Arkansas (4-2, 2-2 SEC) at Mississippi State (1-6, 0-4), Saturday, 11:45 (SEC Network).

Streak: Arkansas leads 18-15-1.

What’s at stake?

The Razorbacks look to bounce back after losing two of three against ranked teams. 8. Lost to LSU 34-10. MSU still looking for first SEC win after sixth straight loss last week vs. No. 14 Texas A&M and will face his first unranked opponent in more than a month. The Bulldogs also lost to top-seeded Texas and then went to No. 5 Georgia. MSU has won seven of the last 10 meetings, including last year’s 7-3 meeting in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

key match

Arkansas enters with the SEC’s No. 4 offense (455.3 yards per game) but had just 277 yards in 50 plays against LSU. That’s 22 snaps below average, which is critical for an offense that likes to run a lot of plays and looks for balance. The Hogs have a chance to increase their scoring against the SEC’s worst defense (449.7 yards), but MSU held Texas to 353 yards and intercepted two passes. The takeaways gave the Bulldogs a bright spot with a plus-2 margin, beating Georgia and Texas A&M twice in the last two games. An opportunity appears before the Arkansas team, which is in last place in the SEC with minus-5 points.

Players to watch

Arkansas RB Ja’Quinden Jackson ranks second in the SEC with 10 touchdown passes and fourth with 592 yards. The Utah transfer became the first Razorback since Knile Davis (2010) to have a rushing TD in six consecutive games, including three multi-score games.

Mississippi State QB Michael Van Buren Jr. He has thrown a league-high six TD passes this month. The freshman also became the first Bulldogs signal-caller since Dak Prescott in 2014 to score multiple touchdowns in back-to-back games against ranked opponents. He completed 56% of his passes for 792 yards, including 692 with 60% accuracy in three starts after replacing the injured Blake. Shape it.

Facts and figures

The schools have split 16 games in Starkville, including MSU’s 40-17 win two years ago. … Arkansas QB Taylen Green threw for 1,741 of his 2,057 yards of offense and six of his 10 TDs. … Hogs LB Xavian Sorey is 10th in the SEC with 49 tackles, while Doneiko Slaughter is 14th with 45. … Bulldogs S Isaac Smith ties for the SEC lead with 68 tackles and ranks 10th in the FBS.

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