⚡ CFB Dashboard

#16 Mississippi State (4-0, 2-0 SEC) will host #7 Alabama (4-0, 2-0 SEC) this weekend at Davis Wade Stadium in a battle of unbeatens. The Bulldogs have collected a pair of league wins against South Carolina and Missouri. The Tide picked up their two SEC victories over Kentucky and South Carolina. This weekend's matchup is the biggest test that either team has faced this season. Saturday's game from Starkville will kick off at 11 AM. ABC will carry the contest as part of a national broadcast. A second straight sellout is expected this weekend, but there are some tickets remaining for sale through the Mississippi State ticket office. Alabama is currently listed as a 5.5-point favorite in the eyes of oddsmakers.  On Monday, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer met with the media to preview this weekend's road trip to Starkville. Here is everything he had to say about the Bulldogs and the challenges that Mississippi State bring to the table. Opening statement: We are going to get challenged this next week against a very, very good Mississippi State team. Coach (Jeff) Lebby has done an awesome job of bringing these guys together. They're off to a great start. We are going to go into an environment that we know will challenge us.  On the Mississippi State defense: They play complementary football. They get the ball back, get off the field and get the ball back to the offense. I think it's timely stops. It's a group effort of guys flying around. They're going to be multiple in what they show you...I have a lot of respect for them and what they are doing this time of the year. I think complementary football is what they're doing really well at Mississippi State. They're explosive. Obviously, that defense has to face that offense every day in practice. It's high level across the board. On renewing the series with the Bulldogs: Personally, this is one of those stadiums that I haven't played in no matter where I've been. What I hear from the people that I trust, is that it's going to be an absolutely crazy environment. We're going to be prepared for that. We talked about as a team this morning and we're looking forward to that challenge.  On preparing for the cowbells: We know, this week, we've got to work on that crowd noise. There will probably be a lot of cowbells that we're hearing in practice in one form or fashion. Another thing is that it's just an early game. It's an 11 o'clock kickoff. We're a morning practice team and we've had some success in those morning games. We've got to go on the road and travel that morning. It's going to be a little different set-up that way too.