Date: October 23, 2021
All-time series record: Mississippi State leads, 14-7-2
Last meeting: November 7, 2020; Mississippi State won, 24-17
Last season: 4-7, 58th in SP+, 54th in Sagarin
Head coach: Mike Leach (second year, 4-7; 20th year overall, 143-97)
Mike Leach’s offensive system can take a minute to implement — his first teams at, respectively, Texas Tech and Washington State finished 61st and 109th in points per game — which is why it seemed a bit off when everyone overreacted to his first game at Mississippi State, a 44-34 win on the road over the defending national champions.