Mississippi State is all but guaranteed to hold on to the No. 1 spot for another week. The Bulldogs play FCS Tennessee-Martin Saturday (apparently leaving Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly frustrated) in a game expected to be a shootout.
How to watch Mississippi State vs. UT-Martin: Game guide, TV schedule, streaming, odds
How quickly will this one get out of hand?
The Bulldogs come fresh off a 17-10 victory over Arkansas, one of two teams still winless in SEC play. That came a week after a narrow 45-31 win over Kentucky, and Mississippi State will look to push forward their legitimacy as the No. 1 team in the country by putting away an easy opponent. That shouldn’t be a problem -- they beat Southern Mississippi and South Alabama by a combined score of 84-3 earlier this season -- and we’ll just have to wait and see how many points they can pile up.
The Skyhawks are a middle-of-the-pack Ohio Valley Conference team, but are currently riding a four-game winning streak. They opened their season with a 59-14 loss at Kentucky and finish the season with a tough trip to Eastern Illinois after this one.
How to watch, listen, and stream
Game time: 4 p.m. ET.
TV: SEC Network.
Radio: Here’s a list of affiliates for Mississippi State.
Online streaming: WatchESPN.
The numbers
Rankings and records: Mississippi State is the top-ranked team in each poll. UT-Martin is unranked. The Bulldogs are 8-0 while the Skyhawks are 5-5.
Vegas: No line listed.
Weather forecast: High of 64 and mostly sunny.
Two things at stake
Mississippi State has a chance to record their first commanding victory since mid-September.
UT-Martin has a chance to keep this game closer than their first one against an SEC opponent this season -- a 59-14 loss to Kentucky.
One big matchup
Dak Prescott vs. UT-Martin defense. The Mississippi State quarterback hasn’t quite put up his usual rushing numbers in recent games, but he could cause major problems as a bruising ground presence against an FCS defense. Same goes for bowling ball running back Josh Robinson -- try and count with your friends how many Skyhawks it takes to bring him down.
Further reading
For full coverage of Mississippi State, head over to For Whom the Cowbell Tolls.
See More:
