First-And-10 To Know: State vs. Western Michigan

STARKVILLE – The page has turned to October for Mississippi State.
Saturday morning at 11 a.m., MSU is set to square off with Western Michigan for the first game of a new month. That much you know. However, there are several things you might not.
So, let's have a look at 10 items to be aware of headed into State's showdown against the Broncos:

Saturday marks the first-ever meeting between Mississippi State and Western Michigan. In fact, the Broncos haven't played any Southeastern Conference opponent in more than 24 years. The last time WMU squared off against the SEC was in September of 1999 when the Broncos fell to Florida 55-26.
State linebacker Jett Johnson enters Saturday's affair as one of the top tacklers in not just the SEC, but the entire country. Johnson's 59 takedowns rank sixth nationally going into this week of play. And yes, as you probably expected, Johnson is once again at the top of the league leaderboard in the tackles category after also topping it in 2022.
While Johnson keeps getting the job done on the defensive side of the football, running back Jo'Quavious Marks continues to shine on the offensive side. The man better known as Woody enters Saturday's game with 420 rushing yards this year. He ranks fourth in the SEC in rushing yards over the season's first five weeks.
Bulldog receiver Lideatrick Griffin will attempt to continue a couple of impressive streaks on Saturday. He's recorded at least one reception in 20 straight games dating back to a September 25, 2021, contest against LSU. He's also caught at least two passes in 11 straight games – a streak that started last October at Alabama.
Last weekend marked quarterback Will Rogers' 37^th consecutive start for Mississippi State. Among signal callers in the SEC, Rogers' streak is the longest in the conference at one school. LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels has started 48 straight games, but only the last 19 of those were at LSU. Daniels was previously at Arizona State.
Speaking of Rogers, he's already climbed to third place in SEC history in career passing yardage this season. Rogers sits at 11,775 yards entering play Saturday. He needs just 419 more passing yards to jump Drew Lock and move into second place. Rogers needs 1,392 more passing yards this season to supplant Aaron Murry as the all-time conference leader.
Western Michigan has an identical 2-3 record as Mississippi State. The Broncos began the season with a 35-17 home win over Saint Francis, then lost three in a row on the road. WMU fell 48-7 at Syracuse, 41-10 at Iowa and 49-31 at Toledo. Last week, the Broncos got back on the winning track when they hosted Ball State and won 42-24.
The Broncos boast one of the country's most statistically impressive running backs. Redshirt freshman Jalen Buckley entered this week of play ranked seventh in the nation with his 557 rushing yards. He also ranks 10^th in rushing yards per game with 111.4, as well as in rushing touchdowns, with five.
While Buckley has been a bright spot of the WMU offense, a highlight of the Bronco defense has been the team's pass rush. Western Michigan entered action this week ranked 23^rd in the country in team sacks, averaging three per game.
Finally, Saturday's game will be Mississippi State's last home contest for nearly an entire month. The Bulldogs are off next weekend, then travel to face Arkansas on October 21 and Auburn on October 28. MSU's next game at Davis Wade Stadium will be the November 4 homecoming matchup against Kentucky that'll feature the return of the iconic interlocking MSU logo to the Bulldogs' uniforms – worn in honor of the 1998 SEC Western Division championship team.

Mississippi State University Athletics

First-And-10 To Know: State vs. Western Michigan

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Players Mentioned

Lideatrick Griffin

Jett Johnson

Jo'Quavious Marks

Will Rogers

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