Mississippi State fans: All they need is a little hope

All week long Arizona State knew they had to prepare for a more talented Mississippi State team than the one they faced a year ago. The Sun Devils prepared for a more physical Bulldog squad and that concerned both sides of the ball.

But what Arizona State couldn’t prepare for or duplicate in scout-team work was playing in front of a hungry and electric Mississippi State fanbase. We saw videos of Arizona State trying to mimic those cowbell sounds at practice. But until you’ve actually experienced 50,000 cowbells ringing, there’s no way to realize how loud and noisy it actually is.

To be fair, this fanbase has had little reason to show up on game day. There’s not been a lot of joy inside the program since Mike Leach suddenly passed away over two years ago. There’s been new coaches, fired coaches and a lot of disappointment along the way.

But the great thing about his loyal fanbase is all they need is a little hope. You give this fanbase something to cling to or look forward to on Saturday, well, you just guaranteed yourself to have one of the nation’s best college football atmospheres at Davis Wade Stadium.

Saturday night was one of the best environments I have witnessed at Scott Field, and there’s been a lot of those due to this fanbase and support. But don’t just take my word for it.

“It was an awesome environment, as good as I’ve been in,” noted Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham. “The fans were great. The stadium is great. Everything about it was awesome. It’s what college football is supposed to be about. Unfortunately, we ended up on the other side of a really, really good football game.

“That’s the nature of football. You play these really, really good football games and either you win them or you lose them. Last year, we won a lot of them. Unfortunate to come out on the other side of one of these.”

To his credit, Dillingham did not whine or complain about the cowbells, something we’ve heard numerous programs do over the past several decades. Instead, he embraced that tradition and said it’s what makes college football what it is.

“That’s college football,” added Dilligham. “It’s going to be loud. It’s going to be chaotic. We only really had one time where we had a procedural issue where we had to burn a timeout. I thought the environment was awesome. The fanbase came out for them and that’s what college football is supposed to be.”

And for Davis Wade Stadium, Saturday night is what it is supposed to be. Huge props to athletic director Zac Selmon and his crew for providing 9 million dollars worth of stadium enhancements. Yes, Selmon has said there’s more work to do in the future. But Saturday night was a production, a show if you will, and the Bulldogs capped it off with an unbelievable win in the closing seconds.

Yes, this fanbase will always be loyal and supportive. Some days it is easier to support than other days, and that hasn’t been the case often over the past few years. But all this fanbase and atmosphere needs is a little hope. Once they have that, they will cling to that hope and make Davis Wade Stadium an unpleasant venue for opposing teams.

Yes, head coach Jeff Lebby and his staff have a lot of work left to do and he emphasizes that often. But when this fanbase is given a reason to hope, Davis Wade Stadium becomes quite the experience for Bulldog faithful.

On Saturday night in the closing minute of the game, I was making my way to the post-game press conference. I stopped on the ramp to watch State’s last drive and from my view, I could see the game-winning play to Brenen Thompson develop and saw exactly what Blake Shapen saw in that coverage.

When Thompson reached the goal line, I could feel the whole stadium vibing like we’ve experienced so many times before. As I made my way to the elevator, I thought to myself ‘Davis Wade is back’. Oh my was she ever back.