississippi State.

Herbstreit pointed to one man in the Arizona backfield — quarterback Jayden de Laura — as being capable of leading the Wildcats to a huge win in SEC country. Here’s how the panel picked:

  • Desmond Howard: Mississippi State
  • Pat McAfee: Mississippi State
  • Joe Namath (guest picker): Mississippi State
  • Lee Corso: Mississippi State
  • Kirk Herbstreit: Arizona

Howard said the Bulldogs, led by quarterback Will Rogers, have too much firepower for the Wildcats.

Herbstreit disagreed.

“Will Rogers is fantastic. Veteran quarterback. The quarterback on the other side, Jayden de Laura, can throw it around,” Herbstreit said. “Arizona got a lot better last year, they got a lot of skill. Upset. Arizona wins in the SEC. Pac-12 flexes its muscles.”

MSU picked off de Laura three times and completely stymied the Arizona ground game in a 39-17 win in Tucson last season. But the Wildcats got better throughout the year and de Laura looked impressive in a Week 1 win over Northern Arizona last weekend.

In a 38-3 victory, the offense nearly went for 500 yards as de Laura completed 18 of his 24 passes for 285 and three scores. He added another touchdown on the ground as well.

Kickoff between the Wildcats and Bulldogs is set for 4:30 p.m. PT on SEC Network.