Missouri-Mississippi State matchup draws sellout crowd

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The 19th-ranked Missouri Tigers are traveling to Starkville this weekend to take on No. 24 Mississippi State.

This is the first ranked-versus-ranked matchup in Davis Wade Stadium since 2017.

It is the first time the Bulldogs themselves have been ranked since 2022.

The university posted on social media that the stadium is sold out for Saturday’s game.

Fans, students react ahead of kickoff

Mississippi State is also attempting a world record this weekend for most cowbells ringing simultaneously.

There is Heisman buzz around sophomore quarterback Kamario Taylor.

Braxton Cantu, an MSU student, said he has a personal stake in the outcome.

“I’m not going to lie, I hate Missouri. They’re always ranked, every preseason poll; I don’t think they should be,” Cantu said. “Their quarterback is an ex-Ole Miss player, so there’s some hatred there. Yeah, I’m excited to see them lose.”

Jackson Loden, another MSU student, said he is from St. Louis, where many Missouri fans live.

“I’m from St. Louis, so there’s a lot of people back home that are Missouri fans,” Loden said. “I’m sure they’re going to be watching the game, so I might be talking smack to them after the game.”

MSU student Daniel Gorhum compared Taylor to former MSU quarterback Dak Prescott.

“I am buying into the hype train, you know? Kamario, I feel like he has a really good future here with us,” Gorhum said. “Dak was really good for us back in 2014. But Kamario, this year, I mean, even through the first three games against were not really great opponents, he’s been looking like a really good quarterback out there. What? Only one interception, I think? Fourteen touchdowns? It’s looking really good for him, so I’m definitely buying into that.”