Arkansas @ Mississippi State preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 23, 2013 ) Mississippi State 24, Arkansas 17

The College Football Playoff committee voted Mississippi State the best team in the nation when its first ratings were released Tuesday, but that doesn't interest coach Dan Mullen much. “Our focus is on beating Arkansas,'' Mullen said Monday at his news conference prior to Saturday's home game against the Razorbacks. "As soon as you start thinking too far ahead and not on beating the next opponent, you are not going to be very successful." The No. 1 Bulldogs — one of three undefeated teams in the nation — put their 10-game winning streak on the line before hosting UT Martin next week prior to their showdown at No. 3 Alabama on Nov. 15.

Of immediate concern is the health of quarterback Dak Prescott, who wore a walking boot as a "precautionary measure" after last week's 45-31 victory at Kentucky, but the Heisman Trophy candidate is expected to play Saturday. Arkansas, which stepped out of the SEC to snap a three-game losing streak with a 45-17 win over UAB last week, will have its hands full with the dual-threat Prescott. "He's a very, very effective runner with the ball," Razorbacks coach Bret Bielema told reporters about the 6-2, 235-pound junior. "He breaks tackles, he makes people miss, he runs with his pads down."

TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2. LINE: Mississippi State -10.5

ABOUT ARKANSAS (4-4, 0-4 SEC): The Razorbacks are 15th in the nation in rushing at 258.9 yards per game with Jonathan Williams (103.8 per game, SEC-best 10 touchdowns) and Alex Collins (93.4 yards, 9 TDs), but face the country's No. 23 run defense (118 yards). Quarterback Brandon Allen (59.2 completion rate) has thrown 15 TD passes and four interceptions, while his top target is Keon Hatcher (14.4 yards per 25 receptions, three scores). The Razorbacks' defense gets a boost with the return of middle linebacker Brooks Ellis, who started the first six games before missing the last two with a knee injury.

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (7-0, 4-0): Prescott has completed 60.2 percent of his passes with 15 touchdowns and has rushed for 664 yards, and shares the SEC lead with Williams with 10 scores. Josh Robinson is another key cog in the Bulldogs' offense — ninth in the nation at 42.3 points per game — with an SEC-leading 887 yards and 10 TDs as the leader of the nation's 13th-best rushing attack. Linebacker Benardrick McKinney is tied for second in the nation with three fumble recoveries while recording team highs in tackles (45) and solo tackles (25), while Preston Smith is third in the SEC with six sacks.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Mississippi State, which has won the last two meetings, has scored at least 34 points in every game this season.

2. Arkansas, which has lost exclusively to top-10 teams, plays its FBS-record fifth straight conference foe ranked in the top 10.

3. The Bulldogs' winning streak is its longest since a 13-game run in 1942-44.

PREDICTION: Mississippi State 35, Arkansas State 24