Tailgate Debate: Will the Mississippi teams suffer hangovers in Week 7?

USA TODAY Sports' Dan Uthman and Jesse Yomtov reprise their weekly Saturday morning conversation on the biggest games around the nation.

Another monumental Saturday, this one featuring five games between ranked teams. Plenty of questions will get answered today, but let's provide some of our own first

Yomtov: Let's start with the biggest one, No. 2 Auburn at No. 6 Mississippi State. I don't know if it's possible for the second-ranked team in the country - coming off a trip to the national championship game - to be underrated, but I feel like the Tigers aren't getting their due. Auburn just handed LSU its worst loss of the Les Miles era, Nick Marshall has been been fantastic and the defense is exponentially better than last season.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have won back-to-back games against top-10 teams and Dak Prescott had his best game of the season last week against Texas A&M. Do you think the freight train of momentum can carry them to their biggest win yet, or is Auburn just too good?

Uthman: If Mississippi State hadn't already built off a milestone win once this season - LSU qualifies, despite what has happened to the Tigers since - then I might have some doubts about Mississippi State focusing too much on recent success and not on what is to come.

I don't really have them with this team, because I can't imagine the Bulldogs taking Auburn lightly at all. What's most surprising to me when I look at the numbers is that Auburn has the more highly ranked defense and Mississippi State has the more highly ranked offense. I keep picturing the Auburn team that barely escaped Kansas State when I think about this game, which is why I went with Mississippi State in our weekly staff picks.

Here are some other facts that give me faith in the Bulldogs: Every opponent it's faced this season entered the game unbeaten. Mississippi State has gained more than 500 yards of offense in its past six games. And Auburn is the third top-10 opponent the Bulldogs have faced this season. I don't know that Mississippi State is a championship team, but I think they can win what should be a high-scoring game.

Jesse, obviously there is a lot of turbulence to come in the SEC West, but to what extent will the TCU-Baylor game in Waco decide the Big 12 title in only the second week of October?

TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin.(Photo: Matthew Emmons, USA TODAY Sports)

Yomtov: This is precisely why the (relatively) new Big 12 might be the most enjoyable conference in the nation. Just about every week there's a game that may very well 'decide' the title.

A win would really put the Horned Frogs in the driver's seat. Oklahoma and Baylor would need TCU to lose twice to have a shot at winning the conference. TCU would have plenty of breathing room and could probably afford to slip up next week against Oklahoma State, having already gotten its games out of the way against the three best teams in the conference.

Losing wouldn't be terrible, either. The Horned Frogs would probably have to bounce back and beat Oklahoma State, but with one loss, they could sit back and watch the chaos unfold elsewhere in the conference.

Of course, this is based on the assumption that TCU is as good as we think they are. Gary Patterson's teams have been known for their defense, but this squad may have a better offense than those of the Andy Dalton era.

Let's head out west. No. 11 Oregon and No. 17 UCLA are coming off shocking home losses and square off at the Rose Bowl this afternoon. Aside from the obvious Pac-12 implications, this game has plenty of meaning in regards to the collegiate legacies of the quarterbacks. Who do you think has more at stake in Pasadena: Marcus Mariota or Brett Hundley?

Marcus Mariota and Oregon look to bounce back from last week's loss to Arizona.(Photo: Scott Olmos, USA TODAY Sports)

Uthman: Mariota, for sure. Hundley started the season as a fringe Heisman candidate. Mariota started it as the favorite. But pre- and mid-season voter perceptions do not a full legacy make.

I don't think anyone, especially anyone on the field Saturday, would argue that Mariota isn't the best player on the field. And he has made numerous plays in five games that have saved or turned games in Oregon's favor. He's on pace to shatter the NCAA pass efficiency record and hasn't gone a game without adding to his Heisman highlight b-roll.

But, if Oregon doesn't beat UCLA, the only people who will be paying attention to Mariota will be Oregon fans, Pac-12 followers and NFL scouts. Which is a ridiculous notion.

Coaches everywhere marvel at Oregon's athletic skills and talent. The reason the Ducks have a loss on their record is confined to the area between their scalp and their nasal passages. Mental mistakes, including some repeated ones, cost them the game against Arizona. UCLA can attack in similar ways to the Wildcats on both sides of the ball, so it bears watching to see if Oregon figured it out in the past week.

Both teams need a win to stay in the College Football Playoff picture, but there's one thing about this matchup that puts a slightly bigger onus on UCLA. Though the Bruins have a great win against Arizona State, the Pac-12 South is more competitive than once thought. So much so that a second league loss this early could really jeopardize UCLA's chances of making the Pac-12 Championship game.

OK Jesse, let's circle back to the SEC West. Do you expect Ole Miss to have a celebratory hangover from beating Alabama? And if Texas A&M falls for the second week in a row, is there anything we can discern about the Aggies?

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Yomtov: We were both dead wrong last week in thinking Ole Miss didn't stand a chance against Alabama. Still, I'm picking against the No. 4 team in the country. I don't necessarily see it as a hangover, but as a good team coming back down to earth. We've discussed how difficult it is to string together two marquee wins, especially for a team that's unfamiliar with such victories. The Rebels matched up very well Tide and were able to capitalize on those advantages, but I think No. 14 A&M's aerial attack is going to overwhelm them this week.

Kenny Hill found himself in a 14-point hole early in the second quarter last week and you could tell he was trying to do too much to get the Aggies back in the game. Some of the blame falls on the quarterback, but Mississippi State just wore down A&M early with those three long touchdown drives. Ole Miss' passing defense has been of the best in the nation, but Texas A&M has the ability to stretch the field in a way the Rebels haven't seen yet.

If the Aggies lose, it's going to be on the defense again. There's no disputing that Kevin Sumlin has done a fantastic job with this program, but a bad defense for the third year in a row is raising some serious red flags in College Station. We're witnessing the emergence of a bonafide superstar in freshman defensive end Myles Garrett, but giving up more than 400 yards per game is not a sustainable model to win.

PHOTOS: All the action from college football Week 7

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