It is football season once again in Mississippi, and for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, it all begins with a trip down Interstate 59. On Aug. 30, Mississippi State opens its year against Southern Mississippi, a matchup that has always carried more weight inside the state than outsiders realize. This time, it comes with even more storylines.
The history between the two programs stretches back decades. Mississippi State holds a narrow lead in the all-time series at 16–14–1, though the Bulldogs have dominated recently, winning each of the six times they have faced the Golden Eagles since 1989. That streak is hard to ignore, but so is the fact that this will be the first glimpse of what both programs have become after an offseason of change.
Southern Miss enters a new era under Charles Huff, hired last December to replace Will Hall. Huff wasted no time flipping the roster. The Golden Eagles attacked the transfer portal, bringing in a wave of new names that will define how quickly they can compete. At the center of it all is quarterback Braylon Braxton, the Marshall transfer who went 8–0 as a starter last fall and won MVP of the Sun Belt Championship. Braxton gives Southern Miss instant credibility, but this will be his first true test against SEC competition, and the question is how quickly he can mesh with a roster still learning how to play together.
For Mississippi State, the storyline is about stability. After a disastrous 2024 season, the Bulldogs finally get their quarterback back. Blake Shapen returns healthy for his sixth year, a veteran who gives Jeff Lebby something he did not have most of last season: experience and leadership under center. With Shapen guiding the offense and a rebuilt offensive line that averages nearly 6-foot-5 and 325 pounds, State finally looks capable of playing the kind of physical football that Lebby has been preaching since the day he arrived in Starkville.
The real test will come in the trenches. Mississippi State has the size and depth to control the game up front, but it will need to show it can actually be the most physical team on the field. Southern Miss may not match State’s raw power, but with a dynamic quarterback and a roster full of transfers hungry to prove themselves, they will not back down. That is what makes this matchup compelling. Mississippi State is an SEC team trying to prove it can set a tone against a Sun Belt program desperate to show it belongs on the same field.
On paper, Mississippi State should win. The Bulldogs have more experience, more size, and more continuity in the system. Southern Miss will make plays, as Braxton is too good not to, but the difference should show as the game wears on. Shapen does not need to play hero. He just needs to manage the offense, avoid turnovers and let the physical advantage up front dictate the tempo. If that happens, Mississippi State leaves Hattiesburg with momentum.
My Score Prediction: Mississippi State 31, Southern Miss 17
For the Bulldogs, this opener is about more than a win. It is about proving that last season was a low point, not a new normal. And if the team can impose its will from the first snap, it will be the kind of start that suggests this program is finally ready to turn the page.
