STARKVILLE, Miss — On Oct. 19 the Hogs had a tough battle with #8 LSU at home, falling 34-10. Next up they prepare to head to Starkville, Mississippi, for a match-up with the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Oct. 26.
The Hogs and the Bulldogs have played each other every season since 1992, with Arkansas winning 18 and Mississippi State winning 13. However, the last 12 years haven't been as kind to the Hogs, having only won thrice.
MSU hasn't had the season they hoped for in Head Coach Jeff Lebby's first season in Starkville, accumulating a 1-6 record through seven games. The Bulldogs won their first game of the year and haven't found one since. The last three games have been especially brutal, playing 3 top 15 teams in Texas, Georgia, and Texas A&M. But while they did get beat handily by the Longhorns 35-10, they were able to stay in the game against both Georgia and A&M losing by just 10 both times.
Their starting quarterback is Baylor transfer Blake Shapen, however in their week four game against Florida, Shapen suffered a season ending shoulder injury. That left freshman QB Michael Van Buren Jr. as the guy behind center. Since then, Van Buren Jr. has thrown for 792 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions in his three and a half games.
The Bulldogs have two primary running backs in Johnie Daniels and Javon Booth who both are rushing for just over 300 yards on the year with two touchdowns a piece. As for receivers, Kevin Coleman Jr. is leading in that category with 536 yards and four touchdowns on the year. He will be the primary target for the Hogs to stop on Saturday.
The defensive end has really been a struggle so far this year for the Bulldogs ranking 122nd in the nation in total defense. Their leading tackler is Safety Issac Smith with 68, 29 of them being solo. MSU has five total sacks on the year along with five interceptions.
As for Arkansas, they come into the game with a 4-3 record looking to stay above .500 in this one. On Monday, Hogs Runningback Ja'Quinden Jackson was listed as questionable for the game. If he is to miss this game, Sam Pittman said at his press conference that Braylen Russell will get the majority of the carries in his place.
The Hogs will travel to Starkville for the showdown with Mississippi State kicking off at 11:45 a.m. airing on SEC Network.
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