The Bulldogs will open their season Saturday at 5:45 p.m. at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, La., against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs of the Western Athletic Conference. The game will be televised by ESPN2.
This game is a milestone for Louisiana Tech, as MSU is the first major-conference team to play in Joe Aillet Stadium. Louisiana Tech has hosted games against California, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Miami in the last 12 years, but all of those games were played in Shreveport instead.
“These are the kind of games that we need to play, and these are the kind of games that our program needs to play and embrace and enjoy because it does see where you are as a program,” said Louisiana Tech head coach Derek Dooley. “There’s a lot of excitement. The excitement in Ruston is because you’ve got a quality opponent like Mississippi State, and it’s on ESPN.”
A win would be huge for Louisiana Tech, especially as they play three of their next four games at Kansas, Boise State and Hawaii, three teams that combined for 34 wins last year. The significance of this game for Louisiana Tech is not lost on Mississippi State head coach Sylvester Croom or the Mississippi State players.
“We expect their fans and their players and coaches to be excited. I’m sure it’s not going to be a very warm reception for us, but we’re looking forward to it,” Croom said. “This will give us a good test to see how we perform on the road, right from the beginning of the season. Our players are excited and ready to play.”
“We won’t overlook these guys,” junior running back Anthony Dixon said. “We’re focused on Louisiana Tech. I guess people are looking for us to let down or something because we’ve got to go down there, but there won’t be none of that. We’ve got the attitude this year that we’ll try to win all of them, and start with this one.”
Although it is highly unusual for true freshmen to start on the defensive line, Sean Ferguson is expected to start at defensive end Saturday. Croom has praised his speed and work ethic. Redshirt freshman Marcus Green is also expected to start, making his first-ever appearance for Mississippi State at tight end.
Wide receiver Jamayel Smith, running back Arnil Stallworth and defensive end Charles Burns had minor injuries this week, but none are expected to miss Saturday’s game. Left tackle Derek Sherrod has been out this week with a foot infection, and his status for Saturday’s game is still uncertain. Wide receiver O’Neal Wilder is expected to miss four to six weeks with a dislocated knee.
In addition, Mississippi State will be without star defensive back Derek Pegues and linebacker Karlin Brown, who each received a mandatory one-game suspension for violation of the athletic department’s class attendance policy.
“We’re a team. One guy falls, someone has to pick him up. It’s the team concept,” said assistant coach Charlie Harbison, who will be coaching his first game Saturday as Mississippi State’s defensive coordinator. He added Mississippi State will use a three-man rotation at safety Saturday in Pegues’ place.
Louisiana Tech’s offense, which returns eight starters from last year, is led by quarterback Taylor Bennett. Bennett, a senior, started 13 games and threw for 2,136 yards and seven touchdowns last season at Georgia Tech. NCAA rules normally require players to sit out a year when they transfer schools, but Bennett was given a waiver because he enrolled at Louisiana Tech for graduate school.
Another Louisiana Tech standout is running back Patrick Johnson, who rushed for 940 yards and eight touchdowns last year.
“He is a very solid, SEC-looking running back,” Croom said. “He has some potential to make big plays every time he touches the football.”
The Louisiana Tech defense was ranked 91st in the NCAA Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) last year, giving up 424 yards and 30.7 points per game. They return five starters, including All-WAC safety Antonio Baker, who had 118 tackles and three
interceptions last year.
Last season, Louisiana Tech finished 5-7, in a three-way tie for fourth in the WAC. None of their wins came against FBS teams with a winning record, although they did lose a 45-44 overtime heartbreaker to eventual Sugar Bowl participant Hawaii.
This will be Mississippi State’s tenth meeting with Louisiana Tech and the first not to be played in Starkville. Mississippi State holds a 7-2 all time record against Louisiana Tech, although the most recent meeting was a 38-23 Louisiana Tech win in 1996.