Mississippi State vs. Auburn: Three Bulldogs Players To Watch

Mississippi State football (4-3) got its first SEC win of the season on Saturday, downing the Arkansas Razorbacks, 7-3 on the road in Fayetteville.

Up next on the schedule, they will aim to stay on the right side of the win column as they face the Auburn Tigers (3-4) in Jordan-Hare Stadium over the weekend.

Here's a look into three Bulldogs to keep an eye on as the team hits the road once more:

1. RB Jo'quavious "Woody" Marks

Marks has been hampered by injuries this entire season. The senior running back is yet to miss a game, but he rarely looks 100 percent.

Last week, Marks got banged up after scoring the only Bulldogs' touchdown of the day. After that, the offense stalled and did not find the end zone for the rest of the day.

The Bulldogs will need more than seven points this week if they want to come away with a win. Marks needs to go into the game relatively healthy so MSU can lean heavily on him.

2. OL Cole Smith

The Bulldog center has been having a solid year to this point. However, Smith made a pair of nearly costly errors deep inside their territory last week.

Smith is also in charge of communicating with his fellow lineman and being in a hostile environment, Smith needs to be on his A-game. Finally, with quarterback Mike Wright likely getting the start again this week, the running game will be heavily leaned on again for the Bulldogs, and Smith is in the interior of the line he needs to help open up running lanes for the Bulldogs ball carriers.

3. LB Nathaniel "Bookie" Watson

Fresh off a performance that earned the senior middle linebacker SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors, Watson will have his hands full yet again. It is no secret that Auburn leans heavily on its ground game, and that should be music to Watson's ears.

While Watson is not the quickest linebacker, he plays exceptionally well from tackle to tackle, so a heavy running game for Auburn plays into his strengths. Watson needs to be a sure tackler in the middle to keep Auburn ball carriers out of the second level and force the Tigers into passing situations.

While last week's win was ugly, it was still a win, and the Bulldogs need to keep up the momentum. MSU has had a bumpy first seven games, but there are several winnable games still ahead, including this weekend.