| Mississippi State vs. Arkansas
GAME: Arkansas at Mississippi State
TIME: 02:30 P.M. EST
VENUE: Scott Field
Arkansas is thrilled to be in position to play for the SEC championship. Even the national title is a possibility now, too.
With their highest ranking in 21 years, the No. 5 Razorbacks can wrap up a spot in the conference title game when they visit Mississippi State on Saturday.
Picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the SEC West, Arkansas (9-1, 6-0) is the league's only team without a loss in conference play. With a 1 1/2-game lead on second-place Auburn, the Razorbacks need a win Saturday or next week against No. 9 LSU to clinch the division and earn a matchup with third-ranked Florida for the SEC championship on Dec. 2.
The only other time Arkansas won the SEC West title outright came in 1995, when it lost 34-3 to Florida in the championship game. The school's only other trip came in 2002, a 30-3 loss to Georgia.
"Our guys see things and see that we might be able to win an SEC title and they are excited," Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said. "They know what's in front of them and they are loving it."
Arkansas fans were loving what transpired last weekend. While many teams ahead of them in the BCS standings lost, the Razorbacks beat then-No. 13 Tennessee 31-14 on national television to bring the program into the BCS title picture.
The win, along with losses by Louisville, Auburn, Texas and California, helped push Arkansas to No. 7 in the latest BCS standings.
"When they talk about the one-loss teams, we don't get mentioned too much," Razorbacks tailback Darren McFadden said. "I just feel like we proved ourselves."
McFadden may have catapulted himself into the Heisman Trophy race, rushing for 181 yards and two touchdowns besides throwing a TD pass against the Volunteers.
All of his SEC-leading 12 touchdown runs have come during Arkansas' current nine-game winning streak, dating to a season-opening loss to No. 4 Southern California. McFadden's 1,219 rushing yards, including 529 over the past three games, are easily the most in the conference.
"I have only been around one other back like him," Nutt said. "He reminds me of Barry Sanders. Darren has great speed and he is extremely tough. He has utilized the great blocking up front to make things happen. His versatility gives us an opportunity to use him in a variety of ways."
Nutt, an assistant coach at Oklahoma State when Sanders played there, has led the Razorbacks to their highest ranking since they were No. 4 in October 1985. Their nine-game win streak is the program's longest since a 10-game run in 1988.
Despite Mississippi State (3-7, 1-5) being tied for last place in the SEC West, Nutt will not allow his team to take this game lightly with so much at stake for the program.
"This is it. This is championship week. This is where you take it," he said. "This is Super Bowl week. It's this week and it's in Starkville."
Each of the last five games between these teams in Starkville have been decided by seven points or less, but Arkansas has won seven straight meetings overall since 1998.
Last year's matchup saw McFadden rush for 165 yards in a 44-10 victory. Both of his touchdowns came in the first quarter and the Razorbacks led 41-3 at halftime.
"The key is that we've got to get our heads out of the clouds pretty quick," Bulldogs coach Sylvester Croom said. "Real simple. I show them the first quarter of last year's football game and I think we'll get back down to earth real fast. I think that was the first time I was just totally embarrassed by our football team."
Croom's team, though, is coming off a bye week and has been anything but a pushover lately. Following three-point losses to Georgia and Kentucky, Mississippi State won 24-16 at Alabama on Nov. 4 for its first conference victory of the season. |