Mississippi State @ Texas A&M preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 4, 2014 ) Texas A&M 31, Mississippi State 48

Texas A&M has not started 2-0 in conference play since 1997-98, but that drought could come to an end Saturday if the unbeaten Aggies topple visiting Mississippi State in SEC action. No. 15 Texas A&M is kicking off a three-game gauntlet that will continue against Alabama and Ole Miss, while Mississippi State's schedule eases up in October following this challenging matchup with the Aggies.

"Mississippi State is pretty good," Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said. "Five or six weeks last year they were No. 1 and have the quarterback with the most experience in the league." Sumlin was referring to senior signal-caller Dak Prescott, who has thrown seven touchdowns and zero interceptions this season and also fared well in last season's 48-31 victory over the Aggies. Of course, Texas A&M has plenty of firepower too, having averaged 40 points in its last three games against Mississippi State. The Aggies are led by sophomore quarterback Kyle Allen, who has thrown 11 touchdowns on the season, including four to freshman wideout Christian Kirk.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network. LINE: Texas A&M -7

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (3-1, 1-1 SEC): Prescott has completed 75 percent of his passes over the last two games and has not thrown an interception in his last six regular-season contests. "You'd better tackle him when he's got the ball. That's for sure," said Aggies defensive coordinator John Chavis. "He's an outstanding athlete, runs the ball extremely well, throws the ball extremely well." Meanwhile, Bulldogs linebacker Richie Brown is the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week after notching career highs of 13 tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss in last week's 17-9 win at Auburn.

ABOUT TEXAS A&M (4-0, 1-0): Only Penn State (18) has more sacks among FBS teams than Texas A&M (17), which is led by defensive end Myles Garrett (6.5). Daeshon Hall has contributed four sacks, making the Aggies the country's only team with two players in the top 10 nationally. On the offensive side of the ball, Allen is hoping to build off a 358-yard passing performance against Arkansas last week, while Kirk posted 173 receiving yards - his third 100-yard performance of the month.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Texas A&M has not started 5-0 in back-to-back seasons since 1940 and 1941.

2. Prescott has only been sacked five times in the first four games.

3. Kirk has 815 all-purpose yards and could become the first Aggies player to reach 1,000 all-purpose yards in the first five games of a season.

PREDICTION: Texas A&M 44, Mississippi State 31