Mississippi State is trimming three future road trips off its schedule as the SEC’s move to a nine-game conference slate forces teams to reshuffle non-conference plans.
The Bulldogs have canceled road legs of previously arranged home-and-home series with Memphis, Southern Miss and Tulane, turning each of those matchups into a single game in Starkville.
The biggest change comes with Memphis. The schools announced a home-and-home series in June 2020, with the Tigers set to host in 2028 and Mississippi State scheduled to return the favor in 2029.
That no longer stands. The series has been reduced to one game, and the Bulldogs will host Memphis in 2034 with no return trip to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
Memphis also won’t receive a payout for losing its home date. Per Jonah Dylan of the Commercial Appeal, the agreement included a force majeure clause that allowed the series to be canceled without financial penalty if the SEC expanded to a nine-game conference schedule, which begins this year. Mississippi State filled the 2028 road opening by adding a home game against Louisiana Tech.
Memphis and Mississippi State last played a home-and-home series in 2021 and 2022, with the home team winning both games.
Southern Miss is in a similar spot. The Golden Eagles and Bulldogs announced their home-and-home in February 2023, with Southern Miss originally slated to host in 2030 and Mississippi State in 2031.
That has been cut down to a single meeting in Starkville, now set for Sept. 15, 2029.
The two programs recently split up two more home-and-home stretches, meeting in 2014 and 2015 and again in 2023 and 2025, and Mississippi State won all four games. Southern Miss is no longer scheduled to host the SEC team in the future.
Tulane’s series has also been reshaped. The schools first planned a home-and-home in 2020 and 2023, but COVID-19 wiped out the first leg and pushed the matchup to 2030 and 2032.
Under that version, Mississippi State would have hosted in Starkville in 2030 before heading to New Orleans in 2032. Now, it’s down to one game in Starkville on Sept.
11, 2032. Mississippi State replaced the 2030 road game with a home date against Troy.
That 2032 meeting will be the first between Mississippi State and Tulane since 2007.
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