FAYETTEVILLE -- It could become uncomfortably cold instead of oppressively hot.
Otherwise Arkansas' ninth game tonight that opens November mirrors the setting for its season's debut that closed out August.
On Aug. 30 at a big, loud stadium in little Auburn, Ala., the Razorbacks visited the reigning SEC champion Auburn Tigers.
Auburn won the SEC title last season and finished No. 2 nationally.
Tonight, at an expanded stadium in little Starkville, Miss., the Razorbacks play the team sitting atop the SEC standings and the national standings. Coach Dan Mullen's Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-0, 4-0 SEC) are ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press poll and the first College Football Playoff poll.
The formula that is working for Mullen remarkably resembles what worked last year and this year for Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn. Malzahn's third-ranked Tigers rely on a Spread formation that features running quarterback Nick Marshall and running back Cameron Artis-Payne .
Mullen's Spread relies on a running quarterback, Dak Prescott, passing well enough to be a Heisman Trophy candidate and a great running back, Josh Robinson, who complements Prescott like Artis-Payne complements Marshall.
Even though he was suspended for the first half of Auburn's game against Arkansas, Marshall ran and passed the Hogs silly in the second half as Auburn outscored the Razorbacks 24-0 to break open a game that was tied 21-21 at halftime.
Artis-Payne netted 177 rushing yards behind an Auburn offensive line that wore down Arkansas' defense.
Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema and his staff look at Prescott, Robinson and Mississippi State's line and receivers and see Auburn. They also know that Mississippi State whipped Auburn 38-23 in Starkville earlier this season.
"It is similar to the Auburn type offense," Arkansas defensive coordinator Robb Smith said. "Their line covers people up. They are tough and physical."
Robinson and Prescott are "excellent runners" who demand attention, but pay too much attention to the run and you pay dearly, Smith said.
"As soon as you start committing too many numbers to the box, they can throw the football right over your head," Smith said.
Defensively, Auburn's 2013 team and its current team impressed few between the 20s but inevitably bowed up in the red zone.
The same goes for Mississippi State, Arkansas players and coaches say.
"They are really good in the critical area," Arkansas junior running back Jonathan Williams said. "Kind of like the Auburn defense last year. Kind of a bend but don't break type of defense."
Bielema sees defensive Auburn blue in Mississippi State's maroon.
"They kind of give up some yardage, but the closer they get to the red zone the more stingy they get," Bielema said. "One thing that jumped out to me right away is we are playing them about the same time we did Auburn a year ago when they are making a big run like Auburn did."
Although still winless in the SEC, Bielema asserts the Hogs (4-4) have improved immensely since their second-half struggles at Auburn.
He'll learn his assertion's accuracy this night after Halloween as Mississippi State's present embodies Auburn's past.
Sports on 11/01/2014