After dropping a 30-23 decision at Arizona State last Saturday night, Mississippi State returns to Starkville this weekend to host Toledo for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPNU.

The Rockets won 11 games last year, falling in the Mid-American Conference Championship Game to Miami-Ohio, and have started strong this season with wins over Duquesne and Massachusetts. MAC teams are always susceptible to losing star players to the transfer portal, but Toledo did well to reload and was picked to finish second in the conference this year behind the RedHawks.

What: Toledo at Mississippi State

When: 6:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville

TV: ESPNU

Betting line: Mississippi State by 11.5

Weather: Partly sunny and humid with a couple of afternoon showers and a high of 85 degrees; winds out of the southwest at 5 miles per hour, per AccuWeather

Records/rankings: The Bulldogs are 1-1, while the Rockets come in 2-0. Neither team is ranked or receiving votes in either the AP Top 25 or the AFCA Coaches Poll.

Series history: This is the first-ever head-to-head meeting between the teams.

Mississippi State update: The Bulldogs come in reeling a bit after being thoroughly dominated on the line of scrimmage both offensively and defensively by the Sun Devils. The fact that MSU was still nearly in position to win the game speaks to the offense’s quick-strike ability, but both running the football and stopping Arizona State from doing so proved tricky.

The defensive line is still dealing with injuries — Kalvin Dinkins and Deonte Anderson missed last weekend’s game, and head coach Jeff Lebby said earlier in the week that Eric Taylor is no longer with the team. Wide receiver Kelly Akharaiyi made his Bulldogs debut in Tempe, but safety Corey Ellington is still not listed on the depth chart.

Toledo update: The Rockets head to Starkville with a relatively clean bill of health after handling the FCS Dukes and the FBS independent Minutemen. Quarterback Tucker Gleason has just a 49 percent completion rate, but he can sling the ball down the field, with six touchdowns and no interceptions through two games.

Jacquez Stuart is Toledo’s veteran running back, and the Rockets have a pair of solid receivers in Junior Vandeross III and Jerjuan Newton. Toledo is stout up front on defense and has outstanding safeties such as Emmanuel McNeil-Warren and Brayden Awls, who has two interceptions already on the young season.

Toledo players to watch: QB Tucker Gleason, RB Jacquez Stewart, WR Junior Vandeross III, DE Malachi Davis, S Brayden Awls.

Prediction: Toledo will not be a pushover and has the track record to hang with and even beat high-major teams. This has all the makings of a trap game, even at home, but MSU makes enough explosive plays on offense to win this one. Mississippi State 34, Toledo 24.