Mississippi State’s Storylines vs. Memphis

Saturday, September 3

Starkville

6:30 PM

Mississippi State

Memphis

Mississippi State’s Storylines vs. Memphis

September 02, 2022 | Football

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By: Brian Ogden, Assistant Director/Communications & Joel Coleman, Senior Writer

STARKVILLE – A new season has arrived.

Mississippi State begins its 2022 campaign on Saturday as the Bulldogs host Memphis at Davis Wade Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised by ESPNU with Clay Matvick (play-by-play), Rocky Boiman (analyst) and Dawn Davenport (reporter) on the call. Fans can also listen for free online by CLICKING HERE.

For those attending, full gameday details including gate opening times, directions, parking information and more can be found by CLICKING HERE.

Mississippi State's Storylines vs. Memphis

MSU will be one of the most-experienced teams in college football this fall with 16 total starters returning from the offensive and defensive sides.
The Bulldogs host Memphis for the return trip in a home-and-home series that began last year. That meeting was the first between the two programs in 10 years.
Last fall, 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.
Mike 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.
Over the last five seasons, Mike Leach's teams have defeated nine opponents ranked inside the AP Top 25. Only two current SEC head coaches have more such wins in that span.
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.
State passed for 4,918 yards in 2021, marking the 20th consecutive season that Mike Leach's offense has eclipsed the 3,000-yard mark. That's every season of his head coaching career.
Following the 2021 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).
According to ESPN's FPI, MSU will play the second-toughest schedule in the nation in 2022.
Mississippi State returns 72.2 percent of its receptions from a year ago, which trails only LSU (72.5 percent) in the SEC.
Entering 2022, WRs Jaden Walley (33) and Austin Williams (35) are the SEC's returning leaders in receptions for a first down from a year ago. Both are among the top five active SEC players in career first-down receptions.
Williams owns the lowest drop rate of any SEC wide receiver since 2019 (0.9 percent). His 92.3 hands grade from PFF ranked second in the FBS in 2021 and was the highest among players returning for 2022.
Under Mike Leach, the Bulldogs are 7-0 when scoring at least 30 points and 8-2 when scoring first.
WR Rara Thomas has caught five touchdown passes across his last five games.
In 2021, QB Will Rogers became the first MSU quarterback to lead the SEC in passing yards per game (364.5). His 4,739 passing yards are the third most in SEC single-season history, and the two quarterbacks ahead of Rogers played in two more games than he did during their respective seasons.
Rogers joined 2019 Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow of LSU as the only QBs 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.
Rogers broke 25 records during his sophomore season one year after rewriting nearly every passing mark in MSU history as a freshman in 2020. Last season, Rogers broke Dak Prescott's records for single-season total offense, passing yards and passing touchdowns that Prescott set as a fourth-year junior and fifth-year senior.
Mississippi State has ranked among the top five Power Five teams in the nation in yards after catch in back-to-back seasons under head coach Mike Leach. The Bulldogs led the nation in yards after catch in 2021, and State ranked second in the SEC and third nationally in 2020.
WR Lideatrick Griffin finished the 2021 season averaging 32.8 yards per kickoff return which tied Eric Moulds' mark in 1994 for the highest single-season average in school history and was third in the FBS last year.
State returns its 2021 leaders in tackles, tackles for loss, sacks, quarterback hurries, interceptions and pass breakups.
LB Jett Johnson ranks third among returning linebackers in the FBS with a 74.7 overall defensive grade from PFF. He is the SEC's returning leader.
MSU returns 79.1 percent of its defensive snaps from 2021. Of the 22 players on the defensive side of the two-deep, 17 have been playing for the past two years under defensive coordinator Zach Arnett. Three more have at least played a season in Arnett's system.
Against SEC teams, Arnett's defense ranked third in total defense (352.3) in 2021 and fourth in total defense (380.3) in 2020 after ranking 11th (419.3) in 2019 before his arrival at MSU.
Since 2020, MSU has allowed fewer than 150 rushing yards in 15 games, which trails only Alabama (26) and Georgia (24) in the SEC during that span. MSU is holding its opponents to just 124.5 rushing yards per game.
State led the SEC in fewest first downs allowed in 2021 (219), and the Bulldogs were one of the best in the league at getting off the field as they allowed the second fewest total plays on the year (807).
CB Emmanuel Forbes is the FBS active career leader in interceptions returned for touchdowns with three, which is tied for the most in school history and also has him ranked second nationally in overall defensive touchdowns entering 2022.