Three-minute preview: No. 24 Mississippi State at Missouri
When/where: 8 p.m. Thursday at Memorial Stadium in Columbia
TV/radio: ESPN; KMBZ (98.1 FM)
The series: Missouri leads 2-0
The line: Mississippi State by 8
What’s at stake
Missouri enters the Mississippi State game hoping to snap the first three-game skid since 2009. The Tigers, who are 8-0 in November the last two seasons, haven’t lost more than three consecutive games since a five-game slide late in the 2004 season.
Cheers if ...
Missouri’s offense finds the end zone. It’s been three games, 13 quarters and 40 drives since the Tigers reached the end zone, but touchdowns are going to be required against a Mississippi State offense that averages 35.1 points per game, fourth-best in the SEC.
Jeers if ...
Missouri can’t keep Mississippi State senior quarterback Dak Prescott under its thumb. Prescott has completed 173 of 260 passes for 2,048 yards with 14 touchdowns and only one interception. He also leads the Bulldogs with 72 carries for 371 yards and seven touchdowns rushing.
Tod Palmer’s pick: Mississippi State 20-10
Perhaps this is the week Missouri’s offense shows signs of life again after flat-lining through much of October, but it’s still going to be hard for that group to score with Mississippi State against a Bulldogs’ defense that allows only 17.8 points per game.
MISSOURI (4-4, 1-4 SEC)
Date | Opponent | Result/time |
Sept. 5 | Southeast Missouri | W, 34-3 |
Sept. 12 | at Arkansas State | W, 27-20 |
Sept. 19 | Connecticut | W, 9-6 |
Sept. 26 | at Kentucky | L, 21-13 |
Oct. 3 | South Carolina | W, 24-10 |
Oct. 10 | Florida | L, 21-3 |
Oct. 17 | at Georgia | L, 9-6 |
Oct. 24 | at Vanderbilt | L, 10-3 |
Thursday | Mississippi State | 8 p.m. |
Nov. 14 | vs. BYU (Kansas City, Mo.) | 6:30 p.m. |
Nov. 21 | Tennessee | TBA |
Nov. 27 | at Arkansas | 1:30 p.m. |
MISSISSIPPI STATE (6-2, 2-2 SEC)
Date | Opponent | Result/time |
Sept. 5 | at Southern Mississippi | W, 34-16 |
Sept. 12 | LSU | L, 21-19 |
Sept. 19 | Northwestern State | W, 62-13 |
Sept. 26 | at Auburn | W, 17-9 |
Oct. 3 | at Texas A&M | L, 30-17 |
Oct. 10 | Troy | W, 45-17 |
Oct. 17 | Louisiana Tech | W, 45-20 |
Oct. 24 | Kentucky | W, 42-16 |
Thursday | at Missouri | 8 p.m. |
Nov. 14 | Alabama | TBA |
Nov. 21 | at Arkansas | TBA |
Nov. 28 | Mississippi | TBA |
Three things about Mississippi State
1 Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen was the Bowling Green quarterbacks coach on Urban Meyer’s staff from 2001-02 when the Falcons spoiled Missouri coach Gary Pinkel’s debut, handing the Tigers a season-opening 20-13 loss at Memorial Stadium in 2001. Mullen also helped administer a 51-28 drubbing the next season at Bowling Green.
2 Mississippi State, which debuted at No. 20 in the College Football Playoffs rankings and currently boasts a 17-game win streak against unranked teams, is outscoring opponents 62-12 in the fourth quarter this season and has yet to concede a fourth-quarter touchdown.
3 Junior defensive end A.J. Jefferson leads the Bulldogs with 11 1/2 tackles for a loss, which ranks third in the SEC behind Missouri’s Charles Harris and Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett. Jefferson ranks 20th in the nation and has at least one tackle for a loss in eight of his last nine games.
Key matchup
Missouri’s red-zone defense vs. Mississippi State’s red-zone offense: The Bulldogs are incredibly efficient in the red zone, scoring touchdowns on 25 of 33 trips (an SEC-best 75.8 percent). The Tigers have only permitted 10 touchdowns on 23 trips to the red zone by opponents (43.5 percent). With points at a premium, MU must win in the red zone.
