The Mississippi State University Bulldogs will host the Troy State Univeristy Trojans at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. The matchup will be an important one for both teams, as each has a 1-3 record coming into the game.
The Bulldogs are coming off a last-minute 16-14 loss to the Auburn University Tigers and have fallen to 0-3 in SEC play.
After losing three straight, MSU’s offense and defense will both look to step up in Saturday’s homecoming game. MSU currently has a seven-game Homecoming winning streak.
The Bulldog offense has put only 28 points on the board in their last three games and has not had 300 yards in total offense since playing South Carolina.
MSU’s game against Auburn marked the first time this season that quarterback Wayne Madkin has completed less than 50 percent of his passes.
The MSU defense has not faired much better than the offense since playing the University of Memphis in the season opener.
After holding Memphis to 162 yards of total offense, the Bulldog defense gave up 238 yards on the ground to South Carolina.
Florida managed to score 52 points on the Bulldogs while amassing 640 yards of total offense. The MSU defense did manage to hold Auburn to only 79 passing yards Saturday, but gave up 214 rushing yards on 48 attempts.
In MSU’s game against Auburn, Madkin crossed the 6,000 yard passing mark for his career at State.
The Trojans have played only one home game so far this season, their first season as a Division 1-A team.
TSU has lost all three of their road games, dropping contests to Nebraska, Middle Tennessee State and Miami of Florida.
Troy State is averaging 16 points per game, bettering the Bulldogs’ 14.5 point per game scoring average. However, the Trojans have allowed an average of 33.5 points per game compared to MSU’s 23.5.
As at the South Carolina game, MSU officials will have extra security precautions in place Saturday.
A press release from the athletic department stated that, “no back packs or any large bags will be allowed into the stadium.”
Purses will be allowed, but will be subject to search.
In addition, the athletic department has said that reentry will not be allowed into the stadium without purchasing another ticket, cars left unattended without a parking pass displayed will be towed and Darden and Lee Streets and Barr Avenue will be closed to through traffic starting at 7 a.m. Saturday.
The athletic department asks that fans allow extra time to get into the game because of the increased restrictions.