Week 9's Southeastern Conference football match-up features a couple of teams with proud histories that have fallen into hard times. The Kentucky Wildcats and Mississippi State Bulldogs have been bitter rivals since 1914, even before the SEC was founded. The rivalry is one of the most evenly matched in the country, with Kentucky leading the series 21-19. On the field, the series is 20-20, but the Bulldogs forfeited their 1976 win due to eligibility issues.

The annual SEC rivalry will be played at the Davis Wade Stadium in the Mississippi State campus in Starkville, Mississippi. The venue, which fits 55,082 spectators, is currently undergoing an expansion that will increase its capacity to more than 61,300. It was the site of the Bulldogs' upset victory over Tennessee that gave them a seat in the Gator Bowl against the Northwestern Wildcats. Currently at 3-3 and 0-2 in SEC play, the Bulldogs need to sweep their remaining games, all against SEC opponents, if they want to play a bowl game for the fourth straight year. However, it is easier said than done -- after Kentucky, they will face off with the #20 South Carolina Gamecocks, the #14 Texas A&M Aggies and #1 Alabama.

Kentucky is supposed to be the Bulldogs' easiest opponent in the SEC. A quick look at their 2013 results shows that they have won only once, against Miami of Ohio. The 2012 and 2013 teams suddenly look nothing like the teams that made it to five straight bowl games from 2006 to 2010. The rest of their games, including losses against in-state rivals Louisville and Western Kentucky, show that new coach Mark Stoops' air-raid offense is still a work in progress. The Wildcats are coming off a bye weekend after a blowout loss to #1 Alabama, and they hope that the extra rest will do wonders for a team that is still reeling from their humiliation at home. It remains to be seen if playing away from Lexington will also have the same effect, as their closest defeats were both on the road.

Watch the game LIVE here (10/25/2013 9:30 am AEDT): LINK 1 LINK 2 LINK 3