Can Dak Prescott's final season in Starkville end with an SEC West title? It'll take a big run -- and a lot of luck -- to get the No. 20 Mississippi State Bulldogs to the top of their division, and that starts with a Thursday night showdown at Missouri.
How to watch Mississippi State vs. Missouri on TV or online, plus 3 things to know
No. 20 Mississippi State is still alive in the race for the SEC West, but a loss to a floundering Missouri team would all but erase its divisional title hopes.
Prescott and the Bulldogs will have to get past a Missouri team that has been all defense in 2015. With 2014 starting quarterback Maty Mauk suspended, reinstated and then suspended again for the remainder of the season, the Tigers have put together one of the nation's least threatening offenses. Their 14.9 points per game ranks 126th out of 128 FBS programs.
That's not what Mississippi State will be worried about on Thursday. The Tigers also boast one of the NCAA's most ferocious defenses, and they have all the tools to slow the MSU offense down and spoil the Bulldogs' season. Charles Harris and Walter Brady lead a quarterback-crushing unit that has given up fewer yards per game than all but five other FBS programs. They'll have their hands full when they take on All-SEC quarterback Prescott and a Bulldog offense that has averaged 44 points per game on their recent three-game winning streak.
How to watch, stream and listen
TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN
Radio: Mississippi State, Missouri
Online streaming: WatchESPN
Spread: Mississippi State is favored by 7.5 points.
Make friends: Get to SB Nation’s team blog chats for this game at For Whom the Cowbell Tolls (for Mississippi State fans) and Rock M Nation (for Missouri fans).
Three big things to know
1. The Bulldogs don’t control their own destiny in the SEC West, but with division leader LSU facing three ranked teams in its final four games, they aren’t out of the race yet. They’ll need to win out and hope that a) Alabama wins its remaining, non-MSU games, b) Texas A&M wins out and c) LSU loses three conference games. That would create a three-, or possibly four-way tie for first place (depending on Ole Miss’s finish) that would negate the Bulldogs’ loss to the Aggies by virtue of their win over an Alabama team that beat A&M in mid-October. Complicated? Yes. Unlikely? Probably. Impossible? Not in college football.
2. Prescott is still trending upwards. The First-Team All-SEC quarterback earned some national praise this week when he was named a semifinalist for the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien Awards. He gained 465 total yards and scored six touchdowns (three passing, three rushing) in Mississippi State’s most recent game, a win over Kentucky on Oct. 24.
3. For Missouri, Thursday’s game presents a chance to escape the SEC cellar. Team Speed Kills’ community poll currently has the Tigers ranked dead last in the conference after losses to Kentucky, Florida, Georgia and Vanderbilt.
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