STARKVILLE — It has been a season of firsts for the Mississippi State football team.
In Week 6, MSU used a 48-31 victory against Texas A&M to jump into The Associated Press top five for the first time in school history. A week later, it defeated No. 2 Auburn to complete a stretch of three-consecutive wins against top-10 opponents, another first in the program’s 120-year existence. Less than 24 hours after that win, MSU climbed atop The AP Top 25 and the Amway Coaches Poll (USA Today) for the first time.
Now, after a bye week, MSU is six days from another program milestone. At 2:30 p.m. Saturday (WCBI), MSU will take the field for the first time as the nation’s No. 1 team when it plays Southeastern Conference Eastern Division opponent Kentucky.
“It’s a very good Kentucky team that we will have to get ready for,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said during the bye week following a 38-23 victory against Auburn. “In this league, there are no easy games. Every week is big. Our reward for beating Auburn, one of our biggest games ever, is we get to play in an even bigger game the next time out.”
MSU (6-0, 3-0 SEC) will travel to meet an improved Kentucky squad (5-2, 2-2). But the Wildcats also are wounded after a 41-3 loss at the hands of No. 23 LSU on Saturday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Prior to MSU’s bye week, Mullen joked, “It will be nice to sit at home on my couch and watch these other teams play. Last time I sat home, we moved up two spots without even playing. It was awesome.”
Entering the week with a slight lead against previous No. 1 Florida State in the Amway Coaches Poll, MSU strengthened its grip on the top spot without playing a game. A week after rising to the top spot for the first time, MSU drew 36 first-place votes when the voting was announced Sunday, up 10 from last week’s total. No. 2 Florida State, which defeated No. 5 Notre Dame 31-27 on Saturday night, lost nine first-place votes, going from 31 to 22. No. 3 Ole Miss received four first-place votes in the poll.
In The AP Top 25, MSU’s lead shrank slightly. A week ago, MSU took the top spot from Florida State by earning 45 of 60 first-place votes. In the poll released early Sunday afternoon, that number was down to 43 and two voters rewarded FSU’s victory against Notre Dame.
With MSU occupying the top of the polls for the second-straight week, the SEC’s Western Division made history in The AP Top 25. With MSU at No. 1, Ole Miss at No. 3, Alabama at No. 4, and Auburn at No. 5, the SEC became the first conference in poll history to place four teams in the top five in the same time.
“This is the toughest league in the country,” Mullen said. “It’s tough every single week.”
In Lexington, Kentucky, MSU will face a team that is one win from bowl eligibility for the first time under second-year coach Mark Stoops.
Kentucky owns SEC victories against Vanderbilt and South Carolina. Those victories come a year after the Wildcats finished winless in SEC play.
For Mullen, the No. 1 ranking will mean little once the Bulldogs and Wildcats kick off.
“It doesn’t mean we stop working,” Mullen said. “In this league, you are either getting better or getting worse. If we’re not getting better, we can get beat by anybody.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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