STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State football team is preparing for a game against a team that, at least after one game, appears to have improved significantly from last season.
Coach Jeff Lebby admitted this on Monday, and the Bulldogs players also noticed it after Arizona State (1-0) crushed Wyoming 48-7 in the opening game.
MSU (1-0) also has to factor in the late kickoff scheduled for Saturday (9:30 p.m. CT, ESPN) at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. Mississippi is hot, but so is Arizona — and hot in a different way.
Changes and remedies are being made, such as the team leaving Starkville on Thursday instead of Friday as usual to play on Saturday.
“Our guys just know exactly what we’re getting into,” Lebby said. “We continued to talk about it yesterday and this morning and are having those conversations to understand what it’s going to look like at the end of the week. We need to prepare well in terms of hydration, nutrition and rest so we can go out on that flight and be at our best on Saturday night.”
Just this week, Phoenix broke a record by having temperatures over 100 degrees for the 100th day in a row. According to AccuWeather, highs in Tempe on Saturday will be 105 degrees and lows will be 86 degrees. Temperatures will be around 100 degrees by kickoff, with humidity at 19%.
“Coach Lebby has always emphasized that,” tight end Justin Ball said. “We’ve already been drinking enough water and resting every day. We’re flying on Thursday, so we’ve already talked about the plan to stay hydrated throughout the flight, acclimate as quickly as possible once we get there and just stay together. We’ve got to stay focused, keep our eyes on the goal first and then execute the game plan.”
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Mississippi State played well in its last game in Arizona.
The Bulldogs played Arizona two seasons ago in Tucson. They beat a mediocre Wildcats team 39-17. Kickoff for that game was at 8:00 p.m. PST, even though the temperature was 84 degrees when the game started.
There aren’t many players left on Mississippi State’s roster from the 2022 season. But those who are, like linebacker Nic Mitchell, can benefit from the experience and share it with teammates as well.
“We know it’s going to be a long flight, so we know we need to stay hydrated,” Mitchell said. “It gives people who have done it before experience and they can tell the young people what it’s going to be like during the flight, how to stay hydrated and things like that.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi state reporter for the Clarion Ledger. You can email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_..
