Following a dominating win against the University of Southern Mississippi, the Mississippi State University football team prepares to face another Conference USA foe in the Blazers of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. 
After a two-win season in 2013, UAB entered the 2014 season under the leadership of new Head  Coach Bill Clark. Clark and the Blazers won their first game in impressive fashion defeating the Troy Trojans 48-10. The Blazers were led on offense by sophomore running back Jordan Howard. Howard rushed for a career-high 179 yards in the season opener on only 19 carries. The impactful performance did not go unnoticed by MSU Head Coach Dan Mullen. 
“I see an improved, complete football program coming into this Saturday,” Mullen said. “They run the ball very well, and that helps you play defense because you’re flipping field position, you’re controlling the tempo of the game and you’re wearing people down.”
The UAB defense held the Trojans to just three points in the final three quarters. Troy was held to 272 total yards and only 71 rushing yards in the game. MSU senior running back Nick Griffin said he is aware of the tough run defense. 
“It is not going to be like playing Southern Miss,” Griffin said. “We are going to have to be prepared. They are much better at tackling.”
The Bulldogs looked strong in their season opener against the USM Golden Eagles. Junior quarterback Dak Prescott threw for 284 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomore wide receivers De’Runnya Wilson and Fred Ross both caught two touchdown passes in the season opener. Even after a great performance, Ross said the young receivers can still improve. 
“We can get better at blocking,” Ross said. “We missed some blocks on the perimeter that would have been touchdowns for the running backs. When we get to the SEC games, we can’t miss those blocks because every game matters.”
The Bulldog defense was dominant against the Golden Eagle offense. Southern Miss was held to 283 total yards and only 71 rushing yards. The Bulldog defense also forced three Southern Miss turnovers. This is the first time a Bulldog defense has allowed zero points in a game since 1999. The Bulldogs finished the 1999 season with a 10-2 record and a win over Clemson in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
This is the sixth meeting between the Blazers of Conference USA and the Bulldogs of the SEC. MSU leads the series four games to one. The Blazers won the first of these five meetings in 2004 as they beat the Bulldogs 27-13 in Starkville. The last meeting between the two teams came in October of 2011 in Birmingham, Alabama in which the Bulldogs won 21-3 after trailing 3-0 at halftime.
The Bulldog family will be playing this weekend with a heavy heart. Following the win over USM, Bulldog players and fans mourned the death of Tyriunce Lewis, who is the brother of senior wide receiver Jameon Lewis. Mullen said he is not sure if Lewis will play Saturday. 
“We’ll see how he does with everything,” Mullen said. “I don’t worry as much about the missed time on the football side of things. We just want to see how he is emotionally and see how he’ll emotionally handle things for us, and be there for him. A lot of times football is a great escape when you’re dealing with awful situations.”
UAB will be the third straight conference USA opponent to face the Bulldogs. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m.