Mississippi State University is a college rooted in tradition: cowbells, Maroon Fridays and now what burner accounts and beat writers alike are calling “the science.”
It started with a tweet.
The term “the science” was coined in early 2024 by Robbie Faulk, a Mississippi State beat writer for On3 Sports. On March 2, 2024, Faulk replied to a meme posted by then-Clarion Ledger reporter Stefan Krajisnik on social media platform X. The image, based on the famous “Avengers: Infinity War” scene, showed Thanos sacrificing everything to accomplish his goal — with the twist being that Mississippi State baseball went undefeated, but it “cost every basketball game,” referencing MSU basketball’s winless record to that point whenever the baseball team played.
“I’ve warned everyone of the science,” Faulk posted in response.
I’ve warned everyone of the science. https://t.co/9ffA9yI2Kr
— Robbie Faulk (@robbiefaulkOn3) March 3, 2024
Four days later, Faulk doubled down with another post:
The science, it’s real.
MSU baseball: 6-0
MSU basketball: 0-3Who is the sacrifice?
— Robbie Faulk (@robbiefaulkOn3) March 7, 2024
That is when something changed. Fans started noticing it too. Every time one Bulldog sport pulled off a win, another one took a hit. A sort of athletic yin and yang.
Since then, “the science” has morphed from a one-off quip into a full-blown fan theory — one that keeps showing up. It is part joke, part superstition and, most frustrating of all, part reality.
While the science mostly centers around baseball and men’s basketball — two of MSU’s biggest spring sports — it has not stopped there; women’s basketball has gotten caught in the crossfire as well. On Feb. 16, the baseball team completed its sweep of Manhattan, subsequently, the women’s team dropped a road game to Florida that same night. Then came Feb. 18. In one of the most electric moments of the season, fans stormed the court at the Hump after MSU men’s basketball stunned No. 7 Texas A&M with a score of 70-54. But just hours earlier, the baseball team fell to Southern Miss, losing the midweek 0-3. The joy came at a cost.
Even the fan accounts have started playing along. On Feb. 25, the X, formerly known as Twitter, account known as Hail State Stool posted:
Another double game day for the Dawgs today!
Will we break the curse? Or is it just science… @robbiefaulkOn3 pic.twitter.com/cPnuoLgEZQ
— Hail State Stool (@HailStateStool) February 25, 2025
Spoiler: they did not break it.
In fact, a full review of Mississippi State results shows that “the science” held true on at least seven different dates this spring: Feb. 16, 18, 22 and 25 and March 1 and 8. On each of those days, at least one major program won while another lost—almost never both winning, and rarely both losing.
But then, on March 12, the science seemed to have been broken.
Somehow, against all odds, both men’s basketball and baseball pulled out wins on the same day. The Diamond Dawgs knocked off Nicholls State in Biloxi, Mississippi. Later that evening, MSU men’s basketball took care of business in the opening round of the SEC Tournament, beating LSU. It was the first time all season that both teams had won on the same day.
Fans held their breath. Could the science be broken?
Not quite.
A little over a week later, on March 21, the Bulldogs fell to Baylor in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. That same day, MSU baseball pulled off an upset win over No. 10 Oklahoma. And in classic “science” fashion, the very next day, March 22, MSU women’s basketball won its NCAA Tournament opener against Cal while baseball dropped a one-run game.
Coincidence? Maybe. But anyone who has watched this unfold knows — it is hard to ignore the pattern and even harder not to believe in it.
At this point, “the science” has become more than just a joke. It is a rallying cry. A built-in excuse. A coping mechanism. It is the thing that explains the unexplainable, the force holding Mississippi State athletics in balance.
Whether it is real or not does not seem to matter anymore. Because at Mississippi State, it just makes sense.
