Not a lot of people saw it coming when the season started, but the Mississippi State Bulldogs have been the team that has dominated the rankings to this point. They started the season as underdogs, but became college football betting favorites after racking up some signature wins on their way to a well-deserved number 1 ranking, and are now the prohibitive favorites to come out of the SEC and into the playoff.
Saturday, October 25, 3:30 PM, Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, Kentucky
There is still some work to be done before any of that happens, though, and it all begins with a tricky little road trip to Kentucky this weekend. The Bulldogs have cruised their way to a 6-0 record this season, with their only real scare coming in a game against LSU. Their high powered offense has been racking up the points, and their back to back wins against Texas A&M and Auburn have been impressive to say the very least.Kentucky is sitting at 5-2 and must still feel as though they have a shot at the SEC East crown, but that would mean having to win this one before taking on division rivals Missouri and Georgia. That does not seem like a very real possibility. Their two losses this season have come at the hands of SEC opponents, with Florida beating them earlier in the season and LSU laying a bit of a beating on them in their last outing. Where they have had a little success this season is in running the ball, which is an area of concern for Mississippi State. You have to think that represents Kentucky’s best chance of getting anything out of this one.