MISSOURI OFFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
WR | 6 | J’Mon Moore | 6-3 | 190 | So. |
WR | 2 | Nate Brown | 6-3 | 205 | So. |
LT | 60 | Connor McGovern | 6-4 | 305 | Sr. |
LG | 55 | Nate Crawford | 6-5 | 310 | So. |
C | 77 | Evan Boehm | 6-3 | 310 | Sr. |
RG | 73 | Mitch Hall | 6-5 | 310 | Sr. |
RT | 62 | Taylor Chappell | 6-5 | 305 | Sr. |
TE | 80 | Sean Culkin | 6-6 | 245 | Jr. |
WR | 18 | Wesley Leftwich | 6-1 | 205 | Sr. |
QB | 3 | Drew Lock | 6-4 | 205 | Fr. |
RB | 32 | Russell Hansbrough | 5-9 | 195 | Sr. |
K | 99 | Andrew Baggett | 6-1 | 215 | Sr. |
MISSOURI DEFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
DE | 56 | Walter Brady | 6-3 | 255 | Fr. |
DT | 97 | Josh Augusta | 6-4 | 345 | Jr. |
NG | 95 | Rickey Hatley | 6-4 | 300 | Jr. |
DE | 91 | Charles Harris | 6-3 | 255 | So. |
LB | 10 | Kentrell Brothers | 6-1 | 235 | Sr. |
LB | 30 | Michael Scherer | 6-3 | 230 | Jr. |
LB | 25 | Donavin Newsom | 6-2 | 230 | Jr. |
CB | 7 | Kenya Dennis | 5-11 | 200 | Sr. |
S | 22 | Anthony Sherrils | 6-0 | 190 | So. |
S | 20 | Ian Simon | 6-0 | 195 | Sr. |
CB | 11 | Aarion Penton | 5-10 | 190 | Jr. |
P | 26 | Corey Fatony | 5-11 | 185 | Fr. |
MISSISSIPPI STATE OFFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
WR | 1 | De’Runnya Wilson | 6-5 | 215 | Jr. |
WR | 5 | Fred Brown | 6-1 | 196 | Jr. |
LT | 77 | Rufus Warren | 6-7 | 299 | Sr. |
LG | 70 | Justin Malone | 6-7 | 320 | Sr. |
C | 60 | Jamaal Clayborn | 6-4 | 315 | Jr. |
RG | 62 | Devon Desper | 6-4 | 305 | Jr. |
RT | 58 | Justin Senior | 6-5 | 295 | Jr. |
TE | 19 | Gus Walley | 6-4 | 242 | Jr. |
WR | 8 | Fred Ross | 6-2 | 207 | Jr. |
QB | 15 | Dak Prescott | 6-2 | 230 | Sr. |
RB | 32 | Ashton Shumpert | 6-2 | 218 | Jr. |
K | 25 | Westin Graves | 6-0 | 163 | So. |
MISSISSIPPI STATE DEFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
DE | 48 | Ryan Brown | 6-6 | 266 | Sr. |
DT | 94 | Nelson Adams | 6-3 | 310 | Jr. |
DT | 98 | Chris Jones | 6-6 | 308 | Jr. |
DE | 47 | A.J. Jefferson | 6-3 | 277 | Jr. |
LB | 14 | Zach Jackson | 6-2 | 212 | Sr. |
LB | 39 | Richie Brown | 6-2 | 245 | Jr. |
LB | 42 | Beniquez Brown | 6-1 | 238 | Jr. |
CB | 7 | Tolando Cleveland | 6-0 | 190 | Jr. |
FS | 11 | Kivon Coman | 6-3 | 196 | Jr. |
SS | 20 | Brandon Bryant | 5-11 | 205 | Fr. |
CB | 23 | Taveze Calhoun | 6-1 | 180 | Sr. |
P | 43 | Logan Cooke | 6-5 | 216 | So. |
Tod Palmer: 816-234-4389, @todpalmer
This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Three-minute preview: No. 24 Mississippi State at Missouri."