Coach Dan Mullen said the type of game Mississippi State will face this week is why you come to the SEC.

Mullen was asked how he could get his players to believe in something they’ve never done, namely beat Alabama. The Bulldogs will play host to the Crimson Tide at 6 p.m. local time on Saturday.

“Same way we’ve done it all along, Mississippi State’s never been able to go to a bunch of bowl games, never been No. 1 in the country,” Mullen said at his regular weekly press conference. “Never had a lot of wins, records, it’s just what we’ve done. That’s the program we’ve built here. That’s what the whole thing is based on. Same as we’ve done for every other aspect of building this program.”

Mullen added that Alabama is not a one-man show and the game plan wouldn’t necessarily start with stopping quarterback Jalen Hurts because the Crimson Tide feature other weapons, like running backs and tight ends.

As for his defense, he believes it has established an identity in coach Todd Grantham’s first season, which is to play fast, physical and aggressive.

Mullen was also asked if the Bulldogs must play a perfect game to beat Alabama.

“In my mind, you’ve got to play a perfect game to beat anybody, you’ve got to come out and play great or you can’t expect to win in today’s college football,” he said, and added that the Bulldogs “found a way” to make plays to beat UMass last week.