Mississippi State head coach Sylvester Croom said he wants one thing to be understood: we aren’t there yet. While Saturday’s win over Alabama may have given the Bulldogs the required number of victories to reach the post-season, that doesn’t necessarily mean fans should start making plans for a Christmas vacation.
“It was a big win for us and it got us bowl-eligible, but that’s really all it did,” Croom said at the mid-week press conference. “It means we’re eligible to go to a bowl, [but] we’re not in one. Now we have to go about the task of getting in a bowl.”
This week, the task stays just as difficult as the Bulldogs head on the road to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks. Since Arkansas joined the Southeastern Conference in 1992, the Bulldogs’ results against the Razorbacks have not been stellar, especially when MSU visits the Natural State.
Mississippi State (6-4, 3-3 SEC) has never won in the state of Arkansas, only managing one tie with the Razorbacks during the 1993 season.
Saturday’s game will be played in Little Rock at War Memorial Stadium, the Razorbacks’ home-away-from-home. Since 1998, Arkansas has been nothing short of dominant in Little Rock, posting a 21-2 record.
“It’s going to be a great challenge this week for us,” Croom said. “Even though they’ve hit some low points here lately, one week to the next they can be as explosive as any team in the country.”
The Razorbacks, who two weeks ago racked up 651 total yards of offense against South Carolina en route to a 48-36 win, managed only 289 yards and 13 points in a loss to Tennessee a week ago.
Their season has been up and down, but the one thing that has remained constant for the Razorbacks (6-4, 2-3 SEC) has been tailback Darren McFadden. McFadden, a pre-season Heisman Trophy candidate, fell out of the national spotlight midway through the season but regained national attention with his record-setting performance against the Gamecocks. Against South Carolina, McFadden racked up a SEC-record 323 rushing yards, and Croom said he’s not sure why there is even any discussion of who the nation’s most outstanding player is.
“In my opinion they have the best football player in the country in McFadden,” Croom said. “As far as I’m concerned, [the Heisman trophy is] already his. They should go ahead and chisel his name on it. The guy is a tremendous player.”
McFadden, who finished second in the Heisman voting last season, leads the conference in rushing, averaging 143 yards per game while totaling more than 1,400 yards on the season.
Croom said the key to the game Saturday will be for the Bulldogs to win in the kicking game. In the past three meetings, the Razorbacks have returned two kickoffs and a blocked punt for a touchdown against State, and Croom said in order for his team to win, that can’t happen this year.
“We’ve got to win the kicking game,” Croom said. “Those returns had a significant impact and turning point in each of those games, and if we plan to win that can’t happen.”
Croom also pointed out the play of the Arkansas defense, who he said now attacks with a wider variety of blitz packages.
With the Razorbacks coming off a 34-13 loss to Tennessee, Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt said his team needs to stay focused.
“There’s a lot of football left, and these next two weeks are very, very important,” Nutt said in his mid-week press conference. “[There are] 120 minutes [of football] left, and it starts in Little Rock. Before we get there, it takes this week of great preparation and getting ready to go.”
As for the Bulldogs, Nutt said State is playing extremely well this season.
“They’ve got a good offensive line and have been running that football,” Nutt said. “They have got a defense that has a lot of confidence right now.”
Nutt added the status of running back Felix Jones is still undecided heading into Saturday’s contest. Jones, the Razorbacks’ second leading scorer, is suffering from a deep thigh bruise, which he injured in the game against the Volunteers.