STARKVILLE — Mississippi State opens Southeastern Conference play this Saturday as the Bulldogs (2-0) welcome No. 14 LSU (1-1) to Davis Wade Stadium for an 11 a.m. kickoff on ESPN. Here are five keys to victory for MSU.

Generate pressure from the defensive front

Last week against Arizona, the Bulldogs gave quarterback Jayden de Laura as much time as he needed to stay in the pocket, roll out or tuck the ball and run. That won’t fly against another dual-threat quarterback in Jayden Daniels, who started for three years at Arizona State and is now in his second season with the Tigers.

Daniels threw for 2,913 yards and 17 touchdowns last year and added 885 rushing yards and 11 more scores. So far this year, he’s been more effective as a passer, but it will be up to Nathan Pickering, Jaden Crumedy and De’Monte Russell to limit his options Saturday.

“Pass rush, at its fundamental core, is hand-to-hand combat,” defensive coordinator Matt Brock said. “It’s imposing your will on the guy across from you, and that starts with get-off and pad level and effort. They’re continuing to improve on that.”

Let Will Rogers cook

The most glaring weaknesses in LSU’s defense reside in the secondary, and Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis exploited those shortcomings in the second half en route to beating the Tigers on Sept. 3, completing 23 of 31 passes overall for 342 yards and four touchdowns.

MSU quarterback Will Rogers, meanwhile, threw just 17 passes against Arizona, his fewest in a game since his collegiate debut in 2020 against Kentucky. The Bulldogs will need more balance in their offense in order to keep pace with the high-powered attack of LSU.

“I am very critical of myself,” offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay said. “I was probably too conservative in the second half, and stuck with the run game. As I look back on it, some of the mistakes that I felt like I made were needing to be more aggressive in some of those moments where we didn’t put (Arizona) away early enough. And that’s straight up just me being too conservative and not aggressive enough.”

Get Mike Wright and Creed Whittemore involved again

Wright, a quarterback transfer from Vanderbilt, had a big day in MSU’s season-opening win over Southeastern Louisiana with 95 rushing yards on just five carries. Last week, he was all but absent from the offense, losing three yards the only time he carried the ball. Yes, Wright behind center almost certainly indicates a run play, but his speed nonetheless warrants more usage.

Similarly, freshman receiver Creed Whittemore broke out against SELA but did not touch the ball against the Wildcats and was on the field for just 10 snaps. His presence can further open things up for Lideatrick “Tulu” Griffin, Zavion Thomas and the rest of the wideouts.

Win the turnover battle

The Bulldogs almost certainly would have lost to Arizona had they not accomplished this last week and then some, taking the ball away five times. The Tigers are able to stretch the field with their receiving corps, headlined by former MSU commit Malik Nabers, so it will be on the work-in-progress secondary to get the ball back for the offense. Safeties Shawn Preston Jr., Marcus Banks and Hunter Washington all came up big against the Wildcats and will have to do so again Saturday.

On the flip side, the Bulldogs have done a good job taking care of the ball through two games, but against an offense that can strike as quickly as LSU’s, even one turnover could be costly. Ball security will be paramount in this one.

Limit the penalties

After being penalized just once against SELA, MSU committed nine infractions for 90 yards against Arizona.

Giving away free yards to the Tigers’ offense would not be a recipe for success. And the Bulldogs will likely need to score plenty to stay in this game, so any penalty that backs MSU up and stalls out a drive could also prove costly.