STARKVILLE – When Mississippi State wrapped up its 45-31 victory over Kentucky on Saturday in Lexington, the Bulldogs walked off the field with a slice of school history in tow.
Not only did the Bulldogs successfully defend their No. 1 ranking, given two weeks ago by the USA Today Coaches Poll and Associated Press Top 25, but MSU also won its 10th straight game, good for the second-longest streak in program history and the longest under current head coach Dan Mullen.
This Saturday, the Bulldogs will meet the team that started the streak.
Nearly one year ago, late last November, MSU was 4-6 and hurting from a 20-7 loss to Alabama. Wounded and without sophomore quarterback Dak Prescott, the Bulldogs traveled to Little Rock and survived a war, emerging with a 24-17 overtime victory over the Razorbacks.
MSU hasn’t lost since.
On Saturday, Arkansas, in its second season under the guidance of coach Bret Beilema, will look to finish a streak it helped start.
“We are moving on to a very difficult Arkansas team,” said Mullen. “They are a very physical football team, they can certainly run the ball and they are big, strong on the defensive line. It is going to be a challenge.”
Mullen’s victory over the Razorbacks last season was MSU’s first in the state of Arkansas, and the Bulldogs are aiming for their third straight win for the first time in series history.
Arkansas (4-4 overall, 0-4 in league play) visits Starkville for Saturday night’s 6:15 kickoff in search of its first conference win under Beilema, who has started his Razorbacks’ tenure 0-for-12 in league games. But the Razorbacks took then No. 6 Texas A&M to overtime on Sept. 27, and two weeks later dropped a 14-13 home decision to No. 7 Alabama, showing signs of improvement in Bielema’s second season.
“This is a legit football team,” said Mullen of the Razorbacks, who need two wins in the season’s final four games to earn bowl eligibility. “They are a big, physical outfit, and they have two of the best tailbacks in the country. They have a quarterback who can really throw the football and is very efficient. Because of how well they run the ball they get some pretty good looks for him in one-on-one coverage. That presents a huge challenge for us this week.”
A win over Arkansas would stretch MSU’s winning streak to 11 games, two short of the school’s longest streak, a 13-game run from Oct. 17, 1942 to Nov. 11, 1944. More importantly, it would strengthen the Bulldogs’ grip on the country’s No. 1 ranking. This week, the Bulldogs remained on top of the college football world for the third-straight week, and at 7-0, the Bulldogs are one of just three unbeaten FBS teams, joining Marshall and defending national champion Florida State.
The Bulldogs have done much of their damage this season offensively, as the Bulldogs will enter Saturday leading the league in total offense (531.4 yards per game) and are second in the league in scoring (42.3 points per game). Additionally, tailback Josh Robinson, who was named the league’s offensive player of the week for his 198-yard, two-touchdown showing at Kentucky, leads the SEC in rushing yards with 887, while he and quarterback Dak Prescott are tied for the league lead in rushing touchdowns with 10 each.
“I think it has been pretty good for us,” said Mullen of the Robinson-Prescott duo. “We want to make people defend all 11 guys on the field. When the running back is putting up big numbers and hitting explosive plays he draws a lot of attention. That takes a lot of the pressure and attention off of (Prescott), which will allow him to make bigger plays.”
In Fayetteville, Bielema, who is now 8-12 at Arkansas after a successful run at Wisconsin, seemed to relish the challenge of visiting the No. 1 team in the country.
“We played Mississippi State great last year and we are looking forward to playing them as the No. 1 team,” said Bielema. “They are a great team, they run the ball extremely well. Our team is excited to play this game.”
Follow Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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