STARKVILLE — Entering Week One, Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead had a movie on his mind.
Referencing the 1986 classic “Hoosiers,” Moorhead alluded to the scene in which Gene Hackman’s character , basketball coach Norman Dale, takes his team onto the floor at Hinkle Fieldhouse — the site of the 1951 Indiana high school state title game.
Grabbing a tape measure from his pocket, he quickly takes measurement of the distance from the free throw line to baseline and floor to rim. Checking the numbers, Dale assures his bunch the dimensions are exactly the same as those back home in their small-town home of Hickory, Indiana.
Saturday, the Bulldogs will have a “Hoosiers” moment of their own as they take on Louisiana at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
“We will do our normal walkthrough [on campus] but then get down there and let the kids walk around and get used to things,” Moorhead said Monday. “…We want to have our ‘Hoosiers’ moment there and make sure they are getting used to the dome.”
Though MSU is a 19.5-point favorite, Louisiana should offer a solid test as they boast a prolific run game and a capable defense.
Preseason All-Sun Belt selections Trey Ragas and Elijah Mitchell will anchor the Louisiana backfield Saturday. The junior running back tandem combined for more than 2,100 yards and 21 touchdowns last season, while averaging 6.66 yards per carry.
Senior battery mate Raymond Calais could also factor in, as he ran for 754 yards and seven touchdowns last season.
“They are all powerful and very quick,” Moorhead said in reference to the Ragin’ Cajun running back trio.
Junior Levi Lewis will take the reigns under center Saturday following Andre Nunez’s graduation. Lewis has started just three games in his career and is third-least experienced quarterback in the Sun Belt.
He’ll lean on senior receiver and Ackerman native Ja’Marcus Bradley — who finished last season with 608-yards and 10 touchdowns.
Defensively, senior linebacker Jacques Boudreaux, junior defensive tackle Tayland Humphrey and junior linebacker Chauncey Manac hope to slow the MSU offense.
Boudreaux is a reigning third-team All-Sun Belt selection after totaling 93 tackles a season ago — the fifth-best mark in the conference.
A one time Georgia transfer, Manac comes into 2020 following a standout sophomore campaign in which he led the team in tackles for a loss (eight) and sacks (four).
On the interior, Humphrey is a 6-foot-5, 350-pound space swallower at nose guard. His eligibility this season remains up in the air after he left Florida International in April. If he does play Saturday, Humphrey could give MSU’s interior offensive line fits.
For the Bulldogs, Saturday marks quarterback Tommy Stevens’ first collegiate start. Stevens, a Penn State graduate transfer, beat out junior incumbent Keyaton Thompson — who has since entered the transfer portal — in a spirited fall camp battle.
“There is going to be a lot of emotion,” he said. “But I just have to continue to remind myself it is obviously what I wanted for a very long time. It is football. I am excited for the opportunity.”
MSU’s lone question mark on the weekend is who will be suspended due to the NCAA’s investigation into academic misconduct involving 10 football players and one men’s basketball player that concluded last week.
The players involved are expected to miss eight games, though nothing official has been released.
Those names and any other players facing disciplinary actions for issues outside the NCAA violations are expected to be announced shortly before kickoff Saturday.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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