The Vanderbilt Commodores (3-7, 0-6 SEC) face the No. 4 Missisippi State Bulldogs (9-1, 5-1) Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium. The Bulldogs are coming off a 25-20 loss to No. 1 Alabama, their first of the season. The Commodores look to use an extra week of preparation to their advantage following their second bye.

“We have to travel down to Starkville to face the No. 4 team in the country,” Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason said during his weekly press conference Tuesday. “They are a really good football team who’s mature in terms of their junior and senior leadership. They play well together. I’m a fan of Coach Mullen and what he has done there, they are 45-29 in his six seasons.

“I think he has built the program from the ground up and is starting to see the fruits of his labor. They were playing in the Gator Bowl last year and have steadily improved. What you see now, with a quarterback that is playing off the charts and skilled people all around him, is a football team that has been primed for success.”

Mason praised Mississippi State’s No. 8 overall offense, including quarterback Dak Prescott.

“It all starts with Dak Prescott,” Mason said. “When you look at their offense, they are putting up over 500 yards of offense, 269 yards passing and 249 yards rushing. They are as well balanced a football team as you’re going to find. They make you play 11-man football defensively and Prescott’s ability to distribute the football out of the zone read is pretty incredible.

“When you talk about having balance at receiver, tight end, running back, and then with a quarterback who can run and throw the football as efficiently as Dak does, then you’re talking about a really good football team.”

Vanderbilt’s offense struggled in its last matchup, a 34-10 loss to Florida in Week 11. The Commodores had four turnovers and were held to 83 rushing yards. On Saturday, Vanderbilt faces the Bulldogs’ No. 21 overall rush defense.

“Their defensive statistics probably don’t overwhelm you but I will say athletically, they are good,” Mason said. “Their biggest statistic has been red-zone defense, where they are the best in the country. They have been able to leak a little bit of oil and bleed a little, but they still keep teams out of the end zone and that’s the bottom line. If you’re playing well in the red zone and you don’t allow touchdowns then you can be a really good defense.

“We’ve got our hands full; we understand that we have two games left in the season and the postseason is not looming for us so this is our postseason. We have two games to play extremely well. The one in front of us is the biggest one and our guys are extremely excited about this game. We are going to make sure we are prepared.”