Davis Wade Stadium - Starkville, MS
Kickoff: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
Line: Alabama -7.5, Total: 51.5

No. 2 Alabama tries to move closer to the SEC West division crown when it travels to No. 17 Mississippi State on Saturday.

The Crimson Tide (4-5 ATS) have six straight victories since their lone loss of the season on Sept. 19 to Ole Miss, with their most impressive outing coming last week in a 30-16 win over LSU. The Bulldogs (6-3 ATS) are also red-hot with four consecutive victories by at least 18 points, including a 31-13 triumph at Missouri last Thursday. Alabama has won seven straight meetings in this series, but Mississippi State is 3-1 ATS in the past four matchups of these conference foes. This includes a close 25-20 loss in Tuscaloosa last season where the club was ranked No. 1 in the nation but still received 10 points from the oddsmakers. There are good reasons to wager on either side for Saturday, as the Crimson Tide are 33-17 ATS (66%) after win streak of 6+ games since 1992 and the Bulldogs are a perfect 6-0 ATS in the past three seasons versus great rushing defenses (120 or less YPG allowed). The only recent injury for either squad is Alabama WR Chris Black (ankle), who was lost for the season.

Which SEC powerhouse will emerge victorious on Saturday? For the answer, connect to College Football Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2015 regular season and bowl season. The experts were a combined 54% ATS in Best Bets last week (14-12-1) led by StatFox Dave's impressive 80% clip (4-1).

Alabama is scoring 33.1 PPG with 423 total YPG for the season, and has held the football for an impressive average of 34:02. The club is gaining 195 YPG (4.5 YPC) on the ground and 228 YPG (7.1 YPA) through the air. The key to the offense is junior RB Derrick Henry, whose 210 yards on 38 carries (5.5. YPC) and 3 TD last week gives him 1,254 yards (5.8 YPC) and 17 touchdowns this season. He has rushed for a score at least once in all nine games and has totaled 589 yards (196 YPG) and 7 TD over the past three games. Henry is looking for redemption after a poor showing versus Mississippi State when he rushed for only 36 yards on 11 carries (3.3 YPC). Senior QB Jake Coker (1,807 pass yds, 7.3 YPA, 11 TD, 7 INT) has completed at least 73% of his passes in four straight games, but he's also gone three straight contests without a single touchdown toss. On defense, the Crimson Tide remain stingy, allowing only 16.3 PPG and 265 total YPG this season. Nobody can run on the front seven that has limited opponents to a paltry 76 rushing YPG on 2.5 YPC, and the pass defense has also been strong in holding quarterbacks to a 50% completion rate, 190 passing YPG and 5.6 YPA. The unit has also done a great job in forcing turnovers, including four takeaways in each of its past two road contests.

Mississippi State's offense has been potent this year with 34.7 PPG and 443 total YPG, and those numbers have risen to 39.3 PPG and 485 total YPG over the past three games. Senior QB Dak Prescott leads the team in both passing yards (2,351) and rushing yards (418) as he gains 7.8 YPA and 4.9 YPC. He has totaled 25 touchdowns (18 pass, 7 rush) with only one interception all season. Prescott nearly brought his team back from a 16-point deficit in Tuscaloosa last year when he gained 372 total yards (290 passing, 82 rushing) with 2 TD passes, but he also threw three costly interceptions. His top receiver is WR De'Runnya Wilson (626 rec yds, 8 TD), who caught eight passes for 91 yards in that near comeback versus Alabama. Defensively, the Bulldogs are on the field for 35:14 per game, but still allow just 17.2 PPG and 369 total YPG. Opposing quarterbacks are throwing for 202 YPG on 6.1 YPA, but the run-stop unit has held teams to 168 YPG on 3.9 YPC. Turnovers have also been key, as Mississippi State has eight takeaways over the past four weeks, and the only loss Alabama had this season was when the team turned the ball over five times.