STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football is coming off its open week with no new injuries.

The Bulldogs’ injury report for Week 13 did not show any additions from their most recent SEC injury report, in Week 11 against Tennessee. MSU (2-8, 0-6 SEC) hosts Missouri (7-3, 3-3) at Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday (3:15 p.m. CT, SEC Network) in the final home game of the season.

The Tigers listed starting quarterback Brady Cook as probable after he returned from an injury last week.

The SEC newly mandated this season that each team provides injury reports for conference games. The first reports are revealed on Wednesdays and updated daily until the final report 90 minutes before kickoff. The full report is below.

Mississippi State football injury report vs Missouri

This will be updated daily as the injury reports change.

Mississippi State

• QB Blake Shapen: Out
• CB Traveon Wright: Out
• WR Creed Whittemore: Out
• WR Trent Hudson: Out
• RB Keyvone Lee: Out
• DL Kalvin Dinkins: Out
• DL Kedrick Bingley-Jones: Out
• OL Canon Boone: Out

Missouri

• WR Mookie Cooper: Out
• DE Darris Smith: Out
• QB Sam Horn: Out
• LB Khalil Jacobs: Out
• DE Joe Moore: Out
• OL Connor Tollison: Out
• S Tre’Vez Johnson: Probable
• QB Brady Cook: Probable

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

NORMAN — The bye week was Oklahoma’s final chance to reset before ending the year with the gauntlet of Alabama and LSU in consecutive weeks. 

To have a chance to pull off an upset either in Norman on Saturday night or in Baton Rouge after Thanksgiving, the Sooners will need much better play from their quarterback. 

Jackson Arnold fumbled three times in OU’s loss to Missouri, losing two of them including the game-ending scoop-and-score, which was just the latest hiccup in the quarterback’s year-long turnover issues. 

And while the offense has plenty of problems across the board, from the lack of explosive plays to protection issues by the offensive line, Oklahoma (5-5, 1-5 SEC) coach Brent Venables said the process to keep Arnold confident after another batch of back-breaking turnovers is still ongoing on the practice field. 

“I think it’s gonna be the same type of experience it’s gonna be for the rest of his career and he’s no different than any other player other than he’s the face,” Venables said on Tuesday. “That goes along with that position at a place like the University of Oklahoma. That’s a position that’s a little bit … it’s a bit like the head coach position. There’s a different type of microscope and there’s a different type of focus and that’s okay he’s got broad shoulders to handle that. 

“… Improving and developing, making mistakes, learning from the good and the bad… that’s just a daily task. He’s got a huge part in that experience and the development and the improving and taking ownership. You can’t deflect it. You have to have great awareness, you have to have great self-awareness and you’ve got to have great humility and then you have to have respect for what I need to do, his part, in order to improve. And that’s not just him, that’s everybody around him.”

Reviewing the loss, Arnold took full accountability for his mistakes and got to work throughout the bye week to ensure it won’t happen again. 

“Obviously it was a heartbreaker, you never want a game to end like that,” he said on Monday. “For me in the quarterbacks room, I’ve got to look back at the film and watch it. I can’t fumble like that, can’t turn the ball over but at the same time, we’ve got two more games. We’ve got two more great teams we’ve got to play so we’ve got to put it behind us and move forward.”

Arnold also said him and the entire team were happy to be able to get an extra week to prepare for the No. 7-ranked Crimson Tide (8-2, 4-2), as Kalen DeBoer’s team continues to get better and better throughout the season. 

But Arnold also got another boost on Monday. 

He was named a captain by Venables and the coaching staff for the home finale, something that the OU coach said has been earned throughout Arnold’s attitude in practice all throughout the season.

“We love Jackson, and we believe in him,” Venables said. “But it’s a sign of he’s one of our best leaders that we have on the team. And there’s plenty of guys going through, rough spots that still have the ability to lead and fight and compete. So that goes along with that position as well. But representing the offensive side of the ball, those are two of our best leaders, Troy Everett and Jackson Arnold.”

That faith in the coaching staff wasn’t lost on Arnold. 

“Yeah, no, it’s awesome,” he said. “Just knowing that the team and the coaches have my back and support me, it’s a good feeling for sure and I’m super appreciative of those guys.”

The Sooners are fully focused on knocking off Alabama and extending the program’s 25-year bowl streak, but there will be plenty of decisions that need to be made in the coming weeks. 

Arnold committed to play for then-offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, but he stayed to take over as OU’s central piece on offense. 

The season hasn’t gone to plan, as evidenced by Seth Littrell’s dismissal, and without an offensive coordinator in place for the 2025 season, Arnold declined to shed light on what the next step is for him either way. 

“I stay in my lane, I stay focused,” Arnold said about blocking out the outside noise surrounding a potential transfer. “I have Snapchat, so I talk to my friends, talk to my family, call them and talk to my girlfriend, but other than that I don’t go on any social media. 

“And regarding my future, like I just — I mean, we’ve got two great teams left that we gotta go against, I’m just taking it week by week.”

So regardless of what the next month brings for Arnold and Oklahoma, the Sooners are focused in getting the best out of their young quarterback over the next eight quarters. 

“It’s not him alone. It’s Coach (Kevin) Johns, it’s Coach (Joe Jon) Finley, it’s Coach (Bill) Bedenbaugh and Coach (DeMarco) Murray,” Venables said. “Making sure that their guys are prepared and detailed so that it helps him have success and stay into a rhythm — have a clean pocket and make good decisions. Everybody has a role in that and confidence as a young player is always something. 

“The confidence usually comes from the work. And then, I’m not gonna lie, the confidence takes a shot when you’re not successful. And so we gotta do, all of us together, gotta do a good job of hitting it head on.”

