STARKVILLE, Miss. – Looking to start the 2007 season off on a winning note, Mississippi State will entertain Louisiana State University in the first football action of the year Thursday.   Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field and will be televised nationally by ESPN.

MSU will look to improve on its impressive record in season openers of 74-31-2 (.701).   LSU is ranked second nationally entering the affair.

MSU and LSU will face off for the 101st time Thursday in a series that dates all the way back to 1896. LSU leads 64-33-3.   LSU leads the series in Starkville 10-6-1 and won the last meeting 48-17 in Baton Rouge in 2006.  LSU is 9-1 in the last 10 contests against MSU and has won the past seven.   Mississippi State's last win against LSU was in 1999, 17-16 in Starkville.

The Bulldogs are paced offensively by sophomore running back Anthony Dixon who rushed for over 700 yards last season with an impressive 4.0 yard per carry average.  Senior wide receiver Tony Burks had an outstanding first-year campaign with the Bulldogs, ranking second nationally in yards per catch (24.2 ypr.).  

Defensively, the Bulldogs are led by senior defensive end Titus Brown and safety Derek Pegues, both who have been recognized as first-team all-SEC defensive players by numerous sports outlets.   Pegues led the Bulldogs with four interceptions a year ago (T-40 nationally) and will handle most of the special teams returns.   Brown had 7.5 sacks last year to lead the team and will be looked on to apply pressure on the opposing quarterbacks all season. 

LSU is led by three seniors on offense.   Senior tailback Jacob Hester caught 35 passes on the year this past season, a total that ranks as the third-most by a running back in school history.  Second team all-SEC senior wide receiver Early Doucet played in 13 games last season and his 10 touchdowns ranked as the sixth-most in the SEC in 2006.   Fifth-year senior quarterback Matt Flynn will make only his second career start Thursday. In his only other start, he earned MVP honors in LSU's 2005 Chick-fil-A Bowl win over Miami.

Defensively, the Tigers are considered to be one of the best units in the country.   LSU is led by all-America defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey who finished 2006 as the Tigers' third-leading tackler with 64 stops. That included 8.5 for losses and three sacks despite being double-teamed most of the year.  Defensive end Tyson Jackson led the team in sacks with 8.5 (5th SEC) and had 10 tackles for loss.

After this week's matchup with LSU, MSU will travel to New Orleans to face Tulane on Saturday, September 8, at 6 p.m.