GAME SNAPSHOT
KICKOFF: Saturday, noon ET
SITE: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Miss.
TV: ESPN
SERIES: Arkansas leads 16-11-1. Mississippi State won 28-21 in 2017.
RANKINGS: Mississippi State No. 21
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Razorbacks
–RB Rakeem Boyd, a sophomore, had his streak of four consecutive games with at least 99 yards snapped in a big way against LSU. Boyd gained 30 yards on 10 carries before leaving with an ankle injury as Arkansas ran for just 16 yards as a team. If he can stay healthy, Boyd will continue to be the focal point of Arkansas’ running game as injuries have hit the Razorbacks’ backfield hard.
–LB Dre Greenlaw, a senior from Fayetteville who injured an ankle in the Razorbacks’ loss to Vanderbilt on Oct. 27, bounced back strong against LSU with 12 tackles. He has 72 tackles in his eight appearances (seven starts) and also intercepted two passes.
–LB De’Jon Harris had 12 tackles against LSU, giving him 105 for the season. He has 9 tackles for loss with 2 of them sacks and has forced a fumble and broken up five passes.
Bulldogs
–TE Justin Johnson has had a catch in 11 of the Bulldogs’ last 14 games and is currently enjoying his most productive year yet with 12 grabs for 174 yards. Johnson has also made a career-long 37-yard reception this season.
–DE Montez Sweat has made at least one sack in six games and has four games with multiple sacks this season. Sweat ranks second in the SEC and fourth in FBS with 9.5 sacks in 2018.
–NG Jeffery Simmons ranks second in the SEC among defensive linemen with 48 tackles this year. Simmons has totaled 11.5 tackles for loss on the year, which is fifth among D-linemen in the SEC.
–LB Willie Gay Jr. was tied for the team lead and set a new career-high with nine tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception last weekend. Gay is just the second player to pickoff Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa this season.
KEYS
TO THE GAME
No. 21 Mississippi State is lamenting what-might-have-been this season as it heads into Saturday’s home finale against Southeastern Conference West colleague Arkansas.
Kickoff at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville is noon ET on ESPN.
The Bulldogs (6-4, 2-4 SEC) had expected a bit more success under first-year coach Joe Moorhead.
“I know there was an elevated level of expectation heading into the season for a myriad of reasons,” Moorhead said. “From a historical context, we’re battling to get to where we haven’t been since 1941 (Mississippi State’s last SEC title).
“I understand the disappointment because of the expectation level, but reality is reality.”
The reality is that the Bulldogs have only scored 16 points and one touchdown in their four losses. They lost back-to-back games to Kentucky (28-7) and Florida (13-6) to close out September and lost 19-3 at LSU last month before being shut out at Alabama (24-0) last weekend.
“Certainly with the type of defense that we’re playing, it would’ve obviously been best to perform better and put more points up offensively in those games,” Moorhead said. “Part of it is being a first year, new offensive system that probably contributed to that.”
The Razorbacks (2-8, 0-6 SEC) have had their own disappointments under first-year coach Chad Morris. But Morris said the Hogs haven’t stopped fighting for that first SEC victory.
They rallied from a 24-3 fourth-quarter deficit last week against LSU in Fayetteville, scoring two touchdowns to cut the margin to 24-17, but it was too little, too late and the Tigers hung on for the victory. It was Arkansas’ ninth consecutive SEC loss stretching back to last year.
“I thought our team continues to fight and play extremely hard until the very end,” Morris said. “That again was evident last Saturday night as we cut the lead to one score with five minutes to go and an opportunity to get the ball back.”
Arkansas’ offense has performed well at times this season — the Razorbacks scored 31 points against Alabama — but struggled against LSU. They had just 216 yards of total offense in the loss.
The offense faces an even bigger challenge this week. Mississippi State boasts the SEC’s leading defense, allowing just 281 yards per game.
Against Alabama last week, Mississippi State linebacker Willie Gay Jr. was tied for the team lead and set a career high with nine tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception. Gay is just the second player to pick off Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa this season.
Defensive end Montez Sweat has at least one sack in six games and has four games with multiple sacks this season. Sweat ranks second in the SEC and fourth in FBS with 9.5 sacks.
And nose guard Jeffery Simmons ranks second in the SEC among defensive linemen with 48 tackles. Simmons has 11.5 tackles for loss, which is fifth among defensive linemen in the SEC.
“The defense is as good as advertised,” Morris said. “No. 1 in the SEC. It’s the fastest overall defense that we’ve seen.”
Arkansas sophomore running back Rakeem Boyd looks to get back on track after having his streak of four consecutive games with at least 99 yards snapped against LSU last week. Boyd gained 30 yards on 10 carries before leaving with an ankle injury as Arkansas netted just 16 rushing yards as a team.
He is expected to play against Mississippi State.
Arkansas’ near upset of LSU has Moorhead and the Bulldogs on high alert because the Razorbacks figure to arrive with some confidence.
“Arkansas is playing way better than their 2-8 and 0-6 record in conference indicates,” Moorhead said. “They are trending in the right direction.”
