STARKVILLE, Miss. – LSU continues to look like one of the best teams in the country and is on a collision course with No. 1 Alabama next month, but there are still hurdles to clear. The No. 3 Tigers will try to keep the hype train moving and avoid a misstep when they visit Mississippi State on Saturday.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: LSU -19
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LSU earned its second win of the season over a top 10 opponent with a 42-28 thrashing of Florida last week and made another big move up the standings with the win, drawing more College Football Playoff talk for the team and Heisman Trophy speculation for quarterback Joe Burrow. "That's what we want," Tigers coach Ed Orgeron told reporters. "We want to be mentioned as one of the top teams in the country. I want our guys to get a Heisman. Inside our room, it's about fundamentals, about the task at hand, and beating Mississippi State. ... We have a lot riding on the line. It's one game at a time. Mississippi State is in our way." The Bulldogs were a top 25 team briefly in September but have since dropped three of four, including a 20-10 setback at Tennessee last week that served as a wake-up call for the program. "We talk to our kids all the time about the differences between reasons and excuses, and at the end of the day there is no excuse," Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead told reporters. "We were outcoached, we were outplayed - with 13 days to prepare. We need to, we can, and we will do better, because our program and our fans deserve it."
ABOUT LSU (6-0, 2-0)
Burrow leads FBS in passing efficiency (218.1) and sits second in passing yards (2,157) and passing touchdowns (25) after completing 21-of-24 passes against a Florida defense that entered the matchup ranked second in the SEC in passing defense. "He's like a coach on the field," Orgeron told reporters of Burrow. "He really studies the offense. He knows the game plan. He can probably call the plays before we call them. ... We feel if there's any time that he has to escape the pocket, he has great vision down the field, he has enough athletic ability to avoid the rush." Orgeron was also quick to give credit to his offensive line, which did not yield a sack against Florida and paved the way for Clyde Edwards-Helaire to run for a season-high 134 yards on 13 carries.
ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (3-3, 1-2)
The Bulldogs have alternated between Garrett Shrader and Tommy Stevens at quarterback over the last several games and will give the starting nod on Saturday to Schrader, who threw for 79 yards and the team's lone touchdown at Tennessee. "Based on what we have seen the past few weeks with both guys dealing with injuries, Garrett leading us to the win over Kentucky, and he came in at the end of the Auburn game to provide us a spark, and kind of did the same thing at Tennessee," Moorhead told reporters of the decision. "Tommy is still not completely over some of his things right now. We just feel like Garrett has been playing and moving the ball well. He gives us a great shot." The Bulldogs could use more from running back Kylin Hill, who averaged 137.8 yards over the first four games but totaled 58 yards on 28 carries in the last two contests.
EXTRA POINTS
1. LSU scored 40 or more points in each of the first six games of a season for the first time in school history.
2. The Bulldogs have recorded at least one takeaway in each of the last 22 games.
3. The home team has taken the last three meetings, with the Tigers earning a 19-3 victory in last season's matchup.
PREDICTION: LSU 45, Mississippi State 17