Mississippi State opens the 2021 football season against Louisiana Tech on Saturday. The game will be televised at 3 p.m. CT on ESPNU, with John Schriffen (play-by-play) and Renee Ingoglia (analyst) on the call.

Gates open at 12:45 p.m. Mobile tickets should be downloaded prior to arriving at the stadium. For complete game day information, visit HailState.com/Gameday.
 

MSU begins its 122nd season of football, and second under head coach Mike Leach, on Saturday. State brings an 83-35-2 overall record in season openers into the LA Tech game. MSU has won 10 of their last 13 season openers. Leach owns a 13-6 record in season openers. State is 55-16-1 in season openers at home

A two-time national coach of the year, Mike Leach has won 143 games in 19 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. MSU played in a bowl game for a school-record 11th straight year a season ago, defeating Tulsa, 28-26, in the 2020 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. State is 7-4 in bowl games in that span. MSU is one of only four SEC programs to go to a bowl each of the last 11 seasons, joining Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M.

MSU claimed its first win over a ranked opponent in a bowl game since 1940 when State defeated then-No. 13 Georgetown, 14-7. Mike Leach is the first head coach in MSU history to win a bowl game in his first year leading the program.

Mike Leach's program returns 15 of 22 starters from last season (eight on offense and seven on defense). One of the youngest teams in college football last year, 26 Bulldogs made their first career start, tied for the FBS lead. Just over 50 percent of State's snaps were taken by first-time starters last season. 

The 2020 season saw MSU claim victories over multiple AP-ranked opponents away from home for the first time since 1980. State defeated No. 6 LSU, 44-34, in Baton Rouge to open the season and No. 22 Tulsa, 28-26, in a neutral matchup at the Armed Forces Bowl. In 1980, the Bulldogs toppled No. 18 Miami (Fla.) on the road, 34-31, before defeating No. 1 Alabama, 6-3, on a neutral field.

Bulldog Stats to Know

True freshmen were responsible for 76 percent of the Bulldogs' touchdowns in 2020. 

21 MSU passing and receiving records were broken by the Bulldogs in Mike Leach's first year. 

State's 11 opponents in 2020 combined to win 57.1 % of their games, good for the second-highest percentage in the SEC. Based on opponent's record and opponents' opponents' record, the Bulldogs played the second-strongest schedule in the SEC in 2020.

With its 51-32 victory against Missouri on Dec. 19, Mississippi State has now scored 50+ points in at least one game in 10 consecutive seasons. The 51 points were MSU's most in a game since the Bulldogs' 54-24 victory at Arkansas on Nov. 2, 2019.

WR Jaden Walley and CB Emmanuel Forbes marked Mississippi State's first duo in program history to earn Freshman All-American accolades in the same season. 

WR Jaden Walley became the first true freshman to lead MSU in receiving yardage since Chad Bumphis (375) in 2009, and his 718 yards were an MSU freshman record. He ranked third among all FBS freshmen. Walley was the only true freshman in the nation last season to record 50+ receptions and 700+ receiving yards. 

CB Emmanuel Forbes returned three interceptions for touchdowns in his freshman season which led the nation and is already tied for State's career record with Johnthan Banks (2009-12), Corey Broomfield (2009-12) and Derek Pegues (2005-08). Forbes led the SEC and all true freshmen nationally with five interceptions. Forbes also earned a spot on both The Associated Press and ESPN.com All-Bowl teams after delivering his fifth interception of the season and returning it 90 yards for a touchdown in last season's finale. 

For the first time in school history last season, MSU finished with four players recording 40+ catches. The Bulldogs were the only team in the nation with four players with 40+ catches in 2020. Mike Leach has had at least four players catch 40+ passes in each of his 19 seasons as a head coach. 

QB Will Rogers finished last season with a 69.1 completion percentage, the second highest by a true freshman in FBS history. RB Jo'quavious Marks collected 60 receptions last season, which tied for the most in the country among freshmen. SEC All-Freshman LT Charles Cross played 720 offensive snaps in 2020 per PFF,  the most snaps in the SEC among freshman offensive lineman, and 90 more snaps than the next closest. Armed Forces Bowl MVP and WR Lideatrick Griffin became just the second player in the country last season with 135+ kickoff return yards and one receiving touchdown in a single game.

RB Jo'quavious Marks, WR Jaden Walley, RB Dillon Johnson and WR Lideatrick Griffin combined for 158 receptions in 2020, the most by any true freshmen group in the nation.

State was one of six teams in the FBS with four defensive touchdowns in 2020 (3 INT, 1FR).