No. 2 Alabama is an 8-point favorite over No. 17 Mississippi State, but that never means the win is a sure thing, especially not in the SEC.

The Tide is by most statistics the better team, but the SEC is a wavering beast, filled with good teams who can at any point upset “better” teams. This week is no different, and each team has questions it must address in order to get the win.

Here are the biggest questions going into this Week 11 matchup.

1. Can Dak Prescott give the Tide defense a run for its money? Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott is well-rounded, and he is arguably the best quarterback in the league. Yes, there are other great quarterbacks out there — Arkansas QB Brandon Allen was phenomenal against Ole Miss — but week in and week out, Prescott has been consistently great.

But this week, he’s going against the No. 3 defense in the country. Prescott has averaged just less than 400 total yards in the last three games, while Alabama only allows 265 yards per game. Prescott has shown he can still win with fewer yards, but the Tide will be the stingiest defense he’s faced all year. He’ll need to find ways to put Alabama defenders on their heels if he hopes to get the win.

2. Will Alabama be focused when they head into Starkville? The win against No. 2 LSU in Week 10 was a tough, physical game. Going into Week 11, the first thing we have to consider is whether or not the Tide will be rested and healthy. RB Kenyan Drake was the only Tide player reported as suffering an injury against LSU, and coach Nick Saban expects him to be good to go this week. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other players feeling a little winded and beat up after facing the Tigers.

The second thing we have to consider is whether or not Alabama will be able to forget about the win against LSU and prepare for Mississippi State. This will by no means be an easy win, and the Tide can’t overlook the Bulldogs. Saban preaches the one-game-at-a-time mentality, but he can’t force it on his players and coaches. They’ll need to buy into it themselves this week if they want to avoid a long bus ride home from Starkville.

3. Can the Bulldogs defense stop Derrick Henry? Tide RB Derrick Henry ran all over the No. 16 rushing defense of LSU, gaining 210 yards on 38 carries and rolling in a total of 3 TDs. Mississippi State’s rushing defense is ranked at No. 68, and it makes us wonder if the Bulldogs even have a chance to stop Alabama’s run game.

The Bulldogs will have to find a way to keep the ball in the air — out of the hands of WR Calvin Ridley — and force Tide QB Jake Coker to make mistakes if they want bottle up the Tide offense.

No game in the SEC is an easy win, so despite the difference in rank and the Vegas betting odds, both teams have a heavy competition in front of them. These three questions will be some of biggest for Alabama and Mississippi State heading into Week 11.