GAMEDAY: State Hosts Arkansas For Home Opener

STARKVILLE – Cowbells will be ringing in Davis Wade Stadium again on Saturday when No. 16/14 Mississippi State hosts Arkansas for the Bulldogs' home opener. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on the SEC Network Alternate Channel, with Roy Philpott (play-by-play), Kelly Stouffer (analyst) and sideline reporter Tera Talmadge on the call. Fans can also listen for free on HailState.com/plus or on the TuneIn app.

Mississippi State has several new protocols in place for the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit www.HailState.com/COVID for all COVID-related guidelines & protocols for the 2020 MSU football season.

Premium gates open at 3:30 p.m. with all remaining gates opening at 4:15 p.m. Fans should check their tickets for their assigned entry gate. Mobile tickets should be downloaded prior to arriving at the stadium. For complete game day information, visit HailState.com/gameday.

State's Storylines vs. Arkansas

Mississippi State is coming off its highest-ranked win in a true road game in program history after defeating the defending National Champion and then-No. 6 LSU, 44-34, in the season opener. Mike Leach is the first MSU head coach to defeat a ranked team in his Bulldog debut.

K.J. Costello threw for an SEC-record 623 passing yards, while also breaking MSU records for completions (36) and attempts (60). Costello's passing yards were 11th in FBS single-game history and the most by any quarterback in his first start under head coach Mike Leach. No other starter had thrown for 500 yards in their first game in the Air Raid.

The Bulldogs check in at No. 16 in the Associated Press poll this week, their highest ranking in the poll since Sept. 16, 2018 when they were No. 14. The jump from receiving votes a week ago marks the largest single-week rise in the polls for MSU since State went from receiving votes in Week 3 of the 2014 season to No. 14 in Week 4, gaining 651 points. MSU gained 584 points this week.

MSU brings an 85-33-2 overall record in season-openers into the LSU game. The Bulldogs have won nine of their last 12 season openers. Mike Leach owns a 12-6 record in season openers, including a 3-3 mark in season openers on the road.

MSU set school records for total offense (640 yards) and rushing yards (460) in an SEC game the last time they met Arkansas. The total offense mark ranks fourth in school history overall. State has set series records for scoring in each of the last two meetings (52 points in 2018; 54 points in 2019).

Kylin Hill posted 158 receiving yards in the win at LSU on opening weekend. That's the highest total for a Bulldog running back in program history. Of Hill's yards, 155 came after the catch, highlighted by a 75-yard catch-and-run touchdown that gave MSU the lead in the third quarter. MSU never trailed again in the game.

Osirus Mitchell (183), Kylin Hill (158) and JaVonta Payton (122) became just the second trio in school history to go over 100 yards receiving in the same game. The last time MSU had a trio of receivers crack the century mark came in the 2014 Orange Bowl against Georgia Tech. (Joe Morrow, 117; De'Runnya Wilson, 105; Fred Ross, 102).

Saturday's matchup features the two teams that will play the toughest schedules in the nation according to ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) preseason ranking. Arkansas has the toughest slate, and MSU will play the second-hardest schedule in the nation in 2020. SEC teams boast 14 of the 15 strongest schedules according to FPI.

MSU has needed an average of 2:42 to reach the end zone on its eight scoring drives this year, and six of those drives required less than two minutes to reach the end zone. Meanwhile, no scoring drive was shorter than 50 yards, and four were over 70 yards.

State finished with 15 pass plays of 20 or more yards at LSU last week. The Bulldogs had eight such plays in the first half alone, which surpassed their game total (passing and rushing) from all but one game in 2019 (Arkansas – 9, 6 pass, 3 rush).

A two-time national coach of the year, Mike Leach was hired as the 34th head coach in program history on Jan. 6, 2020. He has won 139 games in 18 seasons as a head coach highlighted by two 11-win seasons, five 9-win seasons, and five 8-win seasons. He's the only active Power 5 head coach to produce an 11-win season at two different programs since 2008.

Since 2005, Mike Leach's offenses have passed for 500+ yards in 27 games, which is No. 1 in the nation among active FBS head coaches and 16 more than the next head coach during that time frame. His offense has totaled 600+ offensive yards in 26 different games, which ranks third among active FBS head coaches during that span.

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Mississippi State University Athletics

GAMEDAY: State Hosts Arkansas For Home Opener

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K.J. Costello

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