MSU, Texas A&M prepare for uptempo matchup

STARKVILLE -- Mississippi State and Texas A&M captured their first wins in the Southeastern Conference last weekend. Neither team will be able to relay that gameplan to this week. 

The Aggies and Bulldogs meet in College Station, Texas, coming off SEC opponents that in no way mimic their game this week.

MSU played Auburn, a team built on rushing the ball.

"A lot of people we've played this year have been very run-oriented," MSU coach Dan Mullen said. "This is really the first, playing Auburn and LSU, the first pass-oriented team that we're going to face."

The Aggies matched up against Arkansas. The Razorbacks' slow-moving offense limited A&M to 16 offensive snaps in the first half.

"We're averaging around 80," Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said. "I'll put it this way, I've never had a game where we had 16 plays in a half. I hope it doesn't happen again."

Texas A&M ranks fifth in the SEC having run 282 plays. Mississippi State is 11th in the conference with 263 plays. MSU's coaching staff expressed its disappointment throughout the first month of the season with its low number of play so far. 

Each team should see its play total creep up around 80 offensive snaps this weekend. Mississippi State is second in the SEC in passing offense at 303 yards per game. Texas A&M is fourth, averaging 285 yards per game. 

"(Dak Prescott) is everything you want in a quarterback," Sumlin said. "He's smart. He's physical. He exudes confidence. He's a great ambassador for Mississippi State and the league."

Each teams also brings one of the league's best pass defenses. Mississippi State is third in the SEC and Texas A&M is fourth. Both allow fewer than 190 yards per game. Their stiffest test, though, will be Saturday. 

"They're really athletic on the back end and they have a lot of speed back there and a lot of experience," Mullen said. "For us, that's one of our strengths, the receiver position with the experience we have there. I think it should be a pretty good matchup"

Contact Michael Bonner at mbonner@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @MikeBBonner on Twitter.