GAMEDAY: State’s Storylines Hosting LSU

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State returns home to begin Southeastern Conference play on Saturday as the Bulldogs host LSU at Davis Wade Stadium. The game will be televised at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN, with Bob Wischusen (play-by-play), Dan Orlovsky (analyst), and Kris Budden (reporter) on the call. Fans can also listen for free on HailState.com/plus.

Gates open at 8:45 a.m. Mobile tickets should be downloaded prior to arriving at the stadium. For complete game day information, visit HailState.com/Gameday.

Mississippi State's Storylines vs. LSU

MSU completed a school-record and SEC-record 50 passes last week at Memphis. The 50 completions are the sixth-most by any Mike Leach-coached team and the most since his Washington State squad completed 51 against Eastern Washington in 2018.
QB Will Rogers broke his own school record for completions (50) at Memphis while also breaking his own record for passing attempts (67). The attempt total as a team ranked second in school history and was tied for third in conference history.
QB Will Rogers threw for 419 yards last Saturday. Over the last 10 seasons, Mike Leach's quarterbacks have totaled 49 games with 400+ passing yards. That leads the nation among active FBS head coaches and is 27 more games than the next highest.
State opens the SEC slate at home on Saturday against LSU, marking the second straight year that the Bulldogs' conference slate has started with the Tigers.
The Bulldogs have opened SEC play against LSU four times since 2010 with a 3-1 record in such meetings, including a 1-1 mark in Davis Wade Stadium. Overall, MSU and LSU have opened SEC play 14 times and LSU holds a 9-5 edge in the series.
MSU is 30-55-2 all-time in SEC openers and 13-16 when playing its SEC opener at home. State holds a 31-41-2 record in SEC home openers.
In its last outing, State' defense held Memphis, which entered the matchup as the nation's leader in total offense (633.5 yards per game), to just 246 total yards. MSU allowed just 12 first downs, which is tied for the seventh-fewest allowed by any Mike Leach-coached team.
The Bulldogs have held six opponents to less than 100 rushing yards in 13 games under defensive coordinator Zach Arnett. Most recently, MSU held Memphis to just 87 yards on the ground.
State's defense ranks No. 8 in the FBS and leads the SEC on third down, allowing opponents to convert just 25.5 percent of the time (12-for-47).
MSU is holding opponents to a 60.0 percent conversion rate in the red zone (3-for-5), which ranks ninth among Power Five programs and is second in the SEC.
WR Makai Polk is one of four Bulldogs ever to record multiple double-digit reception games in his career and the first with multiple in the same season since Fred Ross posted a school-record four double-digit reception games in 2015.
MSU boasts two players inside the top 10 nationally in total receptions - WR Makai Polk (25, T-6th) and RB Jo'quavious Marks (22, T-10th). The Bulldogs are one of two FBS teams with a pair of receivers that have caught 20 or more passes this year (UTSA - WR Zakhari Franklin, 22; WR Joshua Cephus, 20).
DB Emmanuel Forbes is the SEC's active career leader with six interceptions, which is tied for 25th in the FBS. He is the FBS's active career leader in interception return touchdowns (3) and fourth in career interception return yards (204).
QB Will Rogers ranks No. 16 among the FBS' active career leaders in total offense per game (249.1).

GAMEDAY: State’s Storylines Hosting LSU

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Emmanuel Forbes

Jo'Quavious Marks

Makai Polk

Will Rogers

Mississippi State University Athletics

GAMEDAY: State’s Storylines Hosting LSU

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Emmanuel Forbes

Jo'Quavious Marks

Makai Polk

Will Rogers

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