STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen believes Arkansas is one of the nation’s hottest teams.
Mullen has seen Arkansas win four-straight games, including a double overtime victory against Auburn, an overtime thriller against Ole Miss, and a 31-14 drumming of LSU on Saturday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Razorbacks’ offense has been a big reason for the success.
“The confidence in them scoring points, I think that’s the biggest difference,” Mullen said Monday at his weekly news conference.
MSU (7-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) will take on the challenge of slowing Arkansas (6-4, 4-2) at 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPN) at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Arkansas is averaging 50.25 points and more than 523 yards per game in its winning streak. In the first six games, the Razorbacks averaged 24 points and almost 433 yards per game.
“I don’t see them schematically different than they were earlier in the year,” Mullen said. “I just see them executing and making more plays.”
Senior quarterback Brandon Allen is 183 of 284 for 2,617 yards and 22 touchdowns. Against SEC foes, the quarterback is third with 239.3 passing yards per game and is first with 14 touchdowns.
Allen’s top target is junior wide receiver Drew Morgan (45 catches, 639 yards, nine touchdowns). Junior tight end Hunter Henry has 37 catches for 490 yards and one touchdown. Junior wide receiver Dominique Reed has 21 catches, 425 yards, and six touchdowns.
The Razorbacks also have relied on a solid ground attack. Junior running back Alex Collins (1,209 yards) is only the third player in SEC history to begin his career with three 1,000 yard seasons. His 14 touchdowns this season give him 30 for his career.
Mullen called Collins another special running back in this league with the likes of LSU’s Leonard Fournette and Alabama’s Derrick Henry.
“When you’re facing a team like that when they get a lead, it’s tough to come back,” said Mullen, whose team is allowing 18.6 points and 370.3 yards per game. “They control the clock and they control the tempo of the game.”
Running game
Mullen is optimistic when he looks at his team’s rushing output against Alabama.
Quarterback Dak Prescott was sacked nine times for a loss of 55 yards, which dropped MSU to 89 yards on 42 carries. The Bulldogs rushed for 144 yards on 33 carries, but sacks go against a team’s rushing total in college football.
“If you told me we would have rushed for 144 yards on 33 carries, it probably means we’re doing pretty well,” Mullen said. “Our plan wasn’t to go in and try to run the ball all over them.”
Junior running back Brandon Holloway led the Bulldogs with 34 yards on seven carries. Redshirt freshman backup quarterback Nick Fitzgerald came in late and gained 24 yards on five carries. Prescott rushed for 14 yards on 26 carries. Junior wide receiver Fred Ross rushed for 9 yards on a sweep, junior running back Ashton Shumpert rushed for 5 yards on one carry but that led to a fumble and recovery by the Crimson Tide, and redshirt freshman and former West Point standout Aeris Williams rushed for 3 yards on two carries.
Aside from Prescott, MSU has struggled to run the ball. Prescott leads MSU with 432 yards and seven touchdowns. Holloway leads the running backs with 254 yards, while Shumpert has 179 yards and one touchdown, Williams has 167 yards and two touchdowns, and redshirt freshman Dontavian Lee has 135 yards. Lee hasn’t played in the last two weeks with an undisclosed injury.
All four running backs bring something different to the table.
“There’s a couple of play calls you want to have a specific back in there for, but not the majority of the time,” Mullen said. “Each of the backs hit it differently, which I like.”
Arkansas is allowing 122.4 rushing yards per game, which is fourth in the SEC.
Wilson update
Bulldog junior wide receiver De’Runnya Wilson went down with an injury midway through the fourth quarter of MSU’s 31-6 loss to Alabama. The game was stopped as medical personnel worked to stabilize an apparent neck injury and carted Wilson off the field.
“It’s scary for everyone,” Mullen said. “It’s scary for players with head and neck injuries.”
Wilson was seen Monday at the football office wearing a neck brace
“He’s going to be fine,” Mullen said. “We’ll see how he is this week. I don’t think we’ll know until later this week what his status will be for the game. It’s not a threatening injury.”
Wilson leads the team with 664 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. He is second with 40 catches.
Night game
The Battle for the Golden Egg will be a night game.
Mississippi State and Ole Miss will kick at 6:15 p.m. (ESPN2) Saturday Nov. 28, at Davis Wade Stadium, the SEC announced Monday.
It will be the Bulldogs’ eighth night game. In the previous six games (Arkansas this weekend is also a night game), MSU is 4-2.
The Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Nov. 28.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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