STARKVILLE — The stakes have increased each week in the Mississippi State football team’s 9-0 start to the season.
It started with a 34-29 win at then-No. 8 LSU on Sept. 20, and continued through a two-game home stretch that included victories against then-No. 6 Texas A&M and then-No. 2 Auburn. Along the way, the Bulldogs have stretched their winning streak to 12 games, climbed to the top of the Southeastern Conference’s Western Division, and ascended to No. 1 in the two major national polls.
“The thing about this league is that when you win a big game, your reward is an ever bigger game the next week,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said. “With everything we’ve done, No. 1 ranking and all, it just means the games get bigger and bigger each week.”
MSU’s biggest game in school history could be set for 2:30 p.m. Saturday (WCBI) when No. 1 MSU will face No. 4 Alabama at Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in a game with SEC and national championship implications.
“We all know what’s at stake,” MSU linebacker Beniquez Brown said. “It’s no secret how big this game is. It’s a huge opportunity.”
The SEC’s Western Division title and a spot in the College Football Playoff could be at stake. With a win, MSU would move to 10-0 for the first time in program history and would need only a victory against unranked Vanderbilt at home next week to clinch a trip to the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. Alabama (8-1, 5-1 SEC), which lost to Ole Miss 23-17 on Oct. 4, could springboard into the College Playoff Selection Committee’s top four with a win, and would need only a victory at home against Auburn in the season’s final week to sew up the Western Division title.
“We are excited,” said Mullen, whose team is 5-0 in the SEC. “This is a big game. Having the opportunity to play in big games late in the season is what it is all about. It is what we work for. Hopefully that becomes the norm for our program as we continue to move forward. We have a great challenge this week in Alabama.”
Mullen, who is third on the school’s all-time win list in his sixth year as coach, has beaten every SEC West opponent but Alabama. In five previous outings, MSU is 0-5 against Alabama in Mullen’s tenure. Of the five, a 20-7 setback last season was the closest.
The game against Alabama will be MSU’s fourth against a top-10 opponent this season, and second on the road.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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