College football Week 8 games of the week: Clemson-NC State in a battle of ACC unbeatens
By Cephas Evans
(22) Mississippi State at (5) LSU – 7 p.m. ET – ESPN
With the Tigers scheduled to play Alabama in its next game, it will be hard not to look ahead, but if they don’t focus on Mississippi State, the game could become just another stop on Alabama’s road to the SEC championship.
LSU was a big underdog when hosting Georgia last weekend, but shocked SEC nation by controlling the game from start to finish. The Tigers will look to avoid a let-down this weekend and should have plenty of motivation after losing to the Bulldogs by 30 points in Starkville last season. This year the game plan shouldn’t change and the Tigers defense will be tasked with slowing down one of the best rushing attacks in the SEC. If the LSU defense can play with the same energy they brought against Georgia, they should have no issue coming away with a victory on Saturday.
Mississippi State had sustained two straight losses before dismantling Auburn last weekend. Led by quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, who has more rushing yards than any quarterback in SEC history, the Bulldogs will look to control the game on the ground and impose their physicality on the Tigers. Nothing about that game plan will be easy, but Mississippi State has done it in the past, which gives them all the confidence they need to repeat last years performance.
If I had to guess, not many college football fans will be pulling for the Bulldogs on Saturday. It will be a tough game for LSU, but here is to hoping we see LSU and Alabama face-off in a top-5 match-up on Nov. 3.