Taking a position-by-position look at LSU vs. Mississippi State, here’s what to watch for in Saturday’s showdown between the No. 25 Bulldogs and the No. 14 Tigers:

QUARTERBACK — Mississippi State: No slight to Brandon Harris, but this one’s not close. Dak Prescott is the most accomplished quarterback in the SEC and one of the best players of all-time at Mississippi State. Brandon Harris is … well, we really don’t know. It wouldn’t be fair to define him solely based on his start last year against Auburn, but we don’t have much else to go on as far as game film. We do know, however, that he looked pretty sharp in leading LSU in the second half of last year’s game against the Bulldogs. That’s nice, but Prescott looked even better in leading Mississippi State to the win.

RUNNING BACKS — LSU: The Tigers have the headliner here in sophomore Leonard Fournette. Coming off a 1,000-yard season, Fournette is expected the carry the load for the LSU offense this year, but there’s solid depth behind him. Darrell Williams rushed for 300 yards and 4.7 per carry as a true freshman last year, and the Tigers showed in the truncated contest against McNeese State that they plan to get this year’s freshman phenom, Derrius Guice, involved in the offense early. Mississippi State is still figuring out the position in the absence of last year’s leader, Josh Robinson. Ashton Shumpert won the starting job in camp, but split carries almost evenly with Brandon Holloway in the opener. Shumpert is the more traditional running back, but Holloway brings big-play potential, as demonstrated on his 100-yard kickoff return for a score last week.

WIDE RECEIVERS, TIGHT END — Push: Both teams have big, talented targets on the outside, and both could benefit from a little more consistency. The Bulldogs had trouble getting the ball to De’Runnya Wilson for much of the game against Southern Miss, and Fred Ross dropped a pair before finishing with five catches for 75 yards to lead the team. LSU’s top options are Travin Dural, last year’s leading receiver, and Malachi Dupre, a former blue chip recruit. Dural is a proven deep threat who started hot last season before going cold down the stretch.

OFFENSIVE LINE — LSU: Probably. The Tigers have the better returning talent, led by senior Vadal Alexander. But the revamped Mississippi State line acquitted itself well in the opener, giving up one sack and helping the Bulldogs rush for 7.3 yards per carry. Similar to Mississippi State, which lost three starters and every center from the 2014 depth chart, LSU has had to do its own shuffling. Alexander, a high-end draft prospect, is sliding from guard to right tackle; center Ethan Pocic played the majority of his time at guard last year, and left tackle Jerald Hawkins lined up at the opposite tackle in 2014.

DEFENSIVE LINE — Mississippi State: Another close call, the Bulldogs get the edge based on experience and a strong showing in Week 1. Defensive end A.J. Jefferson had two sacks last week, while Ryan Brown had one sack and four hurries, and Chris Jones repeatedly disrupted the Southern Miss offense. Creating pressure will be a focal point for LSU this year, as the Tigers were 13th in the conference a year ago in sacks. Neither starting defensive end has started a game at the collegiate level — unless you count last week — but tackles Davon Godchaux and Christian LaCouture form a strong tandem in the middle.

LINEBACKERS — LSU: The Tigers get the edge because they’re the team with Kendell Beckwith, the best player at the position on either team, but these units are pretty similar. Both have a stalwart — for Mississippi State it’s Beniquez Brown— surrounded by experienced players looking for a breakout season. Bulldogs junior Richie Brown, who had 50 tackles last year and three interceptions against Texas A&M, got off to a good start in 2015 with 11 tackles and an interception against Southern Miss. LSU will be looking for a similar step forward from Lamar Louis, who is moving into a starting role for the first time as a senior.

SECONDARY — LSU: But it’s closer than you might think just by glancing at last year’s stats — especially while Jalen Mills is still out. The Tigers’ versatile senior safety has been on the shelf since fracturing a fibula last month and isn’t expected to return before the Auburn game next week. Mississippi State has a pair of top-shelf cornerbacks in Will Redmond and Taveze Calhoun, who missed last week’s game due to injury, but is expected to play Saturday. The Bulldogs gave up 311 yards through the air against Southern Miss, but similar to last year’s form, also intercepted a pair of passes and were effective at keeping the Golden Eagles out of the end zone. LSU’s secondary is led by sophomore safety Jamal Adams, a star in the making, and cornerback Tre’Davious White. Last year, LSU led the conference with just 164 passing yards allowed per game.