Rise from the ranks

STARKVILLE -- Arkansas' tour through half of its SEC schedule has been rife with hazards and heartbreak.

The Razorbacks (4-4, 0-4 SEC) might face their toughest task yet today at No. 1 Mississippi State as they try to end a 16-game conference losing streak. Kickoff is 6:15 p.m. at Davis Wade Stadium, where Arkansas owns a 6-5 series advantage.

The Bulldogs (7-0, 4-0), led by Heisman Trophy front-runner Dak Prescott, represent the fifth consecutive top-10 SEC opponent for Arkansas, the first time that has happened in college football based on research by Arkansas officials.

"We're setting all kinds of records ... as far as people that we're playing, but we came here to set records for wins," said Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema, who is in his second season as the Razorbacks coach. "There's no better opportunity than this week against a very, very talented football team."

Mississippi State has the worst all-time winning percentage in the SEC, but it comes into today's game as the first No. 1 team in the College Football Playoff rankings.

"I think it's great for our university," Mississippi State Coach Dan Mullen said. "I don't know how relevant it is. What we'll do, if we're fortunate enough to continue to win, we'll probably watch it at the end of the season whenever they do the last one.

"It's not going to help us beat Arkansas, so we kind of take it for what it's worth."

The Bulldogs have won 10 in a row, the nation's second-longest winning streak, since rallying in the fourth quarter to beat Arkansas 24-17 in overtime last season in Little Rock. Mississippi State went from unranked to start the season to No. 1 in five weeks, the fastest ascent to the top of The Associated Press poll in its 78-year history.

Arkansas had a couple of good chances to end its SEC losing streak, which dates to a 49-7 victory over Kentucky on Oct. 13, 2012, but the Razorbacks blew fourth-quarter leads against Texas A&M and Alabama.

Bielema's program-building style, which begins with strength in the trenches like the Bulldogs have done, has a fan in Mullen.

"You look on a national scale and they're an excellent football team," Mullen said. "The challenge is the SEC, and especially the West right now, is so challenging.

"I look at Arkansas, and the record might not show this in recent times, but to me, they can play and beat every single team in this conference and do it pretty easily. ... They have a great recipe for success, and I think they've just got to get over that hump. Once they do, you'll see they can compete with anybody in this league every weekend."

There is a possibility every SEC team Arkansas plays this season will be ranked at the time of their game, which makes a trip to the cowbell-shaking confines of Davis Wade Stadium less daunting, even with the No. 1 in front of Mississippi State's name.

"Just being in the SEC, you know we're going to get the best of the best. Obviously we drew No. 1, so we're looking forward to it," Arkansas defensive captain Trey Flowers said.

"In this league, it's easy to get up every week," Arkansas secondary coach Clay Jennings said. "Our kids have played in front of some big crowds, so I don't think there's an awe factor."

Mississippi State, in its sixth year of a rebuilding job by Mullen, has locked into a winning formula with big doses of the quarterback Prescott and tailback Josh Robinson, tough run defense and stingy red zone defense.

Prescott, a dual threat in a Spread attack, ranks fourth in the country with 26 total touchdowns and eighth with 336.9 total yards per game.

"Our whole mind-set is not to flinch," Prescott said. "I've felt a special bond with this team since Texas A&M last year. We all realized that we were going to make something special happen."

Prescott and Robinson, who leads the SEC with 887 rushing yards, account for 87 percent of the Bulldogs' total offense. Robinson has shown the ability to bounce off defenders and keep on trucking, which helped the Bulldogs rack up more than 250 yards after contact last week.

"We've got to be able to match his center of gravity," Arkansas defensive coordinator Robb Smith said. "In football the lowest man usually wins. He runs low. So we've got to be great benders and we've got to tackle and we've got to get him on the ground."

Mississippi State's No. 4 rushing defense in the SEC, which allows an average of 118 yards per game, will match strength with Arkansas' running attack, which is No. 4 in the SEC with 259 yards per game.

Mississippi State ranks last in the SEC in total defense, giving up 439.6 yards per game, but it leads the nation in allowing scores on just 14 of its opponents' 23 trips (.609) inside the 20-yard line.

"I don't see a defense that statistically is behind anybody," Arkansas offensive coordinator Jim Chaney said. "I think you've got about everything you need to be a very fine defense, and I believe they are."

While Arkansas has suffered painful losses to its four top-10 opponents, the Bulldogs are doing the opposite. Mississippi State became the first team in 31 years and the fifth ever to knock off three consecutive top-10 opponents.

The Bulldogs did it by downing No. 8 LSU (34-29), No. 6 Texas A&M (48-31) and No. 2 Auburn (38-23).

"They've been in some tight games ... where they just kind of find a way when the game gets a little bit close to champion the moment," Bielema said.

Bielema looked to last year's overtime loss to the Bulldogs, who were playing without Prescott, to project the trajectories for both teams.

"They've got swagger and they're very well-coached," Bielema said. "They're very, very disciplined, organized and they're playing with confidence.

"I mean, here's a team we took to overtime, right? You mean to tell me they outworked us that much more to be ranked No. 1, which they fully deserve? ... That's what we've got to push through and be able to do."

Sports on 11/01/2014