It’s the middle of the college football season and Mississippi State is above LSU in the AP poll and in the Southeastern Conference standings.
Few people would have expected that, but it is reality as the No. 16 Bulldogs (4-1, 2-1 SEC) and the No. 22 Tigers (4-2, 1-2) prepare to meet Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.
There is still a lot of football to be played, and Mississippi State’s latest game, a 56-23 home loss to Alabama two weeks ago, demonstrated that the program isn’t yet where it hopes to go.
“We’ve got a ton of work to do,” Bulldogs coach Jeff Lebby said. “We’ve got a huge challenge on Saturday morning, but the perception of what is going on here and the energy around our program and where we’re going, not just where we’re at, is really good. And so we’ve got to build on that.”
A victory over LSU would be a significant building block for a team that has road wins against Minnesota and South Carolina and defeated then-No. 19 Missouri three weeks ago.
Star quarterback Kamario Taylor sustained a lower leg injury in the victory over Missouri and aggravated it in the loss against Alabama, bringing into question his availability for the matchup with LSU.
“Wednesday’s going to do all the talking,” Lebby said in reference to the first game-week injury report when he was asked about Taylor’s status. Parker “Billy” Puckett replaced Taylor late in the game against Alabama, but he and AJ Swann are listed as co-No. 2s on the depth chart.
Whoever plays quarterback will try to keep feeding Anthony Evans III, who leads the SEC in pass receptions per game (8.0) and receiving yards per game (114.8) and is tied for second in touchdown receptions (five).
This will be LSU’s second consecutive game against a rising program within the SEC. The Tigers lost to Kentucky 35-34 in overtime last Saturday in Lexington, Ky.
The defeat left LSU with little if any margin for error in its quest to reach the College Football Playoff. Only No. 1 Georgia is undefeated in the SEC and while Mississippi State is one of eight teams with just one conference loss, the Tigers are one of seven teams with more than one loss.
“This year in the SEC,” LSU coach Lane Kiffin said, “I really feel like you can win every game on the schedule, and we can lose every game on the schedule. I feel that way about all the teams we play.
“All we can do is get better, get back to work and get to another one this week. We can’t worry about the other stuff, the playoffs, the rankings or any of those things. We have to worry about what really matters.”
Tigers quarterback Sam Leavitt is fourth in the SEC in passing yards per game (249.3) while Taylor leads (290.0) and is also tops in touchdown passes (17). Leavitt’s eight interceptions are the most of any passer in the conference.
“We have to play more consistently,” Kiffin said. “We’re too high and low, too up and down, in all phases of the game.”
