Assuming the role of the hunted after three consecutive wins over Top 10 teams, No. 1 Mississippi State tries to stay unbeaten and avoid an upset today in Lexington against a much-improved Kentucky team under Mark Stoops:

No. 1 MISSISSIPPI STATE at KENTUCKY, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS — There’s plenty of the line for both teams today in the Bluegrass during Mississippi State’s first game as the nation’s top-ranked team. Coming off their second bye week, the Bulldogs embark on their six games in six weeks stretch to end the regular season with this matchup being a must-win to stay in College Football Playoff and SEC Championship contention. Kentucky’s hoping to catch Dan Mullen’s team when they least expect it as a 13.5-point underdog still recovering from a blowout loss at LSU. A win puts Kentucky right back in the thick of things in the Eastern Division as the Wildcats are currently one game back of Georgia with a head-to-head battle against the Bulldogs left to play. Scoring early benefits the home team and puts pressure on a program still getting used to playing with high-level expectations as road favorite.