Mississippi State made it out of Auburn unscathed and will have to use the momentum from its 17-9 victory over the Tigers to gear up for another tough SEC road test this Saturday.

Given how it’s looked so far this season, Texas A&M appears to present an even tougher task for the Bulldogs in Week 5. But if Dan Mullen and his team really want to make a statement in the SEC West, winning in College Station would be the way to do it.

The Bulldogs come in at No. 21 in The Associated Press Top 25 Poll this week and could see their stock skyrocket with a win over No. 14 Texas A&M on the road.

Others are starting to realize that this year’s Mississippi State team is a lot closer to last year’s 10-win team than most expected given the amount of turnover on the Bulldogs’ roster. But Mullen’s squad won’t be taking the Aggies by surprise.

Texas A&M will be looking for its first 2-0 conference start since 1997-98 and to avenge last year’s 48-31 loss to Mississippi State in Starkville. This will also be the rubber match between these two schools as the series currently sits at 4-4.

A loss would put Mississippi State at 1-2 in the conference this season, but a win would be a big step for the Bulldogs toward winning the SEC West.

TEXAS A&M AGGIES CLOSER LOOK

Top returning player, offense: Kyle Allen, S0., QB — Dating back to last season, Allen has started the last nine games for the Aggies and has gone 7-2 with five straight wins. He’s coming off perhaps the best start of his career last week against Arkansas, where he threw for a career-high 358 yards while completing 21 of 28 passes for two touchdowns and no interceptions. Allen can also hurt defenses with his legs, especially when it comes to moving the chains and in the red zone. He leads all SEC rushers with nearly 58 percent of his runs resulting in a first down or a touchdown.

Top returning player, defense: Myles Garrett, So., DE — Last year, Garrett broke the SEC’s freshman sack record with 11.5. So far this season, Garrett’s 6.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss put him at tied for No. 2 and tied for No. 8 in the nation, respectively. With his speed off the edge at 6-foot-5, 262 pounds, Garrett truly is a specimen. Supposedly, the Aggies’ Week 3 opponent, Nevada, prepared for Garrett by having its scout team line up offsides in practice to replicate his speed. Enough said.

Top returning player, special teams: Drew Kaser, Sr., P — A punter can be a big weapon for any football team when it comes to flipping the field, and that’s certainly what Kaser is for the Aggies. As a sophomore, he broke the school’s record for punt average (47.4 yards), and as a junior, set the mark for coffin corner punts (22).  Kaser is also on pace to break Texas A&M’s career punting record. So far this season, Kaser is averaging 51.6 yards per punt, which makes him one of two punters in the FBS to be averaging punts of 50 yards or more.