First-And-10 To Know: State vs. Arkansas

STARKVILLE – It's a new week and a new opportunity for Mississippi State. Week after week now, MSU has been knocking at the door of a huge league win. Is this the week the Bulldogs finally break through?

MSU (4-4 overall, 0-4 in Southeastern Conference play) faces Arkansas (2-6, 0-4) at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday in Fayetteville. The game will be televised by SEC Network.

Ahead of the contest, let's have a look at 10 items to be aware of as State gets ready to square off against the Razorbacks:

MSU and Arkansas are facing each other for the 36th time in history. The two schools have met every year since 1992, which was the first season the Arkansas football program competed in the Southeastern Conference. The streak will come to an end next year, however. The Bulldogs and Razorbacks aren't on each other's 2026 regular-season slate as the SEC shifts to a new format with a nine-game league schedule. MSU and Arkansas will resume their series in 2027.
As the Bulldogs look to get back in the win column in league action, they'll do so at the site of their last conference victory. MSU topped Arkansas 7-3 back on Oct. 21, 2023. In fact, State has won four of its last five games played in Fayetteville.
Mississippi State's defense has been a stout group this season and its calling card has been its ability to create turnovers. After creating just 12 turnovers all of last season, the Bulldogs have already created 14 through just eight games this year. State's 14 takeaways are tied for first in the SEC and tied for 16th-most nationally. MSU's 11 interceptions lead the SEC and are tied for eighth-most nationally.
Safety Jahron Manning has been one of the top defensive performers for the Bulldogs. He leads MSU with 60 tackles – a total that is fourth in the SEC. Cornerback Kelley Jones has also been one of the SEC's best. Jones has allowed the fewest receptions among all SEC corners that have been targeted at least 12 times.
On the MSU offensive side, the Bulldogs are averaging 410.8 yards per game this season. It's State's highest per-game average since 2021. It's also just the second time since 2020 that the Bulldogs have averaged more than 400 yards of total offense per game.
Receiver Anthony Evans III has been a standout for the MSU offense this season. Evans is having a career year with 47 receptions for 542 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Evans' 47 catches are the third-most in the SEC.
On the Arkansas side, the Razorbacks will be playing their fourth game under interim head coach Bobby Petrino. Petrino, who previously served as the head man at Arkansas from 2008 through 2011, was named the interim head coach of the Razorbacks on Sept. 28. Arkansas is 0-3 since Petrino has taken over, however Petrino is 3-1 in his head coaching career when facing MSU.
Petrino's interim defensive coordinator is a familiar face to Mississippi State. Chris Wilson was MSU's co-defensive coordinator in 2010, then the defensive coordinator in 2011 and 2012. Prior to being elevated to interim defensive coordinator at Arkansas, Wilson oversaw the defensive line of the Razorbacks.
Arkansas' strength this season has been its offense. The Razorbacks enter play this weekend averaging 490.9 yards per game. That total is the second-best mark in the SEC and the seventh-best in the country.
Following Saturday's contest, three games remain on MSU's 2025 regular-season schedule and all three are against foes that are currently highly ranked. Georgia, Missouri and Ole Miss are all ranked inside the top 20 of the Associated Press poll entering this weekend, with Georgia and Ole Miss both inside the top 10.

Mississippi State University Athletics

First-And-10 To Know: State vs. Arkansas

Players Mentioned

Anthony Evans III

Kelley Jones

Jahron Manning

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