STARKVILLE – For the first time in the head coach Jeff Lebby era, Mississippi State goes on tour.

The Dawgs are in the desert, all set for a 9:30 p.m. CT kickoff against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe. MSU will be hoping for a 2-0 start before returning to Starkville for back-to-back home games in the coming weeks.

You know that. However, there are a few things you may not know.

Let’s take a look at 10 things to watch for as State faces the Sun Devils:

1. For the second straight week, Mississippi State will face a first-time opponent. Just as the Bulldogs had never met Eastern Kentucky on the court before beating the Colonels 56-7 on Saturday, MSU and Arizona State have never faced each other. In fact, Mississippi State enters the season with three straight first-time opponents. When the Dawgs come home to face Toledo on Sept. 14, it will also be the first matchup between the two programs.
2. Arizona State enters Saturday’s game having never defeated an opponent from the Southeastern Conference. It’s worth noting that the Sun Devils have three all-time victories over Missouri and one over Oklahoma, but that was all before those schools were part of the SEC.
3. Mississippi State is looking to extend its non-conference winning streak. The Bulldogs have won 10 straight games against non-SEC rivals. The streak began with a home win over Memphis to kick off the 2022 season and includes a 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl triumph over Illinois. State is 26-5 in non-conference play since the 2017 season.
4. MSU Quarterback Blake Shapen’s Bulldogs’ career got off to a flying start last week when he threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 44 yards and a score in his state debut. And while it was the first time the Maroon and White faithful got to experience Shapen’s talents, it was a continuation of what began during his time at Baylor. Shapen has entered 12 consecutive games against the Sun Devils with a touchdown pass. He’s also thrown for 200 or more yards in eight of his last nine outings.
5. Shapen isn’t the only Bulldog looking to build on a strong start at State. Receiver/returner Kevin Coleman Jr. was electric in the season opener and hopes to carry that success west. Against Eastern Kentucky, Coleman racked up 205 all-purpose yards and enters this week as one of just eight FBS players to have eclipsed the 200-yard mark in all-purpose yardage. Coleman had 88 receiving yards and a touchdown against the Colonels, while also collecting 117 yards on punt returns. It was the most punt return yardage in a single game by a Bulldog since State great Kevin Prentiss totaled 152 punt return yards in the 1998 SEC Championship game.
6. If the opener was any indication, it will be a true team effort for Mississippi State this season. While several Bulldog veterans are continuing their careers, a whopping 41 players made their debuts for MSU last week. Of those 41 players, 18 were freshmen (15 of which were true freshmen) and 23 were transfers. It’s also worth noting that seven different Bulldogs scored touchdowns last week, while eight MSU players scored points.
7. Speaking of touchdowns, six of MSU’s eight touchdowns last week were scored by the offense, a unit that showed what Lebby’s Showtime at State mantra is all about. It’s fast. It’s fluid. It’s explosive. And it was all illustrated by how five of the Dawgs’ six offensive touchdowns came on drives of five plays or less. State’s time of possession averaged just 1:38 on scoring drives. Only two scoring drives exceeded two minutes.
8. While the Bulldogs will be taking the field Saturday feeling good about themselves after everything they did in their season opener, Arizona State will also be entering this week’s game with momentum. The Sun Devils defeated Wyoming 48-7 a week ago. It was a dominant performance, as Arizona State mustered 499 yards of total offense while limiting Wyoming to just 118 yards.
9. That’s often the case, but tackling will be paramount for MSU against Arizona State. The Sun Devils ran for 241 yards against Wyoming, with 83.6 percent of their running backs’ yardage coming on contact. That percentage ranked in the Top 15 in the FBS last week.
10. If Mississippi State can beat Arizona State, it would mark the fourth straight season and seventh time in eight years that the Bulldogs have started 2-0.