It’s Week 10 in the college football season. That means we’re headed down south to cover Mississippi State and Arkansas, two SEC West teams trying to make a late-season run. With both teams sitting at 5-3, this game will be a deciding factor as to who is a pretender or contender in the Southeastern Conference. In this preview, we’ll be covering both team’s offense and defense, highlight three players to watch, and end with my predictions and final score of the game.
Arkansas
This season has been up and down for the Razorbacks. After starting the year 4-0 and a win over #15 Texas, Arkansas looked poised to finally compete in the SEC West. These last four games haven’t gone Arkansas’ way, with losses coming to Auburn, Ole Miss, and Georgia, before finally rebounding against an FCS opponent in Arkansas Pine-Bluff.
This Arkansas offense has been very puzzling, to say the least. One week they’re getting shut out by UGA, another week they’re scoring 51 against Ole Miss. You’d think they would have an offense that could be competitive against teams in their conference, but that just isn’t the case – and hasn’t been in recent memory. The Razorbacks have had a losing record against their conference opponents for the last three decades.
The Razorback rushing offense, however, has been tremendous this season. Their 4th place ranking overall in the country proves that. It hasn’t been a one-man show in the run game, with four different running backs and the quarterback all carrying the ball.
Arkansas pairs their 4th rated rushing attack with the 85th ranked passing offense. Despite their low rank, they’ve thrown for over 1600 yards, and have done a nice job limiting turnovers. If Arkansas their passing offense can match their rushing, I like their chances to come out victorious.
Sophomore quarterback K.J Jefferson has had an exceptional year to this point. He’s thrown for 1,657 yards and 15 touchdowns, with only three interceptions. Jefferson has been able to contribute on the ground as well, rushing for 419 yards and three touchdowns. His play will be a huge factor if Arkansas can win this one, making K.J Jefferson my first ‘Player to Watch’.
The Arkansas defense is a lot like the offense. They started the college football season out hot before collapsing right as they got into the meat of their schedule. Ranking 32nd in the country (85th rushing, 8th passing yards allowed). it’ll be very interesting to see if they can stop the top-rated Mississippi State offense.
Mississippi State
The Mississippi State Bulldogs have a top-10 offense in college football, so why do they have a 5-3 record? Before I talk about their losses, let’s highlight some big wins for the Bulldogs – defeating #12 Kentucky and #15 Texas A&M.
Two out of the three Bulldog losses have come by three points. This is a very solid team who’s only a couple of plays away from 1st in the SEC West. Can the Bulldogs stifle the Razorbacks’ rushing offense; and get a run game of their own to pair with their great pass attack to defeat the Razorbacks?
This Bulldog passing attack has been elite all season. It all starts with Sophomore quarterback Will Rogers. Rodgers is 3rd in college football in passing yards, and has the Bulldogs ranked 5th in passing offense. Rogers has 2,890 yards with 19 touchdowns to seven interceptions. His play has me very excited to see this matchup. Will Rogers is my 2nd ‘Player to Watch’ in this one.
Their rushing offense, however, has been horrendous. It ranks 130th in all of college football. Between two running backs, the Bulldogs only have 500 yards rushing in eight games played. How good or bad they are at establishing the run could be a key factor on if they win or lose this game.
The Bulldog rushing defense is trending towards the top of college football, ranking 5th. Their pass defense could use some work coming in at 61st, making their total defense rank 16th.
Sophomore Emmanuel Forbes is tied for 3rd in the country in interceptions with three. Forbes also has contributed 36 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble as well as three pass deflections. Forbes is playing great against some stiff SEC competition. His play thus far has made him my 3rd ‘Player to Watch’ in this game.
Game Predictions
- K.J Jefferson throws for 200 yards and 2 TD’s with an interception
- Will Rogers throws for 250 and 3 TD’s
- Emmanuel Forbes gets at least 2 pass deflections and holds his receiver under 80 yards
- Final Score: Mississippi State 28 Arkansas 17
