A week after getting battered by Leonard Fournette and the rest of the LSU running backs, the Auburn defense has to shift gears and concentrate on shutting down one of the SEC’s top passers, Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott.

In Week 3, Prescott became MSU’s all-time passing leader, reaching 6,382 career yards.

Prescott knows all about playing at Jordan-Hare Stadium, coming close to leading the Bulldogs to victory in 2013 until a touchdown with 10 seconds left gave Auburn a 24-20 win. MSU will be playing its second road game this season, already claiming a 34-16 win at Southern Miss in Week 1.

By the overall numbers, head coach Dan Mullen’s team takes a balanced approach on offense – 110 passes, 91 rushes so far this season. What the Bulldogs will do on the road against an SEC team, however, isn’t 100 percent predictable.

In the season opener against Southern Miss, Prescott threw 38 passes and accounted for eight of the team’s 28 carries. When LSU came to Starkville, Miss., Mullen called for more than twice as many passes (54) as runs (26). In last week’s tune up against Northwestern State, the Bulldogs spread out 37 rushes among nine ball carriers, with no one cracking double digits in carries.

Mullen would prefer not to run Prescott, but the quarterback happens to be his best ball carrier. The Bulldogs will likely try a pass-heavy approach similar to what they used against LSU to protect Prescott, but the Tigers should still be prepared for designed quarterback runs.

On the other side of the ball, MSU brought back former defensive coordinator Manny Diaz to replace Geoff Collins, who is now at Florida. Diaz has gone up against Auburn offenses coached by Gus Malzahn twice in recent years. In 2010, Diaz’s Bulldogs contained Cam Newton and the eventual BCS champion Tigers in a 17-14 loss. Against Louisiana Tech last season, AU RB Cameron Artis-Payne and QB Nick Marshall combined for 221 yards rushing on 35 attempts in a 45-17 Auburn win.

LSU ran the ball on 47 of 61 plays against Mississippi State to notch a 21-19 win. The Bayou Bengals can’t be blamed for abandoning the pass in the second half – they averaged 5.7 yards per run. Auburn doesn’t have a back on Fournette’s level, but with those numbers,  Auburn should test the MSU run defense early.

MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS CLOSER LOOK

Top player, offense: Dak Prescott, Sr., QB – As a junior, Prescott threw for 3,449 yards and 27 touchdowns while rushing for 1,107 yards and 14 touchdowns. He finished eighth in 2014 Heisman Trophy voting.

Top player, defense: Will Redmond, Sr., CB – Redmond nabbed a team-leading three interceptions last season.

Top player, special teams: Devon Bell, Sr., P – Bell averaged 43.2 yards per kick on 50 punts last season.