Tom Hart and his SEC Network crew saw Mississippi State last week against Arkansas, so he has an updated view of how the Bulldogs are progressing this season.

Asked about how they measure up against Auburn, Hart said on “McElroy and Cubelic In the morning” on WJOX out of Birmingham, Alabama that State will give Auburn fits this week.

“Mississippi State is really playing good ball right now, Cole, and I agree with you, and I think they’re going to give Auburn fits in that game,” Hart said.

Hart noted how Will Rogers had more incompletions in the first quarter against Arkansas last week, than the entire game against Kentucky. But Hart also cautioned that he doesn’t think Auburn defensively will be as prepared as Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom’s unit was last week. Odom has long seen the Air Raid not only last year, but when he coached defensive backs at Missouri against Mike Leach’s Texas Tech Air Raid.

“I think State is deserving of a top 20 ranking that they came into last week,” Hart said, “and I think Mike Leach is building something there. Yeah, they’ve got 4 losses right now, but this is a different team late in the year than they were the same team that tripped up at Memphis.”