Close but no cigar is one way to describe Mississippi State’s 21-19 loss to LSU at home in Week 2, which came down to a missed 52-yard field goal attempt by the Bulldogs.

Not many people gave Mississippi State a chance to win that game even though Dan Mullen and his crew marched into Baton Rouge last year and handed the Tigers a loss in front of their home crowd. The Bulldogs showed against LSU last week that they can still hang with the big dogs in the SEC West, but in Week 3 they won’t have to prove nearly as much as Mississippi State welcomes to Starkville the winless Northwestern State out of the Southland Conference.

The Demons have lost their first two games of the season by 41 points combined and that was against Southeastern Louisiana and Louisiana-Lafayette, hardly the same level of competition that Mississippi State will present.

It’s doubtful that the Bulldogs are feeling too down on themselves after their performance against a talented LSU squad, but this kind of game against an inferior opponent could still serve them well in terms of getting their swagger back and being able to focus in on some of the fundamentals and technique that they need to work on as a team.

One area that Mullen and his team will certainly look to get back on track after an abysmal showing against LSU is the running game. The Bulldogs rushed the ball 26 times against the Tigers but found no room, only recording 43 yards for an average of 1.7 yards per carry.

Heisman hopeful quarterback Dak Prescott has been good so far this season but not great, and certainly not the best player in the country. But playing a team like Northwestern State provides a great opportunity for him to pad his season stats.

An interesting fact to note here about Prescott and this game is that his older brother Jace actually played offensive tackle at Northwestern State from 2008-10. Prescott apparently used to go to almost every one of his brother’s games and cheer on the Demons.

LSU TIGERS CLOSER LOOK

Top player, offense: Ed Egan, Sr., WR — Egan averages nearly 5 receptions a game in the course of his college career and has a streak of 22 consecutive games with a reception. He’s only 3 receptions off tying the career record at Northwestern State and could break it against the Bulldogs. He also serves as the Demons’ kick/punt returner and hold school’s career records for that as well.

Top player, defense: Adam Jones, Jr., S — No, not Pacman — he’s on the Cincinnati Bengals. But this Adam Jones for Northwestern State is a talented defensive back too. Jones didn’t play in the Demons’ first two games because of an NCAA suspension relating to academic eligibility but will be making his season debut against Mississippi State. Jones was an All-Southland Conference defender last season with 76 tackles and 5 interceptions.

Top player, special teams: Chris Moore, Sr., K — Egan would be an easy answer here too but we’ve already learned about what he can do. So how about Moore who returns as the Demons kicker and is perfect so far on the season (3-for-3). Not that Northwestern State will survive very long settling for 3 points against Mississippi State, but Moore would obviously still like to keep his streak going and could maybe improve upon his longest field goal for the season of 46 yards.