Southern Mississippi @ Mississippi State preview

The campuses of Mississippi State and Southern Mississippi are only 181 miles apart, but Saturday night's meeting will be the first between the schools in nearly a quarter of a century. Bulldogs head coach Dan Mullen, who begins his sixth season at Mississippi State, has embraced facing in-state schools in nonconference play, twice playing Jackson State and Alcorn State. Now comes the first meeting with the Golden Eagles since 1990.

Although the matchup with Southern Miss doesn't carry the same significance as the annual Egg Bowl showdown with SEC West Division rival Ole Miss, it still has created a buzz in the Magnolia State. "I know how big of a game it is for everybody," Mullen said. "It was one of the first things, when I got hired, that was brought up, (and that) would be interested in resuming the rivalry between the two schools."

TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network. LINE: Mississippi State -30.5

ABOUT SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI (2013: 1-11): The Golden Eagles actually enter this game on a win streak. Okay, so it's only one game -- a 62-27 thrashing of UAB in their 2013 season finale in Birmingham -- but that victory snapped a 23-game losing streak that tied for the seventh longest in FBS history. Sophomore quarterback Nick Mullens, who started the final six games of last season, passed for 370 yards and five touchdowns in that win.

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (2013: 7-6): The Bulldogs closed out the 2013 season with three consecutive victories, including a 17-10 Egg Bowl win over Ole Miss and a 44-7 blowout of Rice in the Liberty Bowl. Junior quarterback Dak Prescott rushed for 829 yards and 13 touchdowns in 11 games and also passed for 1,940 yards and 10 touchdowns despite splitting time with Tyler Russell and missing two games with an elbow injury. Senior WR Jameon Lewis is the top returning receiver in the SEC after catching 64 passes for 923 yards and five touchdowns.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Mississippi State has won 11 straight nonconference home games.

2. Prescott leads all returning SEC quarterbacks in career rushing touchdowns (17) and yards (947).

3. Southern Miss finished with 38 turnovers last season, an average of 3.2 per game.

PREDICTION: Mississippi State 45, Southern Mississippi 13