The Missouri Tigers (7-3, 3-3 SEC) dropped a thrilling game against South Carolina to essentially end their College Football Playoff hopes. But there’s still two regular seasons and a bowl game left.

First up, the Tigers will finish the true-road game schedule in Starkville, Miss., where they will face Mississippi State (2-8, 0-6 SEC).

The Bulldogs ended a seven-game losing streak with a 45-20 win against UMass two weeks ago, but dropped a 33-14 game against Tennessee last weekend to stay winless in conference play.

Missouri opened as an 8-point favorite according to Circa Sports.

Here’s a glance at Mississippi State and what Missouri will face at 3:15 p.m. Saturday in Mississippi.

When: 3:15 p.m. CT, Saturday

Where: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Mississippi.

TV: SEC Network

RADIO: Tiger Radio Network

The Tigers and Bulldogs have played only four times with Mississippi State winning the two matchups since Missouri joined the SEC.

The most recent matchup was a 51-32 Bulldog win in Starkville in 2020 and Mississippi State won 31-13 in 2015 in Columbia.

Missouri won 47-30 in a non-conference matchup in Columbia in 1984 and a 14-3 non-conference road matchup in 1981.

Scoring offense: 27.6 (No. 72)

Scoring defense: 34.4 (No. 117)

Rushing offense: 146.9 (No. 82)

Rushing defense: 214.5 (No. 126)

Passing offense: 238.9 (No. 53)

Passing defense: 246.3 (No. 103)

OFFENSE

Michael Van Buren Jr., QB

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound freshman took over the quarterback spot in Week 4 against Florida after transfer senior Blake Shapen hurt his shoulder and was knocked out for the season.

In eight games, Van Buren Jr. has passed for 1,415 yards and completed 107-of-196 (54.6 percent) of his passes. He has nine touchdowns and five interceptions.

His best games came at Georgia and against Arkansas.

At Georgia, he completed 20-of-37 passes for 306 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, and got shoved by Georgia coach Kirby Smart.

Against Arkansas, Van Buren completed 22-of-31 (71 percent) of his passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns, but he did have two interceptions.

He hasn’t had another two-interception game, though he did throw one each against Georgia, Texas A&M and Tennessee.

He has not been a rushing threat this season, never totaling more than 15 yards in a game and racking up -5 yards on 57 attempts this year when including sack yardage.

Davon Booth and Johnnie Daniels, RBs

The pair of running backs have combined for 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns, both averaging between 50-60 yards per game.

Booth, a 5-10, 205-pound senior, leads the way at 597 yards and four touchdowns, while also catching 10 passes for 124 yards and four touchdowns.

Booth has grown into the lead back the past four weeks with games of 79 rushing yards and two catches for 31 yards and a score against Texas A&M, 93 rushing yards and a 54-yard receiving touchdown against Arkansas, 76 rushing yards and a score against UMass and 125 rushing yards and a touchdown against Tennessee.

Booth also often returns kicks, taking 11 back for a combined 281 yards (25.55 per return).

Daniels, a 5-10, 200-pound junior, has 509 yards and four rushing scores to go with seven catches for 72 yards.

His best game was a 92-yard performance against UMass, but he has games of 77 yards and a score against Florida and 75 yards against Texas.

Kevin Coleman, WR

The 5-11, 180-pound junior has totaled about a third of the team’s total receiving yards with 756 on 62 catches with five touchdowns.

He has surpassed 100 yards three times, a four-catch, 103-yard game against Arizona State, an eight-catch, 103-yard performance against Georgia and an eight-catch 100-yard performance against Arkansas.

His touchdowns came one each against Eastern Kentucky, Arizona State, Toledo, Texas A&M and Arkansas.

He has also returned 11 kicks for 134 yards (12.18 per return), but most of that came on five returns against Eastern Kentucky in the first game of the season.

DEFENSE

Isaac Smith, Safety

The 6-0, 205-pound sophomore leads the team with 101 tackles in nine games played. He recorded 20 tackles against Tennessee last week.

He has broken up two passes and forced a fumble against Florida.

Corey Ellington, Safety

A 6-3, 200-pound senior, Ellington leads the Bulldogs with three forced fumbles in just seven games played. He forced one each against Florida, Texas and Arkansas.

He has totaled 39 tackles this year with nine each against Arkansas and UMass, and he has one tackle for loss against Texas to go with three pass breakups.

Brice Pollock, Corner

The 6-1, 190-pound sophomore, leads the Bulldogs with seven pass breakups. He had one each in five of the season’s first six games, then two against UMass.

In 10 games, Pollock has 38 total tackles with his season-high of six coming against both Arkansas State and Texas. He has one tackle for loss coming last week against Tennessee, one forced fumble against Georgia and an interception against Georgia.

Nate Noel vs. Mississippi State’s front 7

The Bulldogs have allowed a lot of rushing yards this year. An SEC team having the No. 126 rushing defense per game out of 133 teams is crazy. The only other power-conference team below No. 120 is Oklahoma State at No. 132 (shoutout my Cowboys, what a year).

Noel, Marcus Carroll, Jamal Roberts and Kewan Lacy all have an opportunity to dominate the game and keep pressure off of Brady Cook as he continues to recover.

If the Mizzou running backs are able to take advantage of a really struggling run defense, that will be big for the Tigers.

Missouri’s offense vs. the red zone

Mississippi State allows a lot of yards and a lot of points. The Tigers cannot continue to struggle in the red zone as they have all year.

Settling for field goals might be enough to win this game, but if the Tigers are regularly sending out Blake Craig, that’s a bad sign. This is not a defense that should be able to stop any of the running backs, Theo Wease or Luther Burden in tight situations.

Mizzou should be reaching the end zone every time it gets to the red zone this week.