Starkville will be bumping tonight as Mississippi State football welcomes the 12th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils to Davis Wade Stadium. It's the home-opener for the Bulldogs, and they're hoping to pull off a big upset and earn a signature victory as they continue to rebuild under second year head coach Jeff Lebby
One notable college football media personality thinks Mississippi State will get the job done against the Sun Devils. On ESPN's College GameDay, host Kirk Herbstreit picked the Bulldogs to pull off the upset.
"I'm going with Mississippi State to win this one outright. I think going into Starkville at night is tough, the cowbells, everything you have to overcome. Arizona State is the hunted, and it's a different animal for them now. Everyone's expecting them to win, so I'm going with Mississippi State as an upset."Kirk Herbstreit
Herbstreit had taken Mississippi State as his "Super Dog" pick earlier in the show, believing they'd cover the 6.5-point spread, and he doubled-down by taking them to win outright. Kirk and guest picker Trae Young were the only people on set to take the Bulldogs, as Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, and Pat McAfee all selected Arizona State to get the win.
Perhaps it would almost have been beneficial for Mississippi State to not have anyone pick them, seeing as how upsets seem to happen specifically when the entire College GameDay set goes the same way on a matchup. Still, to have anyone believing in the Bulldogs feels positive given how bad things have been for the past year.
And the rough recent history for Mississippi State makes tonight's game even bigger for them. Bulldog fans are desperate to see a big win and have a football team worth getting excited for. They're ready to buy-in, and this is Jeff Lebby's chance to show them that the program is finally getting things turned in the right direction.
A win tonight gets the fanbase fully onboard, and it'd provide some much-needed momentum for the program for the rest of the season. A win over the Sun Devils would provide the Bulldogs with a realistic path to making a bowl, which would be a huge step for the program. This is an important game. Hopefully Kirk Herbstreit's pick is a good omen for the Bulldogs tonight.