Mississippi State Reveals 2021 Schedule
STARKVILLE, Miss. (MSU Athletics) – Mississippi State and the Southeastern Conference released the 2021 football schedule Wednesday afternoon during a special announcement show on the SEC Network.
The Bulldogs’ schedule will feature seven games in Starkville, highlighted by a non-conference Power 5 contest with NC State (Sept. 11) and SEC matchups with LSU (Sept. 25), Alabama (Oct. 16), Kentucky (Oct. 30) and Ole Miss (Nov. 27).
MSU’s road SEC games will be at Texas A&M (Oct. 2), Vanderbilt (Oct. 23), Arkansas (Nov. 6) and Auburn (Nov. 13).
State will open its 122nd season of football against Louisiana Tech (Sept. 4) at Davis Wade Stadium. Other non-conference matchups include a trip to Memphis (Sept. 18) and the first ever meeting with Tennessee State (Nov. 20) at home before the annual Battle for the Golden Egg against Ole Miss.
Mississippi State’s 2021 Football Schedule
Sept. 4 – LOUISIANA TECH
Sept. 11 – NC STATE
Sept. 18 – at Memphis
Sept. 25 – LSU
Oct. 2 – at Texas A&M
Oct. 9 – Open Date
Oct. 16 – ALABAMA
Oct. 23 – at Vanderbilt
Oct. 30 – KENTUCKY
Nov. 6 – at Arkansas
Nov. 13 – at Auburn
Nov. 20 – TENNESSEE STATE
Nov. 27 – OLE MISS
More on Mississippi State’s 2021 Opponents
Sept. 4 – LOUISIANA TECH
State is 10-3 in the all-time series with a 9-2 mark in Starkville. The teams last met in 2018, which resulted in a 45-3 MSU win. Louisiana Tech is coming off a 5-5 season overall and 4-2 record in Conference USA play.
Sept. 11 – NC STATE
MSU and NC State will meet for the seventh time, and it will be the Wolfpack’s first trip to Starkville since Nov. 7, 1931. The Bulldogs won 51-28 in the most-recent meeting, which was the 2015 Belk Bowl and Dak Prescott’s final collegiate game. NC State went 8-4 overall and 7-3 in ACC play in 2020. The Wolfpack also finished ranked No. 23 in the final College Football Playoff ranking.
Sept. 18 – at Memphis
This will be the first meeting between the schools since Sept. 1, 2011, when the Bulldogs won 59-14 in Memphis. State is 17-6 against the Tigers in games played in Memphis and 33-11 in the all-time series. Memphis was 8-3 overall (5-3 AAC) in 2020, including a 6-0 mark at home. The Tigers boast the FBS’ fifth-longest active home winning streak at 15 games with their last home loss coming on Oct. 13, 2018 to then-No. 9 UCF. Memphis won five of its last six games and closed out the season with a 25-10 win over Florida Atlantic in the Montgomery Bowl.
Sept. 25 – LSU
State and LSU will meet for the 115th time in 2021. The Bulldogs have played LSU and Ole Miss more than any SEC opponent dating back to 1896. The Mike Leach era of MSU football was ushered in last season on Sept. 26, 2020 at LSU, as a record-setting offensive performance propelled the Bulldogs over the defending national champions and sixth-ranked Tigers, 44-34. It was MSU’s highest-ranked road win in program history. The Bulldogs have won two of the last four games against the Tigers, including a 37-7 win in Starkville on Sept. 16, 2017.
Oct. 2 – at Texas A&M
MSU has won three of the last five matchups against Texas A&M. Each of the Bulldogs’ last two wins over the Aggies (2017, 2018) have been by double-digits. Leach owns a 7-4 record as a head coach against the Aggies, facing them 10 times while the head coach at Texas Tech.
Oct. 16 – ALABAMA
MSU and Alabama will meet for the 106th time. It will mark the earliest meeting between the schools since Oct. 3, 1942.
Oct. 23 – at Vanderbilt
State leads the all-time series 14-7-2. This will be the first meeting in Nashville since Sept. 19, 2009, when the Bulldogs won 15-3. State beat Vanderbilt, 24-17, in Starkville last season. The 2021 meeting will mark the first time since 2008 and 2009 that the schools have played each other in back-to-back seasons.
Oct. 30 – KENTUCKY
Kentucky is MSU’s permanent SEC eastern division opponent. The all-time series is tied at 24 apiece. The game will be the latest meeting between the programs since a 24-17 MSU win on Oct. 30, 2010 in Starkville. MSU is 14-6 against the Wildcats in Starkville. State won the previous matchup in Starkville, 28-13, on Sept. 21, 2019.
Nov. 6 – at Arkansas
MSU has claimed seven out of the last nine meetings, including the last four in the state of Arkansas. The first meeting in the series came in 1916, a 20-7 Bulldog victory. MSU and Arkansas met only twice prior to 1992 when the Razorbacks joined the SEC. This will be the 30th straight year that the teams play each other.
Nov. 13 – at Auburn
State’s last victory in Auburn came in 2015 by a score of 17-9. MSU won 23-9 over No. 8 Auburn in Starkville in 2018, the Bulldogs’ largest margin of victory over a top-10 team since beating No. 2 Auburn, 38-23, on Oct. 11, 2014 in a game that catapulted MSU to its first No. 1 ranking; however, the Tigers have won each of the previous two meetings.
Nov. 20 – TENNESSEE STATE
This will be the first meeting between the programs.
Nov. 27 – OLE MISS
State and Ole Miss will meet for the 118th time. The Rebels are the Bulldogs’ most common foe, and this series is among the longest in NCAA Division I history. The schools started playing for the “Golden Egg” trophy in 1927. MSU won the last time in Starkville, 21-20, and has taken three of the last five matchups.
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