Football Kickoff Times Announced For Season Opener, Egg Bowl And Other Games

STARKVILLE – With the third season of the Mike Leach era only 100 days away, kickoff times for the first three games on Mississippi State's 2022 football schedule, as well as the 95th Battle for the Golden Egg with in-state rival Ole Miss, were announced by the Southeastern Conference on Thursday.

MSU will open its 123rd season of football at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 3, against Memphis inside Davis Wade Stadium. The "First Saturday in StarkVegas" will be televised live on ESPNU. This will be MSU's first home night game to open a season since 2018 and only its fifth time in 15 years to open a season under the lights at Scott Field.

The following week, Leach and his veteran Bulldog squad which features an SEC-best 17 returning starters will face its first road test of the season at Arizona on Saturday, Sept. 10, with a 10 p.m. CT kick live on FS1 from Arizona Stadium in Tucson. The Bulldogs and Wildcats have never met on the gridiron.

A familiar road trip follows on Saturday, Sept. 17, when the Bulldogs head down to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to battle LSU and open SEC play. The game will kick off at 5 p.m. CT and will be televised live on ESPN. The Bulldogs won their last meeting in Death Valley against the then-No. 7 ranked Tigers, 44-34, in 2020.

One of college football's most storied rivalries will once again receive primetime coverage from ESPN on Thanksgiving night as the 95th Battle for the Golden Egg will kick off from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi, at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday, Nov. 24.

MSU's matchup with East Tennessee State on Saturday, Nov. 19, will be televised live on ESPN+/SEC Network+. Kickoff time is TBD.

The remainder of MSU's kickoff times and television networks will be announced throughout the season.

2022 Mississippi State Football Kickoff Times
Sept. 3 | vs. Memphis | 6:30 p.m. CT | ESPNU
Sept. 10 | at Arizona| 10 p.m. CT | FS1
Sept. 17 | at LSU | 5 p.m. CT | ESPN
Nov. 19 | vs. East Tennessee State | TBD | ESPN+/SEC Network+
Nov. 24 | at Ole Miss | 6 p.m. CT | ESPN

Buy Season Tickets
Season tickets for the 2022 season start at $225 and can be purchased at HailState.com/Tickets, or by calling 1-888-GO-DAWGS, or in person at the MSU Athletic Ticket Office on the first floor of the Bryan Athletic Administration Building (288 Lakeview Drive), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Notables

State returns nine starters on offense and eight on defense. Among returning starters is the SEC's passing leader Will Rogers. Last season, Rogers became the first MSU signal caller to lead the SEC in passing (364.5 ypg). His 4,739 passing yards in 2021 were the third most in SEC single-season history.
Rogers and 2019 Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow of LSU are the only quarterbacks in college football over the last 22 seasons to throw for 4,700+ yards and 35+ touchdowns while completing at least 73 percent of their passes.
MSU was the only school in the country that faced six teams ranked in the final College Football Playoff Top 25 and was one of four teams with three wins against teams ranked in the final poll. Leach became the first MSU head coach, at least in the modern era, to beat three teams in one season who finished ranked in a final poll.
The Bulldogs were one of four teams to rank inside the top 25 nationally in both total offense and total defense during the 2021 regular season, joining Alabama, Michigan and Coastal Carolina.
Following the regular season, MSU was the third most improved scoring offense in the SEC and 10th most improved nationally at +9.5 from 2020 (21.4 ppg to 30.9 ppg).
State eclipsed the 3,000-yard passing mark as a team last season. It was the 20th consecutive season that Leach's offense has accomplished that feat (every season of his head coaching career).
Defensive coordinator Zach Arnett's 3-3-5 attacking style defense has made an instant impact in Starkville as the Bulldogs have ranked in the top five of the SEC in each of his first two seasons in total defense, rushing defense, yards per rush, first downs allowed per game, and takeaways.

Visit HailState.com for the latest news and information on Mississippi State football. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching 'HailStateFB' on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Football Kickoff Times Announced For Season Opener, Egg Bowl And Other Games

Related News

Players Mentioned

Will Rogers

Related Videos