LSU vs. Mississippi State by the numbers
No. 14 LSU (1-1) at Mississippi State (2-0)
11 a.m. CDT Saturday (ESPN)
Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi
0 Mississippi State coaches have won their first four games with the Bulldogs. Zach Arnett enters Saturday’s game with a 3-0 record as the MSU coach. The Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator, Arnett took the reins after Mike Leach died last year, and he guided Mississippi State to a 19-10 victory over Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl. MSU has opened the 2023 season by beating Southeastern Louisiana 48-7 and Arizona 31-24 in overtime. Arnett is the seventh Mississippi State coach with a 3-0 record. In their fourth games, Earl Abell lost to Tennessee 7-3 in 1923, John Hancock lost to LSU 9-7 in 1927, Spike Nelson lost to Auburn 20-6 in 1938, Allyn McKeen lost to Auburn 7-0 in 1939, Jackie Sherrill lost to Tennessee 26-24 in 1991 and Joe Moorhead lost to Kentucky 28-7 in 2018.
1 Loss for LSU over the past 20 years in a game that kicked off before noon local time. On Oct. 10, 2020, LSU lost to Missouri 45-41 in an SEC game that kicked off at 11 a.m. Since the 2003 season, LSU has played in 10 games with morning kickoff times, including victories over Mississippi State in 2009 and 2021.
MORE SEC FOOTBALL BY THE NUMBERS:
7 Consecutive games with a takeaway for Mississippi State, including interceptions on Arizona’s first three possessions in last week’s 31-24 overtime victory.
31 Victories for LSU and seven victories for Mississippi State when a ranked team of Tigers plays an unranked team of Bulldogs, although MSU has scored its past three wins in the series in this manner. Mississippi State upended No. 8 LSU 32-29 in 2014, No. 12 LSU 37-7 in 2017 and No. 6 LSU 44-34 in 2020. Unranked MSU also defeated ranked LSU 1945, 1978, 1982 and 1984.
38 Consecutive games with a reception for Mississippi State RB Jo’quavious Marks, who has caught a pass in every game in his college career. Marks holds the school record for consecutive games with a reception.
38 Consecutive games without a 100-yard rusher for Mississippi State until RB Jo’quavious Marks reached the milestone in consecutive games to open the 2023 season. Marks had 123 yards and one TD on 24 rushing attempts against Arizona last week after starting the 2023 season with 127 yards and two TDs on 19 carries against Southeastern Louisiana. Before Marks, MSU’s most recent 100-yard rusher had been Kylin Hill, who ran for 132 yards in a 21-20 victory over Ole Miss on Nov. 28, 2019.
115 Yards and one TD on 15 rushing attempts for LSU RB Logan Diggs in the Tigers’ 72-10 victory over Grambling State last week. A transfer who rushed for 822 yards for Notre Dame last season, Diggs became the first running back with 100 rushing yards in his LSU debut since 1997, when Cecil Collins ran for 172 yards in a 24-9 victory over Mississippi State.
116 Previous games have been played between LSU and Mississippi State. The Tigers lead the series 77-36-3. LSU has more victories over MSU than it has over any other opponent. The teams have squared off annually since 1926 except for 1943, when MSU did not have a football team because of World War II.
199 Receptions by WR Fred Ross and RB Jo’quavious Marks, tied for the most in Mississippi State history. Ross had 199 receptions for 2,528 yards and 22 TDs for the Bulldogs from 2013 through 2016. Marks has 199 receptions for 1,149 yards and three TDs after catching four passes for 32 yards in last week’s 31-24 victory over Arizona.
400 Games as a college head coach for LSU’s Brian Kelly when the Tigers take the field against Mississippi State on Saturday. Kelly has a 295-102-2 record. Kelly has been 118-35-2 at Grand Valley State, 19-16 at Central Michigan, 34-6 at Cincinnati, 113-40 at Notre Dame and 11-5 at LSU.
1,192 Career completions for Mississippi State QB Will Rogers, 271 more than any other player in SEC history. Rogers also holds the conference record for career passes with 1,685, the most in SEC history by 132.
2,078 Passing yards are needed by Mississippi State QB Will Rogers to become the SEC career leader. Georgia QB Aaron Murray had 13,166 passing yards from 2010 through 2013 to set the conference mark. Rogers also needs 2,809 yards of total offense (passing yards plus rushing yards) to break Murray’s conference career record of 13,562.
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE SEC, GO TO OUR SEC PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.