This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Starkville, Miss. • It wasn't long ago that the mention of the numbers three and two brought sarcastic jokes and eye rolls from fans of Auburn and Mississippi State.

Now, they bring a sense of pride.

No. 3 Mississippi State (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) hosts No. 2 Auburn (5-0, 2-0) on Saturday in the first game between top 5 opponents in the history of Davis Wade Stadium. The winner will stay on top of the Western Division.

It was just six seasons ago that Auburn and Mississippi State played one of the ugliest games in recent college football history. The Tigers beat the Bulldogs 3-2 in Starkville, though it was hard for either team to claim victory after a game that featured 18 punts and in which the teams were a combined 3 of 30 on third-down conversions.

Now Auburn and Mississippi State have two of the most prolific offenses in the SEC. The Bulldogs are averaging 42.6 points per game and have a Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Dak Prescott. Auburn scores 42 points per game and has featured one of the nation's best running attacks since Gus Malzahn became the coach last season.

For Auburn, big games are nearly a weekly occurrence. The Tigers won the SEC and played for a national championship last season.

"It is not going to be a shock to our system," Malzahn said. "At this point in our season, in the west they are all big. So we are just going to go about it one game at a time just like we have done the last year and a half."

For Mississippi State, this is new territory. The Bulldogs have never been ranked this high in program history.

No. 12 Oregonvs. No. 18 UCLA

Just a week ago, Oregon's visit to the Rose Bowl loomed as a defining game in the races for the Pac-12 title and the national championship. The Bruins had a chance to knock off the reigning Ducks, who could cement their supremacy against an up-and-coming power.

When the No. 18 Bruins and the 12th-ranked Ducks both lost last week and plummeted 10 spots in the AP Top 25, Brett Hundley's showdown with Marcus Mariota at the Rose Bowl assumed new meaning.

The winner will still be in the hunt for the postseason playoff. The loser just might be out of the national title race in early October. Oregon had more than a week to recover from its stunning home loss to Arizona, but the Ducks realize their tumble from No. 2 will get serious without a strong rebound.

Florida returns QB, charges dropped

Florida quarterback Treon Harris has been fully reinstated by the university and the football team after a fellow student accuser withdrew her sexual battery complaint against the freshman.

The school said in a statement Friday that the woman who made the allegation "is not pursuing criminal charges against him at this time, but maintains the right to do so in the future."