Mississippi State travels to Auburn with both teams trying to rebound from disappointment last week.

For the Tigers, the Bulldogs offer some reprieve after getting smothered on the road at Texas A&M in the CBS afternoon game, 20-3. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, will look to put their last-second missed field goal behind them on the road at Arkansas.

The oddsmakers have the Tigers beating the Bulldogs by at least 6 points. The point total is 50.5, making the implied score prediction 28-22.

We will dive deeper into a matchup preview later in the week, but for now, let’s meet the 2021 Auburn Tigers.

The first thing to note is their schedule has been, frankly, absurd. Not only do the Tigers play in the SEC West, but they also have the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry against Georgia each year. Georgia, you may have heard, is pretty good.

On top of that, the Tigers went on the road to Happy Valley to play then top-10 Penn State in a “White Out” game, the consensus best atmosphere in college football (seriously, I’ve been to a one — it’s bananas).

Penn State held on for a tight win, while Georgia did what it does, winning by more than 3 touchdowns. Most recently, resurgent Texas A&M held the Tigers to just 3 points.

And, Auburn still has the Iron Bowl. But that’s life in the SEC, and kudos for not being afraid to schedule a true road game against a Power 5 heavyweight. Some SEC teams would never do that.

Secondly, the Tigers have a few elite defensive players led by the best name in college football, Smoke Monday, a senior defensive back from Atlanta. Monday went viral during last week’s game against TAMU for delivering a crushing shot to Aggie QB Zach Calzada.

Along with Monday, the Auburn defensive backfield has cornerback, Roger McCreary who is widely considered a first-round NFL prospect. McCreary has 2 interceptions on the year and 9 passes defensed.

Despite being perennially loaded on defense, The Tigers are a shade below average among SEC teams in total defense, allowing more than 360 yards per game and about 20 points per game.

On offense, the Tigers are led by another classic football name, Bo Nix. The junior quarterback has had an up-and-down career at Auburn, but generally plays better at home than on the road.

In 2021, Nix is averaging below 7 yards per attempt and completing just over 60% of his passes with 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Nix ranks 12th in the SEC in TD throws.

The Tigers are just below the middle of the pack in the SEC, averaging about 430 yards per game with about 31 points per game.

For the Bulldogs, quarterback Will Rogers II leads the SEC and ranks No. 3 in the country with 3,309 passing yards. He’s closing fast on Dak Prescott’s single-season school record of 3,793 yards.

Rogers also has 23 touchdown passes. He needs just 7 more TD passes to break Prescott’s single-season school record.

Bulldogs fans will likely attest that his decision-making and his discipline improve almost on a weekly basis. The quarterback you see against Texas A&M and Arkansas is leaps and bounds above the quarterback you saw against La. Tech and LSU earlier in the season.

What’s at stake …

The Tigers are 6-3, 3-2 in the conference. That’s good for 3rd place in the division ahead of Ole Miss, whom the Tigers beat head-to-head.

Auburn no longer is playing for a chance to get to the SEC title game, but a major bowl game is still very much in play.

Mississippi State (5-4) is still trying to qualify for a bowl. Sure, Tennessee State awaits next week, but the Bulldogs would like to secure bowl eligibility with a key upset Saturday. That would give them a shot at their first 8-win regular season since 2018.