How to watch: No. 17/18 Mississippi State at Baylor

The Bulldogs are hitting the road for the first time this season against an unbeaten Bears team after upsetting then-No. 10 Wake Forest last week.

Mississippi State Head Coach Nick Zimmerman during the match between the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at the MSU Soccer Field in Starkville, MS. | Mississippi State Athletics

A common theme this year in Starkville will unanswered questions.

Not questions asked by reporters like yours truly. In fact, I can’t recall any coach or player not answering a question in my roughly year and a half covering Mississippi State sports.

The questions are, basically, “How good will this team be with all of the new players?”

It’s the biggest about the football program and will be so again when baseball season arrives. It was also a question about the women’s soccer team.

After winning last season’s SEC Regular Season Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, the Bulldogs lost their head coach, starting goal keeper and several others, most of whom are playing on a professional team now.

Mississippi State returned just eight players from last season and promoted Nick Zimmerman to head coach position. But the Bulldogs had to bring in a lot of new players, several of whom are true freshman.

So, there was naturally going to be questions.

It’s early, but it looks like the answer is going to be a resounding yes, the changes are successful.

The Bulldogs are 2-0 with a marquee win against then-No. 10 Wake Forest, one of three teams to beat the Bulldogs a year ago. They also moved up in the two major top 25 rankings; the Bulldogs are ranked tied-No. 17 with Michigan State in the United Soccer Coaches poll and are ranked No. 18 in the TopDrawerSoccer Poll.

📽️ 𝒟𝒶𝓌𝑔𝓈 𝒟𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒟𝑒𝒶𝒸𝓈#HailState pic.twitter.com/NodWbI5ba5

— Mississippi State Soccer (@HailStateSOC) August 25, 2025

It wasn’t just that the Bulldogs beat the Demon Deacons, it’s how they won. They dominated most of the first half and looked like the better team for most of the game.

But now Mississippi State gets its first tough game away from Starkville on Thursday when the Bulldogs face Baylor (1-0-2).

“They’re really good. Baylor is undefeated at 1-0-2,” Zimmerman said in his weekly media availability. “They opened with Texas A&M, and it was back and forth with good chances both ways. I know Baylor a little better since they’re the first opponent. They returned a lot of players from last year and added several transfers. Happy belated birthday to Coach Michelle (Lenard), she does a great job. They’re organized, well coached, and it’ll be a challenge.”

That challenge will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday and will air on ESPN+.

United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll

1. Stanford
2. Tennessee
3. Duke
T4. TCU
T4. South California
T6. Florida State
T6. Notre Dame
8. Arkansas
9. Penn State
10. Iowa
11. BYU
12. South Carolina
T13. Virginia
T13. Georgia
15. Memphis
16. Georgetown
T17. Michigan State
T17. Mississippi State
19. Wake Forest
20. Oklahoma
21. Wisconsin
22. North Carolina
23. UCLA
24. Virginia Tech
25. Vanderbilt

Also receiving votes: Saint Louis (21), Kansas (5), Colorado State (2), Colorado (2), Pepperdine (1)

TopDrawerSoccer Top 25 Rankings

1. Stanford
2. Florida State
3. Duke
4. Tennessee
5. TCU
6. Notre Dame
7. Penn State
8. Iowa
9. Arkansas
10. Wisconsin
11. BYU
12. UCLA
13. Georgia
14. South Carolina
15. North Carolina
16. Memphis
17. Southern California
18. Mississippi State
19. Vanderbilt
20. Wake Forest
21. Virginia
22. Oklahoma
23. Georgetown
24. Virginia Tech
25. Ohio State

How to Watch: No. 17 Mississippi State at Baylor

Who: Mississippi State Bulldogs (2-0-0) at Baylor Bears (1-0-2)
When: 7 p.m., Thursday
Where: Betty Lou Mays Field, Waco, Texas
TV: ESPN+
Radio: Live Radio
Stats: Live Stats
Series History: All-time series tied at 1-1
Last Meeting: Mississippi State 1, Baylor 0 (August 15, 2024)
Last time out, Bulldogs: def. then-No. 10 Wake Forest, 2-1
Last time out, Bears: def. Montana, 2-0