After a tough week, the SEC’s two Mississippi teams step out of conference to continue the season Saturday. Ole Miss welcomes New Mexico State to Oxford, while Troy heads to Starkville for a date with Mississippi State.

Neither one of these teams are strangers to playing Southeastern Conference foes.

New Mexico State has already played Florida this season. In its time in the FBS, Troy has played Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, South Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri and has gone against Mississippi State multiple times. In fact, the Trojans have beaten MSU in the past, so the Bulldogs will not sleep on the visitors from Alabama.

Here is a look at some of the players from Troy and New Mexico State that could shine this week:

Teddy Ruben, Troy, 5-foot-7, 161 pounds, WR, Sr.: An undersized player, Ruben makes up for his lack of girth with blazing speed. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native has 17 catches this year for 197 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

On special teams, Ruben has returned six punts for a 17.3 yard average and took one back 64 yards for a score. He also has returned 12 kickoffs for a 19.2 yard average.

Ruben was a NJCAA first-team All-America selection as a kick returner at Scottsdale Community College.

Larry Rose III, New Mexico State, 5-foot011, 184 pounds, RB, So.: Rose is averaging 145 yards per game rushing for the Aggies. He also runs for 8.2 yards per attempt and has scored six touchdowns.

Last season, he ran for 1,1o2 yards and nine touchdowns and had 127 all-purpose yards per game.

At Fairfield (Texas) High School, he was named the state’s 3-A Player of the Year.

William Lloyd, Troy, 6-foot, 214 pounds, LB, Jr.: Lloyd is tied for the lead in tackles for the Trojans with 32, 18 of the solo stops. He also has two tackles for loss, a sack and a quarterback hurry.

Lloyd came to Troy from East Mississippi Community College where his team won back-to-back national championships while amassing a 24-0 record in his time at the Scooba, Miss., school.

At EMCC, he had 74 tackles, 14 for loss with five sacks and an interception his sophomore season.

Derek Ibekwe, New Mexico State, 6-foot, 233 pounds, LB, So.: The native Texan leads the Aggies with 35 tackles this season, 15 of them unassisted. He also has three for loss and has forced a fumble.

As a freshman, he tallied 102 tackles, 46 without help and four four loss. He had 14 tackles in a game twice, once against Cal Poly and once against Troy.

Rashard Dillard, Troy, 6-foot-1, 261 punds, DE, RJr.: Dillard has just 11 total tackles this year, but 4.5 of them have been behind the line of scrimmage.

He also has 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

Dillard is in his first season at Troy after being named all-conference at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College.

Steve Barnes

Steve Barnes is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football.