What to watch for: Mississippi State vs. No. 14 Texas A&M

After an impressive offensive performance in a loss to Georgia, Mississippi State is back home Saturday to take on No. 14 Texas A&M at 3:15 p.m. on SEC Network.

The Aggies have won five straight games in their first year under head coach Mike Elko after a season-opening loss to Notre Dame and are one of only three teams undefeated in Southeastern Conference play. Texas A&M had a bye last week after beating Missouri by 31 points on Oct. 5.

What: Texas A&M at Mississippi State

When: Saturday, 3:15 p.m

Where: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville

TV: SEC Network

Betting line: Texas A&M through May 15

Weather: Mostly sunny skies with a high of 76 degrees and easterly winds at 6 mph, according to AccuWeather

Records/Rankings: The Bulldogs are 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the SEC, while the Aggies are 5-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play. Texas A&M is ranked No. 14 in both the AP Top 25 and AFCA Coaches polls.

Series history: Mississippi State leads 9-8. The teams have played every year since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012, and Texas A&M beat the Bulldogs 51-10 in College Station last year. MSU has won four of the last five meetings in Starkville.

Mississippi State Update: The Bulldogs have lost five straight games, but their offense is trending in a positive direction after scoring 31 points on the road against Georgia last Saturday. True freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren threw the first three touchdown passes of his college career and Kelly Akharaiyi caught his first two touchdowns with MSU.

Defense, however, remains an issue. Opposing quarterbacks have no trouble finding open receivers deep down the field, and the Bulldogs’ difficulty stopping the run may not bode well against the Aggies. MSU is the healthiest it has been in several weeks, but defensive lineman Trevion Williams was injured in the Georgia game and his condition is unknown for this week.

Texas A&M update: The Aggies famously fired Jimbo Fisher after a loss to the Bulldogs last November and paid him a record severance package, but they’re looking pretty good under Elko, the former Duke head coach who was previously Texas A&M’s defensive coordinator. That defense is led by lineman Nic Scourton, a Purdue transfer who has 10 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in six games.

Quarterback Conner Weigman returned from injury against Missouri and completed 18 of 22 passes in his best game of the year. However, running back Le’Veon Moss is the biggest star in this offense with more than 100 rushing yards per game and 6.9 yards per carry.

Texas A&M Players to Watch: QB Conner Weigman, RB Le’Veon Moss, WR Noah Thomas, DL Nic Scourton, DB Marcus Ratcliffe.

Forecast: This rapidly improving MSU offense, if it can protect the quarterback, will be able to put up points against the Aggies. But the defense still has a hard time stopping anyone, and especially if Texas A&M takes an early lead, Moss could have a monster day. Texas A&M 38, Mississippi State 28.