STARKVILLE – For the first time in the head coach Jeff Lebby era, Mississippi State goes on tour with its show.

The Dawgs are in the desert and ready for kickoff at 9:30 p.m. CT against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe. MSU hopes to get off to a 2-0 start before returning to Starkville for two straight home games in the following weeks.

That much you know. However, there are some things you may not know.

So let’s take a look at 10 things to keep in mind before the showdown between State and the Sun Devils:

1. For the second week in a row, Mississippi State will face an opponent that is playing against them for the first time. Just as the Bulldogs had never faced Eastern Kentucky on the field before beating the Colonels 56-7 last Saturday, MSU and Arizona State have never met. In fact, Mississippi State begins this season with three consecutive opponents playing against them for the first time. When the Dawgs return home to face Toledo on Sept. 14, it will also be the first meeting between the two programs.
2. Arizona State enters Saturday’s game having never defeated an opponent from the Southeastern Conference. It’s worth noting that the Sun Devils have a total of three wins over Missouri and one over Oklahoma, but that all came before those schools became part of the SEC.
3. Mississippi State looks to continue its winning streak in non-conference games. The Bulldogs have won 10 straight games against opponents outside the SEC. The streak began with a home victory against Memphis to open the 2022 season and includes a 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl triumph over Illinois. State has a 26-5 record in non-conference games since the 2017 season.
4. Quarterback of MSU Blake Shaping The Bulldogs’ career got off to a rapid start last week when he threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 44 yards and a score in his state league debut. And while it was the first time Maroon and White fans got to enjoy Shapen’s talent, it was a continuation of what began during his time at Baylor. Shapen enters the game having thrown a touchdown pass in 12 consecutive games against the Sun Devils. He has also thrown for 200 or more yards in eight of his last nine games.
5. Shapen isn’t the only Bulldog looking to build on his stellar start at State. Receiver/Returner Kevin Coleman, Jr. was electric in the season opener and hopes to carry that success out West. Against Eastern Kentucky, Coleman collected 205 all-purpose yards and enters this week as one of only eight FBS players to surpass the 200-yard mark in all-purpose yards. Coleman had 88 receiving yards and a touchdown against the Colonels, while also collecting 117 yards on punt returns. It was the most punt return yardage by a Bulldog in a single game since State legend Kevin Prentiss totaled 152 punt return yards in the 1998 SEC Championship game.
6. If the opening game was any indication, Mississippi State will be a true team effort this season. While several Bulldog veterans continued their careers, a whopping 41 players made their MSU debut last week. Of those 41 players, 18 were freshmen (15 of whom were true freshmen) and 23 were transfers. It’s also worth noting that last week, seven different Bulldogs scored touchdowns and eight MSU players scored points.
7. Speaking of touchdowns, six of MSU’s eight touchdowns last week were scored by the offense as the unit showed what Lebby’s “Showtime at State” mantra is all about. It’s fast. It’s speedy. It’s explosive. And that was all exemplified by the fact that five of the Dawgs’ six offensive touchdowns came on offenses with five plays or fewer. State’s average time of possession on offenses that scored points was just 1:38. Only two offenses that scored points surpassed the two-minute mark.
8. While the Bulldogs are feeling good about their opener on Saturday, Arizona State is also coming into this week’s game with momentum. The Sun Devils beat Wyoming 48-7 last week. It was a dominant performance, as Arizona State managed 499 total yards of offense and limited Wyoming to just 118 yards.
9. That happens a lot, but tackling will be of utmost importance for MSU against Arizona State. The Sun Devils ran for 241 yards against Wyoming, and 83.6 percent of their running backs’ yards came after contact. That percentage ranked in the top 15 in the FBS last week.
10. If Mississippi State can beat Arizona State, it would be the fourth consecutive season and seventh time in eight years that the Bulldogs have started 2-0.