Arkansas visits Mississippi State, both looking to bounce back from SEC losses against ranked teams.

Arkansas (4-2, 2-2 SEC) at Mississippi State (1-6, 0-4), Saturday, 11:45 a.m. (SEC Network).

Series: Arkansas leads 18-15-1.

What is at stake?

The Razorbacks look to bounce back after losing two of three against ranked teams, including a 34-10 home loss to No. 8 LSU. MSU still looking for its first SEC win after a sixth straight loss last week against No. 14 Texas A&M and will play its first unranked opponent in more than a month. The Bulldogs also lost to top-ranked Texas and then-No. 5 Georgia. MSU has won seven of the last 10 meetings, including 7-3 last year in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Key Pairing

Arkansas enters with the SEC’s No. 4 offense (455.3 yards per game), but only had 277 in 50 plays against LSU. That’s 22 plays below their average, which is critical for an offense that likes to run a lot of plays and seeks balance. The Hogs have a chance to pad their numbers against the SEC’s worst defense (449.7 yards), although MSU held Texas to 353 yards and intercepted two passes. The takeaways have given the Bulldogs’ bright spot a plus-2 margin and they have eliminated Georgia and Texas A&M twice in the last two games. An opportunity looms against an Arkansas team that is second to last in the SEC at -5.

Players to watch

Arkansas running back Ja’Quinden Jackson is second in the SEC with 10 rushing touchdowns and fourth with 592 yards. The Utah transfer is the Razorback’s first since Knile Davis (2010) with a rushing touchdown in six straight games, including three with multiple scores.

Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. has thrown a league-high six touchdown passes this month. The freshman is also the first Bulldogs signal-caller with multiple touchdown passes in consecutive games against ranked foes since Dak Prescott in 2014. He has completed 56% of his passes for 792 yards, including 692 on 60% accuracy in three starts since replacing the injured Blake. Shape.

Facts and figures

The schools have split 16 games in Starkville, including MSU’s 40-17 victory two years ago. … Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green has thrown for 1,741 of his 2,057 offensive yards and six of his 10 TDs. … Hogs LB

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