FACTS & STATS: Site: Razorback Stadium (72,000) -- Fayetteville, Arkansas. Television: SEC Network. Home Record: Mississippi St. 1-5, Arkansas 5-1. Away Record: Mississippi St. 3-1, Arkansas 0-3. Neutral Record: Mississippi St. 0-0, Arkansas 1-0. Conference Record: Mississippi St. 2-4, Arkansas 2-4. Series Record: Arkansas leads, 12-6-1.
GAME NOTES: SEC foes will collide in Starkville this weekend, as the Arkansas Razorbacks welcome the Mississippi State Bulldogs to town.
Mississippi State fell to 1-5 at home with a 31-3 loss to mighty Alabama last weekend. The Bulldogs, who are 4-6 overall and 2-4 in SEC play, must win this weekend and next week against Ole Miss in the finale to become bowl eligible. Dan Mullen has shown signs of turning around the program in his first year as head coach, but there is still much work to be done.
As for Arkansas, it has put together three consecutive victories to earn bowl eligibility. The Razorbacks have been a streaky team to say the least, and while Bobby Petrino's group does own a 6-4 overall record, it is hard to get too excited about the 2-4 conference mark. Last weekend, Arkansas took a break from league play to post a 56-20 decision over Troy, enabling the squad to move to 5-1 at home.
Arkansas owns a 12-6-1 advantage in the all-time series with Mississippi State, which includes nine wins in the last 10 meetings.
Mississippi State is averaging a respectable 24.5 ppg this season to go along with 367.5 total ypg. The strength of the club is its ground attack, and tailback Anthony Dixon is one of the most underrated players in the SEC. Despite missing one of the team's 10 games, Dixon has already rushed for 1,082 yards with nine touchdowns, and he has made 15 catches as well. Tyson Lee has taken the majority of the snaps for MSU, but he has been intercepted 13 times while throwing only four touchdown passes. Chris Relf has three touchdown passes with three interceptions in limited duty, and he is second on the team in rushing with 301 yards on only 49 carries. The two quarterbacks were completely ineffective against Alabama last weekend, as the Tide's stellar defense allowed few big plays. Lee was intercepted twice, and one of Relf's three passes was picked off. Dixon played well in defeat, rushing for 81 yards while catching a team-high six passes for 59 yards.
The Bulldogs are a mediocre defensive team that is permitting opponents to score 25.2 ppg while generating 361.1 total ypg. The team has produced average results against both the run and the pass, as there is clearly room for improvement in all phases of the game. Jamar Chaney is one of the best defensive players for MSU, as he has posted a team-high 81 tackles. Chaney has two sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles to his credit. Alabama pounded the ball on the ground against Mississippi State last weekend, and the Bulldogs appeared to be helpless at times. They allowed 444 total yards, including 252 of the rushing variety at a clip of 6.3 yards per carry. No takeaways were registered, and MSU failed to record a sack as well.
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