Its just over 10 hours until Mississippi State and Auburn kickoff their SEC season, in Starkville, in a prime-time ESPN game. There are plenty of sub-plots to make this game bigger than any other MSU/Auburn matchup. The biggest is the fact that Cam Newton was almost a Bulldog until he decided to play for Auburn. He has been close to Coach Mullen since his days at Florida, and said that it was actually harder to tell the Coach's wife that he wasn't coming to Mississippi State than it was to tell Mullen himself.
That is all behind us now, and we are focusing on tonights game and coming out with a victory before going on the road to LSU. Lets see what others around the Interweb are saying about tonights game, and we will be back later today with our keys to success and an in-game open thread during the game.
First up, in-state papers are talking about the recent history of this SEC West rival, including the infamous 3-2 game 2 years ago in Starkville.
Mullen talked to the media during the weekly SEC media teleconference, and said that he likes his teams preparation for the Auburn game. We also learned that Mullen almost burned Tyler Russell's redshirt in the Houston game last year.
Not really related specifically to this game, but the Memphis Commercial Appeal takes a look at the trend of dual quarterbacks and the pros and cons of that practice.
Finally we have a look at this game from both sides. First up, the Mobile Press Register breaks down the game from the Auburn point of view. The Clarion-Ledger does the same from the Mississippi State point of view.
The Starkville coffee house Strange Brew is already playing games with the Auburn fans with the messages it is posting on its road-side sign:
And finally, are you ready for the day of reckoning?
Go Dawgs!