Cowbell Corner

Mississippi State calls on fans to turn Davis Wade into a nightmare for Sun Devils

Davis Wade Stadium is set for chaos as Mississippi State looks to rattle Arizona State with noise, lights, and a blackout crowd.
Taylor Hodges|
The Mississippi State Bulldogs during the game between the UMass Minute Men and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field in Starkville, MS.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs during the game between the UMass Minute Men and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field in Starkville, MS. | Mississippi State Athletics

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Mississippi State BulldogsArizona State Sun Devils

In the week leading up to Mississippi State’s trip to Arizona State last season, the Sun Devils made a big push to break at least one attendance record at Mountain America Stadium.

The prior week, the Sun Devils nearly set a record for student attendance at a game and that was the record Arizona State tried to break last year. The Sun Devils came close, having 10,000-plus students in attendance in back-to-back games for the first time ever, but didn’t set any records. In fact, it took Arizona State until last Saturday to set a new student attendance record of 14,280.

That didn’t mean it wasn’t a loud, tough environment for the Bulldogs to play in a year ago.

"You can feel the energy in the stadium," head coach Kenny Dillingham said after that 2024 game.

Now, it’s Mississippi State’s turn and the university is pulling out all of the stops.

Within hours of the Bulldogs’ securing a 34-17 win against Southern Miss last Saturday, the push to turn Davis Wade Stadium into a hellish nightmare for the Sun Devils began.

Wide receivers coach Chad Bumphis was the first post I saw from a coach or university official calling for fans and students to pack Davis Wade Stadium this Saturday.

Since then, both Jeffy Lebby and Director of Athletics Zac Selmon and most players have made social media posts saying similar things.

In fact, Lebby was even asked about it at Monday’s press conference.

“I think our people are incredibly excited about it,” Lebby said. “My whole expectation is we walk into the stadium and it’s as special as there is in all college football because we have that here. We need to have that Saturday night at 6:30, need it in a big way. For us incredibly excited to have this as our home opener in front of our fan base. My hope is we show up and show out and it is just an electric atmosphere as we go kick this thing off.”

Davis Wade Stadium’s official capacity is listed at 60,311. The all-time attendance record is 62,945, which was on October 11, 2014, against Auburn (a 38-23 win). The top 20 all-time largest crowds in Starkville are all above that official capacity (except for one that’s 200 people short).

Saturday’s game may break into that top 20 and with the Sun Devils being a top 15-ranked team (polls come out Tuesday afternoon), there should be enough interest in the game itself to get 60k people to show up Saturday.

Even if the number is close to that, it’ll be an electric environment made all the more electric by the $9 million enhancements the university has made. Add in the all-black uniforms the Bulldogs will wear (with the script logo on the helmet) that I expect will look great on the field, and the Sun Devils are walking into the exact type of environment for a ranked team to be upset.

Imagine this scene, the new LED lights are flashing, changing colors as music plays pregame and then everything goes dark. The music goes quiet and for a moment the cowbells stop.

A sea of fans in black make Davis Wade Stadium look as dark as the open ocean at night. Then the opening bells of Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” begins to play, Christopher Walken pleads for more cowbells and Bully the Mascot comes running out, followed by the team and nearly 60,000 cowbells start ringing.

For someone who hasn’t been to a game at Davis Wade Stadium since he was in college (at Delta State)15 years ago and participated in the usual things college students do before the game (so, my memory of that game is more than a little fuzzy), Saturday will be like a first-time experience for me.

And it’s hard to ask for a better first-time experience. Or second. Or 100th. It's going to be great for all of us.

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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