Nov 14, 2015 02:30 PM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

The Mississippi State Bulldogs (17) are not only in a position to spoil the Alabama Crimson Tide's (2) College Football Playoff (CFP) hopes, but can also take the SEC West for themselves.

The Tide have looked like one of the nation's top teams despite the lone blemish to their record, but a second loss could be detrimental to their CFP case. The Bulldogs' shot at the SEC title game may be an outside one, and they will have to beat Alabama to keep that hope alive.

Click here to listen to the game live via TuneIn. You can also watch the game live online via CBS' College Football Live service. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET in Starkville, Miss.

Mississippi State is fourth the in the SEC West and does not hold a tiebreaker with LSU, the division's second place team. But if the Bulldogs win out, they would hold head-to-head wins over Alabama and Ole Miss. However, that scenario could ultimately benefit LSU, who would need to lose two more games for Mississippi State to surpass them.

The SEC West is considered the most contentious division in college football for a reason. It is hard to imagine a CFP team with two losses, but it is also hard to imagine the SEC Champion being left out of National Championship contention.

To ensure its place among the Top Four, Alabama has had to get over its win over LSU quickly to focus on going into Starkville.

Said Alabama head coach Nick Saban at his weekly press conference, "Any time you have an emotional win, you've got to get your team to respond the right way and make sure that they're focused on what they need to do to play just as well the next week or better."

(Quotes, stats: ESPN. Rankings: College Football Playoff.)

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