Mississippi State’s win over Auburn last season in Starkville was a rarity in this series. In fact, Auburn had won 11 of the 13 previous meetings against Mississippi State and still holds a series lead of 61-25-2.

But the Bulldogs and Tigers find themselves with identical records (2-1) and in a similar situation entering this Saturday night’s matchup. The Week 4 meeting will mark the second SEC West game for each team and both will look to avoid starting the season 0-2 within the division.

In what is perhaps the most competitive division in all of college football, losing two conference games could change the scope of a team’s season and take it out of contention to win the SEC altogether.

Auburn came into the season ranked No. 6 and with high hopes of being a contender to make the College Football Playoff. The first three weeks have been a wakeup call for the Tigers, who needed overtime to beat Jacksonville State (an FCS school) in Week 2 and were beaten badly in Baton Rouge by LSU last week, 45-21.

Mississippi State’s SEC West loss this season is also to LSU but was a much closer game than the one Auburn had to endure. In a 21-19 game, MSU missed a long field goal as time expired that would have won it for them. But the Bulldogs came away from the loss with their heads held high and made the appropriate corrections in a 62-13 win over Northwestern State in Week 3.

Auburn did lose to LSU on the road, whereas Mississippi State lost in front of its home crowd, but if those games are any indication of how their matchup might go, then the Bulldogs might find themselves in good shape this Saturday.

AUBURN TIGERS CLOSER LOOK

Top returning player, offense: D’haquille Williams, Sr., WR — In only 10 games played last season, Williams led the Tigers in receiving with 45 receptions for 730 yards and 5 touchdowns, and that was without much of a vertical passing threat from Auburn’s quarterback at the time, Nick Marshall. This year’s starting quarterback in Auburn, Jeremy Johnson, was supposed to be a vast improvement to the Tigers’ passing game. He has disappointed, to say the least. Williams’ numbers have also been down so far this season as a result, but everyone knows he’s bound to have a breakout game sooner than later. The Bulldogs just hope that game isn’t this week against them.

Top returning player, defense: Johnathan Ford, Jr., S — Linebacker Carl Lawson probably would have been the guy here if he wasn’t out for an extended period of time with an injury. But despite his absence, Auburn returned several players on the defensive side of the ball that are extremely productive and had great seasons last year. Fellow linebackers Kris Frost and Cassanova McKinzy fit the bill here and will have to play at an even higher level with Lawson out of the lineup, but Ford is the unequivocal leader in the Tigers’ secondary and his play so far this season gets him the nod here. Ford is Auburn’s top returning tackler with 93 last season, and he’s leading the team again with 34 tackles through three games. He also has one interception and a forced fumble.

Top returning player, special teams: Daniel Carlson, So., K — Carlson’s 19 points make him Auburn’s leading scorer this season, and he is perfect kicking the ball so far, going 3-for-3 on his field goal attempts and 10-for-10 on extra points. He’s only a sophomore, but he gained plenty of experience last year, kicking in all 13 games for the Tigers. He’s also a versatile special teams player as last season he became the first Auburn specialist to punt, kickoff and handle field goals since Damon Duval (1999-2002). In what could be a close game between the Bulldogs and Tigers, Carlson’s accurate leg could come in handy.