Who does Alabama play this weekend? All you need to know about Mississippi State
The Alabama Crimson Tide are set to go on the road to play the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday night.
The Crimson Tide had a statement-making game last weekend, as Alabama beat Ole Miss 24-10 at home. The win improved Alabama to 3-1 on the season and keeps their playoff hopes alive.
Now, the Crimson Tide are 14.5-point favorites over the Mississippi State Bulldogs who have struggled this season. The Bulldogs are 2-2 but have lost two straight games. Last weekend, Mississippi State lost 37-30 to South Carolina on the road after being dominated 41-14 at home to LSU.
In the first two games of the season, the Bulldogs beat Southeastern Louisiana 48-7 and followed up with a 31-24 OT win over Arizona.
Who is Mississippi State's starting quarterback?
The Mississippi State Bulldogs are led by quarterback Will Rogers. Rogers is in his fourth season at Mississippi State. This year, he has gone 74-for-122 for 979 yards, six touchdowns and one interception.
Rogers has also been praised by Nick Saban. Before Mississippi State played Alabama last year, the legendary coach had nothing but good things to say about the QB:
“He understands the offense as well as probably the coach and goes out there and executes it. He is very accurate with the ball. He makes quick decisions and judgments.
"So this is a very challenging offensive team, and, I think, it is very quarterback oriented. Him playing well, which he has done all year long, certainly enhances their opportunity to be successful.”
In his college career, Rogers is 1233-for-1761 for 11,668 yards, 88 touchdowns and 25 interceptions.
Who are the other key players for Mississippi State?
Outside of Will Rogers, the Bulldogs are led by running back Jo'Quavious Marks, who has rushed for 352 yards and four touchdowns on 63 carries.
Mississippi State's top receiver is Lidatrick Griffin, who has caught 20 passes for 388 yards and three touchdowns. Justin Robinson and Zavion Thomas are the only two receivers who have over 100 yards, as does running back Marks.
Defensively, linebacker Jett Johnson leads the Bulldogs with 45 tackles, including three sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. Nathaniel Watson, another linebacker, also has three sacks which is tied for the team lead.
Who is Mississippi State's head coach?
Zach Arnett is the coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs, taking over from Mike Leach who expored in December.
Arnett is a former Bulldogs defensive coordinator, a role he had for two years before taking over the coaching gig. His first coaching job came at San Diego State as a graduate assistant before he worked as the linebacker coach.
He eventually was San Diego State's defensive coordinator for two seasons before taking the same job with the Bulldogs.