OMAHA, Neb. – The challenge facing Mississippi State is formidable, to say the least.

To win the school’s first baseball national championship, all the Bulldogs have to do is beat two of the top three teams in the country and another that has scored 30 runs in its last two games – and do it all without losing another game.

It’s been done before. Heck, State’s players are quick to point out, it was done last year. That doesn’t make it any easier, though.

Mississippi State fell into the losers’ half of Bracket 1 in the College World Series with an 8-5 loss to North Carolina on Friday. It’ll try to stay alive today when it faces Louisville in an elimination game at 1 p.m.

&#8220That’s going to be tough,” Mississippi State coach Ron Polk said of the task ahead of the Bulldogs. &#8220But in the SEC we play tough teams all the time. The last few weeks we’ve played number one draft picks, number one teams. It’s not like we were playing Stony Brook the last two weeks.”

Of the four teams in Bracket 1, State and Louisville were the two biggest surprises. State lost eight of 10 games late in the season and still hasn’t reached 40 wins. Louisville, led by former Ole Miss assistant Dan McDonnell, came out of nowhere to advance to the first College World Series in school history.

On the field, they have even more in common. Both were on the wrong side of big comebacks in Friday’s opening round. Mississippi State wasted an early 4-0 lead, while Rice scored 11 unanswered runs – six in the bottom of the eighth – to steal a 15-10 win from Louisville.

The losses were tough to take for both teams, but State center fielder Jeffrey Rea said the Bulldogs learned a valuable lesson.

&#8220I think time off is the best thing. We’re not down by any means. I think we got relaxed when we scored those four runs and it bit us,” Rea said. &#8220We’re in the World Series and there’s no tomorrow. I promise there won’t be any more laying down.”

Louisville’s collapse was more akin to falling down than laying down. The Cardinals led Rice 5-0 and 10-4 before allowing the Owls to come back. Afterward, McDonnell said he was ready to get back on the field and put the loss behind him.

&#8220We’re going to be happy to play State or North Carolina,” McDonnell said after Friday’s game, before today’s opponent had been determined. &#8220Yes, I come from a state where it’s a huge rivalry. It’s just like our rivalry with Kentucky. But if it’s North Carolina, we’ll be happy. We’re just itching to play. I’m dying to play again. I wish we had the next game, to be honest with you.”

If McDonnell’s players share his enthusiasm, the Bulldogs could be in trouble. Louisville had scored 30 runs in 14 innings before it was held scoreless over the last four frames against Rice.

The job of slowing down the potent Cardinals falls to sophomore right-hander Chad Crosswhite, who has been pretty potent himself over the last three months. Crosswhite has gone 6-3 since moving from the bullpen to the starting rotation in early April, and has had only one truly bad start.

He gave up eight earned runs and 12 hits in 2 1/3 innings against Ole Miss on April 27. Other than that, Crosswhite has not allowed more than four runs in any of his other eight starts.

Facing Louisville, which has had at least 10 hits in nine of its last 12 games – and hasn’t had less than eight in any game during that stretch – will make it vital for Crosswhite to be on top of his game.

&#8220You just have to go at it and stay on your game. Go in, go out and keep the ball down,” Crosswhite said. &#8220I’ve thrown against hot teams. Vanderbilt was hot when we played them in the SEC Tournament. You just hope the way the ball bounces is your way.”

It’s not unheard of for a team to win the CWS after losing its first game. Oregon State did it last year, and Southern Cal did it in 1998. The last time it happened two years in a row was 1979 and 1980, when Cal State Fullerton and Arizona both accomplished the feat.

&#8220It’s going to be tough, but then you look at what happened last year with Oregon State,” MSU shortstop Brandon Turner said. &#8220You just relax. Everything’s going to be fine. We dug ourselves a hole, but we’ve been in plenty of holes this year. I wouldn’t rather have any other team to be with, to get beat one game and have to come back.”