First-And-10 To Know: State vs. Florida

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State is all set to try and get back on the winning track.

Saturday at 11 a.m., the Bulldogs kick off against Florida as MSU begins the Southeastern Conference portion of its schedule and seeks to even its overall record.

That much you know. However, there are several things you might not.

So, let's have a look at 10 items to be aware of headed into State's showdown against the Gators:

Saturday's game is a matchup of programs that are both staring at incredibly challenging 2024 schedules. In fact, Florida owns the top strength of schedule in the country with a slate that features eight preseason Associated Press Top 20 opponents. MSU's campaign is just as tough with a schedule ranked as the second hardest in the nation per On3. Of the Bulldogs' eight remaining regular season games after Florida, six are against Top-25 opponents with five of those six foes currently ranked No. 7 or better by the AP.
This will be the 56th all-time meeting between Mississippi State and Florida. And while the Gators hold the edge in the overall series, MSU is 7-5 against Florida in games played in Starkville. This is the first time the Dawgs and Gators have squared off since Sept. 29, 2018.
This weekend's contest is the first time that Billy Napier will face Mississippi State as Florida's head coach, however it's actually his second time to go against the Bulldogs as the leader of a program. Napier was the head coach of the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns in 2019 when MSU kicked off that season by battling Louisiana in the Superdome in New Orleans. State topped Napier and the Cajuns that day by a final score of 38-28.
There are multiple ties between the Mississippi State and Florida programs. MSU's coaching staff has a handful of former Gators among them. State defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler has had two different stints at Florida, first as a special teams coordinator and linebackers coach in 2010-11, then again in 2014 as a special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach. MSU co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Matt Barnes also spent time in Gainesville from 2012 through 2014 as a defensive and special teams graduate assistant. Additionally, Bulldog cornerbacks coach Corey Bell was the assistant director of player personnel for Florida in 2021. Other connections include MSU defensive line coach David Turner, who served in the same role for the Gators from 2019-21. Meanwhile Florida receivers coach Billy Gonzales was at MSU as receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator from 2013-17.
On the players' side, connections continue. State receiver Creed Whittemore attended Buchholz High School in Gainesville and was teammates with Florida players Matthew Kade, Hunter Smith, Bryan Rosenberg and Gavin Hill. It also bears noting that Whittemore's brother, Trent, is a former Gator player. Other ties include MSU offensive lineman Makylan Pounders and Florida defensive lineman Cam Jackson, who were teammates together at Memphis during the 2021 season. State cornerback Traveon Wright then joined Pounders and Jackson at Memphis for the 2022 campaign. State safety Jordan Morant and Florida linebacker R.J. Moten spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons together at Michigan before transferring to their current programs.
MSU safety Isaac Smith enters play Saturday looking to continue what has already been a tremendous 2024. Smith heads into this week's action tied for the national lead and topping the SEC in total tackles with 43. The next-closest SEC player has only 33 tackles through three weeks of play.
On the offensive side for State, Kevin Coleman Jr. has been a standout since the season kicked off. He heads into play against the Gators ranking at No. 5 in the SEC and No. 21 in the nation in all-purpose yards per game with 131.3. Coleman leads the country in all-purpose yards per play at 17.9.
Bulldog quarterback Blake Shapen will attempt to continue a rather impressive streak this weekend against Florida. Dating back to his time at Baylor, Shapen has now thrown a touchdown pass in 14 straight games. During the streak, Shapen has thrown for at least two touchdowns on seven different occasions.
No matter what happens on the field on Saturday, Mississippi State football has already gathered tremendous momentum this week off the gridiron. On Thursday, it was announced that an anonymous donor pledged an $8 million gift to MSU athletics to advance the mission of delivering exceptional competitive resources to uplift the State football program. It is the second-largest commitment in MSU athletics history and also serves as a kick start to the State Excellence Fund – the Mississippi State athletics fund of the future.
After Saturday's game, MSU will get set for what will be a bit of a historic contest. On Saturday, Sept. 28, State will be in Texas to take on the Longhorns in their first-ever conference game as part of the SEC.

Mississippi State University Athletics

First-And-10 To Know: State vs. Florida

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Players Mentioned

Kevin Coleman Jr.

Jordan Morant

Makylan Pounders

Blake Shapen

Isaac Smith

Creed Whittemore

Traveon Wright

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