No. 12 Arizona State will look to duplicate its success against Mississippi State when the teams meet for the second straight season Saturday, this time in Starkville, Miss.
The Sun Devils dominated the line of scrimmage in their 30-23 home victory in 2024, rushing for 346 yards and holding the ball for 40:13 while recording their first victory over a Southeastern Conference team.
Both teams enter 1-0 after winning intrastate openers — Arizona State beat Northern Arizona 38-19 in Tempe, and Mississippi State stopped Southern Miss 34-17 in Hattiesburg.
The AP poll voters apparently saw something they did not like in defending Big 12 champion Arizona State, dropping the Sun Devils one spot from their preseason ranking.
Arizona State coach Ken Dillingham was not pleased, either, after the Sun Devils were penalized 12 times and went 1-for-10 on third down against a team that made the FCS playoffs a year ago.
“I believe that he (Northern Arizona’s Brian Wright) outcoached me,” Dillingham said. “That’s something that I have to look at and I have to figure out how that doesn’t happen again.”
Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt accounted for four touchdowns, two passing and two rushing, against Northern Arizona, throwing for 257 yards and rushing for 73. He threw one interception. Top target Jordyn Tyson had 12 receptions for 141 yards and two scores.
Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen went 26 of 33 for 272 yards with a touchdown and an interception against the Golden Eagles, playing his first game since sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury last September.
Shapen led three third-quarter scoring drives as the Bulldogs turned a 13-10 halftime lead into a comfortable 34-10 cushion. He was 18 of 28 for 268 yards and two touchdowns against Arizona State last season.
“I was just excited to get out there and play with these guys. That’s something that I’ll never take for granted again,” Shapen said.
The Bulldogs went 2-10 a year ago, winning only once after Shapen was lost for the season in the first SEC game against Florida. They lost all eight of their conference games.
“We’ve talked non-stop about August 30, winning the opener and being 1-0. I’m proud of that,” second-year Bulldogs coach Jeff Lebby said.
Arizona State piped the sound of cowbells into practice Tuesday in an attempt to prepare players for the atmosphere they will experience on Saturday.
“When you think of Mississippi State in Starkville, it’s an unbelievable college town, unbelievable atmosphere,” Dillingham said. “Obviously, you can’t simulate their fan base and their excitement, so we’re just trying to simulate the passion of that city and that place.”
Dillingham seemed to upset some Bulldogs fans when he talked about the Sun Devils’ travel plans.
“Interesting is now that we play in a lot smaller towns, we (stay) further away from stadiums on road games,” he said. “We stay about an hour and 15 minutes away from the stadium this week, because that’s the nearest hotel that’s not a casino.”
Visiting teams often stay in Columbus, Miss.; Tupelo, Miss.; or even Tuscaloosa, Ala.; when playing in Starkville, a town of about 25,000. The closest casino is an hour away in Philadelphia, Miss.
