COLLEGE GAME PREVIEW

FBS Preview: No. 14 LSU at No. 25 Mississippi State

The Sports Xchange

September 10, 2015 at 8:56 pm.

Sep 5, 2015; Hattiesburg, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott (15) looks to throw in the second half of their game against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at M.M. Roberts Stadium. Mississippi State won, 34-16. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Sep 5, 2015; Hattiesburg, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott (15) looks to throw in the second half of their game against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at M.M. Roberts Stadium. Mississippi State won, 34-16. Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

KICKOFF: Saturday, 9:15 p.m. ET
GAMEDATE: 9/12/15
SITE: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Mississippi
TV: ESPN
SERIES: LSU leads the series 71-34-3. State won 34-29 last season in Tiger Stadium, ending the Tigers’ 14-game win streak in the series.
RANKINGS: LSU 14th, Mississippi State 25th

KEYS TO THE GAME

Mississippi State’s 34-29 conference-opening win at LSU put the Bulldogs and quarterback Dak Prescott on the map on a national level last season.

This year’s contest could hold the same ramifications for the Bulldogs, who moved into the rankings on the strength of their 34-16 win at Southern Mississippi in their opener.

“I don’t think anyone on our team was surprised that we won that game,” Prescott said, referring to last year’s win over the Tigers. “We should’ve beat them by more, honestly, if we had kept the lead near the end without letting them come back like that.

“It gave us confidence and reassured us that we could beat big time teams and we were one of the best teams. That’s what it did for us last year and we plan on doing the same.”

LSU will go into its SEC opener with virtually no game experience.

A lightning strike in the vicinity of Tiger Stadium halted the Tigers’ season opener against McNeese State after about eight minutes of play, and when it persisted for about four hours the game was canceled.

“We would have liked to prepare best for Mississippi State, having our first game under our belt before we played them,” coach Les Miles said.

The Tigers and the Cowboys got a total of only 10 plays — offense, defense and special teams — in the scoreless game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Tigers

–QB Brandon Harris was the center of attention going into the McNeese State game and now he will stay right there as tries to show whether he has wrestled the position away from Anthony Jennings or if the competition is ongoing. Unless Harris or Jennings shows marked improvement early on, this will likely remain a two-man job.

–RB Leonard Fournette’s statistics and candidacy for awards took a hit with the loss of an opportunity to run against an FCS defense. The yards will be much harder to come by against State.

–S Rickey Jefferson’s ascension to the starting lineup in place of injured Jalen Mills also was put on hold. Mills is expected to miss at least another week, so Jefferson figures to get another start.

Bulldogs

–RB Brandon Holloway may only be 5-feet-8, 165-pounds, but he was just the change of pace back that Mississippi State needed in its opener. Holloway carried seven times for 51 yards and also had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

–DE A.J. Jefferson lived in the Southern Mississippi backfield and terrorized QB Nick Mullens during the season opener. Jefferson finished with a career-high seven tackles and two sacks in his first start.

–LB Beniquez Brown made four tackles in the opener, but it was his first career blocked punt that made the most impact. The blocked punt was the Bulldogs first since 2012 and set up the go-ahead touchdown in the second quarter.

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