Joe Moorhead has never coached against LSU’s defensive coordinator, but he’s seen the essence of Dave Aranda. That’s how he knows what he’s up against.

Mississippi State’s head coach and primary playcaller battles wits with Aranda 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPN) and Moorhead knows the task won’t be easy: the No. 5 Tigers rank 17th in the nation in scoring defense while allowing all of 3.45 yards per carry, good for fourth in the Southeastern Conference.

It’s easy for Moorhead to respect Aranda’s work: he saw the remnants of it when he was Penn State’s offensive coordinator for the 2016 Big 10 championship game, the year after Aranda left Wisconsin for LSU (6-1, 3-1 SEC). Moorhead’s Nittany Lions ran for 1.8 yards per carry but threw for 384 yards in a win.

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