Kentucky @ Mississippi State preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 25, 2014 ) Mississippi State 45, Kentucky 31

It may not carry the significance of last year's meeting when it was ranked No. 1 in the nation but Mississippi State is pulling out all the stops for Saturday night's SEC game with visiting Kentucky. The school is holding a special "Blackout" for the contest and even released a special black and white one-minute promotional video complete with a cover version of the Rolling Stones' famous hit "Paint It Black" as the soundtrack.

Even though the two schools are in opposite divisions in the SEC they have developed a solid rivalry, playing each other the last 26 seasons with the all-time series record knotted at 21-21. Mississippi State has won six in a row, including a wild 45-31 decision last year in Lexington when Wildcats quarterback Patrick Towles threw for 390 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 76 more yards and two more scores. "He had a huge game at their place," Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said. "The best way to trump any quarterback is to have home field advantage, to have our student body and fans on their feet making an awful lot of noise, and making it uncomfortable."

TV: 7:30 p.m. EST, SEC Network LINE: Mississippi State -11

ABOUT KENTUCKY (4-2, 2-2 SEC): Towles, despite being sacked 19 times and victimized by a number of dropped passes, has thrown for 1,512 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. Sophomore tailback Stanley "Boom" Williams has rushed for 469 yards and three touchdowns and is averaging 7.2 yards per carry while sophomore wide receiver Dorian Baker leads the team with 30 receptions for 342 yards and three touchdowns but also has had several key drops. The defense, which is allowing 374.8 yards and 23.2 points per game, is led by senior linebacker Josh Forrest, an NFL prospect who has 58 tackles, 20 more than any other Wildcats defender.

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (5-2, 1-2): Senior quarterback Dak Prescott isn't getting the kind of Heisman Trophy talk he did a year ago when the Bulldogs were flirting with a national championship for much of the season but he is still having another big season, completing 65.8 percent of his passes for 1,700 yards, 11 touchdowns and no interceptions while also rushing for a team-best 254 yards and four touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Fred Ross leads the team with 38 catches for 422 yards and a touchdown while junior wideout De'Runnya Wilson has 29 receptions for 433 yards and five touchdowns. Junior linebacker Richie Brown leads the Bulldogs in tackles (61), which ranks fourth in the SEC, while junior defensive end A.J. Jefferson has 10.5 tackles for loss, which ranks 13th nationally.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Prescott hasn't thrown an interception in 274 attempts, the third-longest streak in SEC history and 51 off the record held by Kentucky's Andre Woodson (325, 2006-07).

2. Mississippi State has 27 consecutive wins over unranked teams at home.

3. Towles is the grandson of Hall of Fame pitcher and former U.S. Senator Jim Bunning.

PREDICTION: Mississippi State 34, Kentucky 24