HawgBeat – Arkansas vs Mississippi State: Star comparison, PFF grades, season stats

The Arkansas Razorbacks (2-5, 0-4 SEC) are set to play the Mississippi State Bulldogs (3-3, 0-3 SEC) at 11:00 a.m. CT Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Arkansas will be looking to rebound from five straight losses to BYU, LSU, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Alabama, while Mississippi State is looking to take advantage of a bye week and get its first SEC victory of the year after losing three straight to LSU, South Carolina and Alabama earlier this season.

HawgBeat continued its series of comparing the teams’ star ratings out of high school, stats this season and their Pro Football Focus grades so far this year.

Mississippi State has an average star rating of 3.0 out of the team’s 22 starters on the official depth chart. Arkansas’ average star rating is exactly the same at 3.0 among the Hogs’ 22 starters.

Both teams have poor offenses, but Mississippi State does have a slight advantage overall. Arkansas’ defense has been a strength for the Razorbacks this season, and they’re better than the Bulldogs in most metrics on that side of the football.

Here is the full breakdown:

Offense

Scoring: 30.2 (55th) | 29.9 (61st)
Total yards: 375.5 (80th) | 321.0 (116th)
Passing: 222.7 (80th) | 211.1 (91st)
Rushing: 152.8 (67th) | 109.9 (115th)
Third downs: 36.0% (98th) | 42.3% (50th)
Sacks allowed/game: 2.33 (84th) | 3.86 (122nd)
Turnovers: 7 (35th) | 7 (35th)

Defense

Scoring: 29.5 (94th) | 25.1 (64th)
Total yards: 395.2 (88th) | 351.3 (51st)
Passing: 263.5 (111th) | 218.0 (54th)
Rushing: 131.7 (57th) | 133.3 (60th)
Third downs: 38.4% (62nd) | 38.7% (66th)
Sacks/game: 2.67 (36th) | 3.00 (20th)
Turnovers forced: 8 (77th) | 11 (32nd)