The One Unit to Watch in Auburn's Showdown vs. Mississippi State

In 2008, it was 3-2. Now it's No. 3 vs. No. 2

My, how far these two teams have come since Auburn topped Mississippi State in a defensive slugfest that featured five total points. 

No. 2 Auburn will travel to No. 3 Mississippi State on Saturday afternoon in a game that not only will establish a favorite in the SEC West, but also vault the winner into serious contention of being the No. 1 team in the country in next week's polls.

While all eyes will be on the respective defenses going up against talented and multi-dimensional running games, this game will be won or lost on Auburn's wide receivers getting open, holding on to the ball and exploiting favorable matchups against Mississippi State's cornerbacks.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

D'haquille "Duke" Williams, a 6'2", 216-pound junior, has been one of the early stars of the season, catching 25 passes for 385 yards and three touchdowns, with 18 of his receptions going for first downs. Sammie Coates, a 6'2", 201-pound junior who was Auburn's leading receiver last year, fought through a knee injury early in the season to catch four passes for 144 yards and a touchdown in last week's 41-7 win over LSU.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

With Auburn's offense being founded on the run, Mississippi State's safeties will have to creep up to help out and leave 6'1" cornerback Taveze Calhoun and 5'10" cornerback Jamerson Love one-on-one against Williams and Coates.

That's a sketchy place to be, and the Bulldogs' coaching staff knows it.

"They do such a great job running the ball and use a lot of misdirection, and the strength of their passing game is their play action," Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen said. "That does leave corners on an island a bunch because of formations, schemes and motions."

Mississippi State's pass defense ranks last in the SEC, giving up 328.2 yards per game. That number is skewed a little bit after its prevent defense gave up yards in chunks against LSU and Texas A&M. But the Aggies did have nine huge drops in the loss, most of which were not in garbage time.

As Matt McClearin of MASS on JOX on 94.5 in Birmingham notes it could translate to a big day for Auburn's wide receiving duo.

For the season, the Bulldogs have given up 23 passing plays of 20 or more yards, the worst mark in the SEC and 110th in FBS.

"They're going to have to step up and play a really good game," Mullen said. "In this type of games, both teams are going to have the opportunity to create some one-on-one matchups. Maybe it's a guy in the open field with the ball in his hand or maybe a guy going to catch a ball down the field. You're going to have to win the one-on-one matchups if you're going to win the game."

Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall and Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott are stealing all the pub in what is not only a matchup of two Top 5 teams, but also one that features two quarterbacks squarely in the race for the Heisman Trophy. While Marshall's legs will play a big part in determining the outcome, they won't be the biggest factor.

He's going to have to exploit those one-on-one matchups downfield with Williams and Coates. 

If he does, his team's playoff hopes and his own Heisman hopes will go through the roof.

Barrett Sallee is the Lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.