Following a bye week, Mississippi State is back home for the final time this season as the Bulldogs battle Missouri for a 3:15 p.m. kickoff Saturday on SEC Network.

The Tigers, in their fifth season under head coach Eliah Drinkwitz, won 11 games last year and entered this fall feeling good about their chances to reach the 12-team College Football Playoff. But blowout road losses to Texas A&M and Alabama damaged Missouri’s resume, and a heartbreaking defeat last week at South Carolina ended the Tigers’ playoff hopes.

What: Missouri at Mississippi State

When: 3:15 p.m. Saturday

Where: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville

TV: SEC Network

Betting line: Missouri by 7.5

Weather: Partly cloudy skies with a high of 63 degrees and winds out of the north at 2 miles per hour, per AccuWeather

Records/rankings: The Bulldogs are 2-8 overall and 0-6 in Southeastern Conference play. The Tigers are 7-3 overall and 3-3 in the SEC. Missouri is No. 23 in the College Football Playoff rankings and just outside the AP Top 25 and the AFCA Coaches Poll, receiving 56 and 44 votes, respectively.

Series history: Tied 2-2. The teams have only met twice since the Tigers joined the SEC in 2012, with MSU winning both. The Bulldogs beat Missouri 51-32 in Starkville in 2020 and also won in Columbia in 2015. The Tigers’ two wins both came in the 1980s.

Mississippi State update: Freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren had his worst game as a Bulldog at Tennessee, completing just 10 of 26 passes for 92 yards with an interception. MSU was able to run the ball effectively against a very good defensive front, though, and considering how well Missouri defends the pass, sticking to a run-heavy approach would be wise again this week.

The Bulldogs’ defense made improvements in spots but is still among the worst in the country in most categories. MSU struggles to generate pressure and cover receivers, and will need to stay motivated with a bowl game no longer in play. The defensive line is still depleted by injuries but did get veteran De’Monte Russell back against Tennessee. Freshman wide receiver Mario Craver also returned in Knoxville, though he had just one catch for 13 yards.

Missouri update: The Tigers are unbeaten at home but just 1-3 on the road, with their lone win coming against Massachusetts. Missouri went back and forth with South Carolina last Saturday — the Tigers took the lead on a 37-yard pass from Brady Cook to Luther Burden III with a minute and 10 seconds remaining, but the Gamecocks won it on a touchdown of their own with 15 seconds left.

Cook is healthy again after missing time with an injury earlier this season, and Burden and Theo Wease Jr. make up one of the SEC’s top receiving duos. Defensively, only Texas allows fewer passing yards per game than Missouri among SEC teams, and Johnny Walker Jr. headlines the Tigers’ pass rush with 5.5 sacks. But even at home, Missouri’s conference wins have been close — the Tigers have beaten Vanderbilt, Auburn and Oklahoma all by one score.

Missouri players to watch: QB Brady Cook, RB Nate Noel, WR Luther Burden III, DE Johnny Walker Jr., S Daylan Carnell.

Prediction: I have been trying to talk myself into the Bulldogs winning this game for several weeks now, and with MSU coming off a bye and the Tigers emotionally drained after a heartbreaking defeat, it’s not outside the realm of possibility. Is it likely? No, but college football is a goofy game. Mississippi State 35, Missouri 34.