With only four days of preparation following the Tigers' 52-26 victory, Auburn has no time to waste to prepare for a stellar Mississippi State team.
Mississippi State is coming off a convincing 49-7 win over Memphis Saturday, a game which saw the Bulldogs rack up more than 500 yards of total offense, 372 coming from quarterback duo Chris Relf and Tyler Russell.
The duo will more than likely share playing time tonight creating threats not only in the short passing game, but down the field as well.
Since the Bulldogs don't have a go to running back like they did in Anthony Dixon, I expect the Bulldogs to mainly be a threat through the air.
As long as the Tigers continue to pressure the quarterback, they should be able to force some turnovers, something Auburn failed to do Saturday.
I see the Tigers playing several running backs, since the Bulldog defense is now forced to take Newton into account as a vital running threat.
Looking to stop the run for Mississippi State is All-America candidate Pernell McPhee, whose defensive line held Memphis to only 41 rushing yards.
Although the Bulldog defense is fast, physical and will challenge the Tigers' offensive line, fatigue will set in somewhere in the fourth quarter.
This gives the Tigers the opportunity to run the ball at will.
Since the game is played on a Thursday night, it will be broadcast on national television, and Mississippi State is well aware of this fact.
Both schools have high expectations for their teams, and a conference loss would be detrimental this early in the season.
Head coach Dan Mullen has stressed this is an important game and all the pieces are in place for State to pull an upset.
The fans will be loud and ready, and starting this year, Bulldog fans will be allowed to ring cow bells during games (not that they haven't in the past).
The new rule allows fans to openly bring bells into the stadium, ring the bells before games, at halftime, during timeouts and following a score.
If you ask me, those are all the times when it doesn't matter if you ring it or not.
The University is urging fans not to ring the bells at any other time because they would be fined.
Are you kidding me?! They really expect fans to "ring responsibly?"
Everyone knows that every third down those bells will be ringing as loudly and as obnoxiously as the vuvuzela of the World Cup.
Not only that, but I'm pretty sure the University wouldn't mind spending a few extra bucks to beat a top 25 opponent on national television.
If Auburn shows up tonight and plays with as much emotion as Mississippi State most likely will, they should take care of business, while improving to 2-0 and continuing their run at an SEC West title.
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