STARKVILLE — Football season is on the horizon.
Monday night, Mississippi State learned its official ledger for the 2020 season as the Bulldogs will partake in a 10-game, conference-only slate amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
With first year head coach Mike Leach opening fall practices Tuesday and the first game against LSU less than six weeks away, here’s a deep dive into MSU’s matchups and what to expect this year:
Sept. 26 — at No. 5 LSU
What better way to start one’s tenure than a season opener against the defending national champions?
Mississippi native Myles Brennan is slated to take the reins under center for the Tigers after Joe Burrow’s video game-like 2019 campaign. And while Brennan likely won’t replicate Burrow’s numbers, he should prove efficient.
Following its national title, LSU set a conference record with 13 players selected in the 2020 NFL Draft. And though that’s a massive amount of talent loss, Ed Orgeron’s recruiting classes have averaged a national finish of 6.6 in the 247sports Composite since he took over in 2016.
MSU has proven capable of beating LSU as recently as 2017 and have more wins in Baton Rouge over the Tigers (18) than in Starkville (7) since their series began in 1896. That said, expect the defending champs to hold serve on home turf.
Oct. 3 — vs. Arkansas
I’ll keep this one short. Sam Pittman has a hell of a schedule to navigate in his first year as the head coach in Fayetteville and it’s looking increasingly likely the Razorbacks won’t win a game in 2020. Florida transfer quarterback Feleipe Franks and senior running back Rakeem Boyd could make Arkansas mildly more interesting than they were a season ago, but this squad is in rebuilding mode to the ‘nth degree.
Oct. 10 — at Kentucky
Gone is one-man offensive juggernaut Lynn Bowden, but Kentucky might actually be better despite his loss. Starting quarterback Terry Wilson is back after he was sidelined all of last season with a torn patellar tendon and boasts a 12-3 record as a starter. Senior Asim Rose and sophomore Kavosiey Smoke also both return at running back and should help Wilson lead a balanced offensive attack, while the Wildcat defense brings back four of its five leading tacklers a season ago.
MSU narrowly escaped Kentucky in Starkville last season and a trip to Lexington this fall could prove even more taxing. If the Bulldogs hope to reach .500 or better this year, this game is a must-win.
Oct. 17 — No. 13 Texas A&M
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: This is the year Texas A&M can compete for an SEC title. Since Jimbo Fisher arrived in College Station with expectations bigger than the state of Texas could even handle, the Aggies have yet to break through despite persistent shouts that each year could be their year.
Bringing back senior quarterback Kellen Mond is assuredly a start given he’s among the most experienced returning signal-callers in the SEC and has proved largely effective in his three seasons guiding the Aggie offense.
MSU’s loss in College Station last season was uninspiring, though whether that was a credit to Texas A&M or a down-on-its-luck team isn’t clear. The Aggies should be favored in this one, but Fisher’s squad has dropped four of their last six against the Bulldogs — including three-straight in Starkville. If MSU has a chance at a major upset this fall, it’s this contest.
Oct. 31 — at No. 3 Alabama
New quarterback, no problem in Tuscaloosa. While Tua Tagovailoa is off to the NFL, Alabama returns fourth-year junior Mac Jones under center to guide what should be another high-powered and physical Crimson Tide offense that also boasts honorable mention All-American running back Najee Harris and projected first round wide receiver prospect DeVonta Smith.
Defensively, Alabama also returns a young core from a unit that dipped from No. 16 to No. 21 nationally in total defense between 2018 and 2019. With five starters back in Tuscaloosa, expect this unit to be among the country’s best.
MSU has beaten Alabama just twice since 2001 and the Crimson Tide have taken 12-straight from the Bulldogs in the series. Expect that trend to continue in 2020 during this Halloween affair.
Nov. 7 — vs. Vanderbilt
As was the case with Arkansas, this will be brief. Vanderbilt is likely going to be bad; like really bad. The Commodores have barely sniffed a winning season since Jame Franklin departed to become the head coach at Penn State and that’s not likely to change this year.
Derrick Mason is presumably coaching for his job and with a roster that finished No. 101 in total defense and No. 124 in total offense last year, Vanderbilt is almost certainly headed for another rough season.
Chalk this one up as a win for the Bulldogs.
Nov. 14 — vs. No. 11 Auburn
Last year’s trip to The Plains was downright embarrassing for Joe Moorhead and co. as MSU fell behind 21-0 just over six minutes into the contest en route to a 56-23 thrashing.
However, the Tigers’ vaunted defensive line from last season suffered its share of losses and will have to reload when they meet the Bulldogs this fall.
It’s expected sophomore quarterback Bo Nix, a former five-star recruit in the class of 2019, will take a step forward with another year under Gus Malzahn’s guidance. Auburn also returns its top three receivers from a season ago in Seth Williams, Anthony Schwartz and Eli Stove.
The Bulldogs and Tigers have split their eight meetings since 2012, but Malzahn’s squad should take the lead in 2020 against an MSU team rebuilding under its first year head coach.
Nov. 21 — at No. 4 Georgia
MSU drew Georgia as one of its two additional Southeastern Conference games this fall due to COVID-19-related scheduling changes.
The red and white clad Bulldogs will be among the favorites to win the SEC East and the additions of Wake Forest graduate transfer quarterback Jamie Newman coupled with the immediate eligibility of USC import JT Daniels should only strengthen their case.
After finishing the 2019 season with the nation’s No. 3 ranked defense, Georgia will be as stiff a test as any for Leach’s air raid offense. It’s unlikely MSU can spring an upset in Athens, but the strength-on-strength matchup should be intriguing nonetheless.
Nov. 28 — at Ole Miss
How on earth could last season’s game get more insane? We’ll find out.
Lane Kiffin and Mike Leach’s relationship date back to their previous stops at USC and Washington State, respectively, and we’ll now see their paths cross annually.
Ole Miss still has yet to determine a starting quarterback between Matt Corral and John Rhys Plumlee, but junior playmaker Elijah Moore is back along with the Rebels’ top five pass catchers from a season ago. So too is the sophomore running back tandem of Jerrion Ealy and Snoop Conner.
Predicting the outcome of an Egg Bowl is generally futile, but it could be the difference between a .500 or winning record and a losing one for MSU.
Dec. 5 — vs. Missouri
MSU is plenty familiar with former Appalachian State coaches after they fell to first year Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz’s former boss Scott Satterfield and Louisville in the 2019 Music City Bowl.
And while Satterfield spurned a quick turnaround with the Cardinal, Drinkwitz’s task might prove more difficult.
Missouri was relatively even-keel under Barry Odom’s watch, finishing no worse than 6-6 over his final three years. But with a roster that returns less than half it’s offensive production at quarterback, receiver and offensive line according to The Athletic, 2020 should be a rebuilding season for the Tigers.
Missouri senior Larry Rountree III is likely to be among the SEC’s top returning running backs, but if MSU’s defense can keep him in check, this is a game the Bulldogs should win to close out Leach’s first season in Starkville.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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