Can Arkansas Ruin Mississippi State's Undefeated Season?

Mississippi State cleared another hurdle last week in its first ever game with the No. 1 ranking, surviving a shootout with the Kentucky Wildcats in a game in which both teams went over 500 yards.

Looming this weekend is an old-fashioned slugfest with the Arkansas Razorbacks—a team that's more desperate for an SEC win than a 45-year-old divorcee at the club on a Friday night.

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

Arkansas hasn't won an SEC game since Mitt Romney and Barack Obama were campaigning for President. What better way to break through that glass ceiling than to do it against the No. 1 team in the country in the middle of the inaugural College Football Playoff race?

It's not that far-fetched.

The Bulldogs are around a 10.5-point favorite at home over the Hogs, according to OddsShark.com, which has fallen 3.5 points since it opened earlier in the week. The reason, most likely, is that it'll be strength vs. strength on Saturday night in Starkville.

While quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Josh Robinson have earned most of the publicity for head coach Dan Mullen's crew, the deep and experienced front seven has been the biggest reason the Bulldogs have ascended to the top spot in the land.

Defensive end Preston Smith has eight tackles for loss, six sacks and two interceptions this season, linebacker Benardrick McKinney has 45 tackles and six tackles for loss and Mullen and defensive coordinator Geoff Collins rotate up front all game, keeping players fresh for the final frame.

Danny Johnston/Associated Press

Lining up against them this week is an Arkansas offensive line that averages 328.4 pounds, which, according to Arkansas' game notes, is larger than any offensive line in the NFL. 

Not the SEC—the NFL.

Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins are both among the top six rushers in the conference, as the Hogs have posted 258.88 yards per game on the ground—the 16th-best mark in the nation. 

"The challenges in the SEC and especially the West right now—which is so challenging—you have got to bring your A-game every single week if you want an opportunity to win," Mullen said. "I look at Arkansas right now and the record might not show it, but to me they can play and beat any single team in this conference—and do it pretty easily."

Player	Pos.	Car.	Yds.	TDs
Jonathan Williams	RB	122	830	10
Alex Collins	RB	118	747	9
Kody Walker	RB	26	130	1
Korliss Marshall	RB	24	116	1
Keon Hatcher	WR	3	98	1

The Razorbacks do it with their smashmouth style, but if you're one-dimensional in the SEC, you get beat. Slowly but surely, the Hogs are becoming more two-dimensional. 

Quarterback Brandon Allen has topped the 200-yard mark in each of his last three games, averaging 249 passing yards per game over that span and tossing six touchdown passes. The coaching staff knows that trend needs to continue this week if Arkansas has a chance.

"It’s hard to be one-dimensional and beat anybody, much less the number one team in the country that’s playing really good defense with good physical, athletic, talented players that are well coached," Hogs tight end coach Barry Lunney said in quotes emailed by Arkansas. "If you don’t go into the game trying to be balanced and striving to achieve balance, it’ll be difficult for us to accomplish what we want to accomplish."

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

If Arkansas finds some success early, it has the personnel and scheme to lean on Mississippi State, "deflate the football" and keep Prescott and Robinson off the field. Those would be uncharted waters for the Bulldogs.

Mullen's crew has only run 25 plays while trailing this season, and none when trailing by more than a touchdown, according to CFBStats.com. Championship teams can dig themselves out of holes, and Mississippi State hasn't had to prove it can do that yet.

Against a team like Arkansas that can play "keep away," it'd be very challenging.

Don't sleep on Arkansas giving Mississippi State a game. If its strength prevails, it could back Mississippi State into a corner and test its ability to punch itself out.

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.