STARKVILLE — Mississippi State head coach Zach Arnett declined to provide definitive injury updates on several key Bulldogs players, including quarterback Will Rogers and running back Jo’Quavious “Woody” Marks, at Monday’s press conference following the bye week.

“We gave them limited reps last week because they’ve played the vast majority of the snaps,” Arnett said. “Every single guy on our roster is on a day-to-day evaluation, and everyone who is medically cleared to play and able to play will play.”

Rogers left MSU’s win over Western Michigan on Oct. 7 with a left (non-throwing) shoulder injury in the fourth quarter, while Marks, who was also banged up against South Carolina and Alabama, left the Western Michigan game in the second quarter after twisting his leg. The Bulldogs (3-3, 0-3 Southeastern Conference) were also without receiver Justin Robinson, running back Jeffery Pittman and defensive lineman De’Monte Russell against the Broncos.

Vanderbilt transfer Mike Wright will be the starting quarterback if Rogers is unable to go Saturday at Arkansas (11 a.m., ESPN). Wright attempted 10 passes against the Broncos after having thrown the ball just once in the Bulldogs’ first five games, although he remains more suited to a run-heavy offense based around misdirection.

“There are things we do with Mike in there at quarterback that are structured more for him,” Arnett said. “When he’s in there, we’re going to play to the strengths of our personnel. It’s going to look very similar to when he’s in there any other time.”

Arnett said the bye week was about getting MSU’s younger, less-experienced players more time playing with the first-team practice in practice, in the name of resting the players who have rarely come off the field during games. On defense, he singled out linebackers Jett Johnson and Nathaniel “Bookie” Watson and linemen Nathan Pickering and Jaden Crumedy as those who could benefit from the rest.

The Bulldogs are especially hurting in the secondary, with Western Michigan third-string quarterback Hayden Wolff the latest passer to put up big numbers against MSU’s defense. DeCarlos Nicholson has supplanted Esaias Furdge as the starting cornerback opposite Decamerion Richardson, and freshman Brice Pollock continues to push for playing time as well.

“You get better at this game by playing this game, and particularly against the highest level of competition you can go against,” Arnett said. “He’s gotten game action against another team’s first-string. That develops you as a player. Special teams reps obviously give you exposure to that as well. The second half of the season, you know you’re going to have to get some reps from guys in your second- or third-string.”

Scouting Arkansas

The Razorbacks (2-5, 0-4 SEC) may have lost five straight games, but they have played three ranked conference opponents on the road already and fell to each of them — LSU, Ole Miss and Alabama — by no more than seven points. Arkansas trailed the Crimson Tide by 18 points late in the third quarter last Saturday, but cut the deficit to 24-21 before coming up just short.

The oddsmakers certainly do not seem to be fooled by the Razorbacks’ record, installing them as a seven-point favorite in this battle of teams looking for their first SEC win. Arkansas will be playing its first home game since Sept. 16 — head coach Sam Pittman’s team started conference play with three road games and a neutral-site contest against Texas A&M.

“They’re playing really good on defense. They have a lot of impact players who they got in the transfer portal and rebuilt that side of the ball,” Arnett said. “They are long and big and physical up front. Their last five games, all but one of them was a one-possession game, and if the ball bounces the other way or one or two plays go the other way, the result could be drastically different.”

KJ Jefferson will be the next quarterback to try his hand against the Bulldogs’ struggling pass defense. Jefferson, in his third year as the Razorbacks’ starter, has completed just under two-thirds of his passes through seven games for 1,450 yards with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has a talented group of receivers at his disposal, most notably Andrew Armstrong, who has 39 catches for 485 yards and four touchdowns.

The big star of Arkansas’ offense last year, running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders, has been severely limited by injuries this season and will not play Saturday against MSU. A year after rushing for 1,443 yards and 10 touchdowns, Sanders has played in just three games this fall, with 91 rushing yards and less than three yards per carry.

“KJ Jefferson is as dynamic a player as there is in college football,” Arnett said. “His ability to shrug off tackles is very impressive. I’m sure Rocket Sanders has been frustrated this year because he hasn’t been able to go in several games.”

The Razorbacks’ defense is a work in progress but has shown signs of improvement in the last two games against Ole Miss and Alabama. Linebacker Jaheim Thomas, a transfer from Cincinnati, leads the SEC with 69 tackles, ahead of the Bulldogs’ duo of Johnson and Watson (though he has played one more game).

Landon Jackson, who started his collegiate career at LSU, is a force up front and has been a problem for offensive linemen and quarterbacks alike, with 5.5 sacks that have cost opposing offenses a total of 48 yards. Arkansas also has shown a propensity to take the ball away — the Razorbacks are tied for second in the SEC with 11 forced turnovers, and they’ve taken three interceptions back for touchdowns.

“They did a nice job rebuilding their roster,” Arnett said. “They have a lot of guys out of the transfer portal who are playing really well for them. They look like a big, physical football team on film.”