After 14 attempts, Mississippi State snapped its 12-year drought without a ranked-vs.-ranked win when it beat then-No. 19 Missouri 31-24 last Saturday.
The now-16th-ranked Bulldogs — they were No. 24 last week — will try to start a new such winning streak when they face No. 7 Alabama on Saturday afternoon in a Southeastern Conference clash of undefeated teams in Starkville, Miss.
“Gonna be an incredible challenge. But our guys are excited about that piece of it,” Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby said of this week’s game. “That’s what this schedule is, that’s week in and week out.”
Before Mississippi State beat Missouri last week, the Bulldogs’ last win against a ranked opponent while also being ranked in the AP Top 25 poll was a 38-23 victory over No. 2 Auburn on Oct. 11, 2014. Mississippi State was No. 3 at the time.
This year, Alabama (4-0, 2-0) has taken care of business in Kalen DeBoer’s third season as coach. After overcoming slow starts to beat Kentucky and Florida State the prior two weeks, Alabama finally pounced early last week against South Carolina, leading 35-3 late in the second quarter and coasting to a 49-18 victory.
“I thought the improvement in a lot of areas for o
