Mississippi State’s homecoming weekend comes with plenty going on around campus, but the football game itself is turning into one of the cheaper tickets on the board.
Saturday’s matchup with Vanderbilt at Davis Wade Stadium has the Bulldogs and Commodores set for a 3:15 p.m. CT kickoff on SEC Network, and the resale market has pushed the lowest entry price down to bargain territory.
TickPick showed seats starting at $25 when checked, while Vivid Seats’ most recent accessible listing came in at $28 with fees included, refreshed October 29. Those are just the prices being advertised at the moment, and the final checkout total will depend on what’s available when a buyer actually clicks in.
That kind of number is hard to ignore for a homecoming game, especially when $25 is less than what plenty of fans will spend just to park and eat on Saturday. Still, the cheapest ticket is only part of the story. TickPick’s average listing was $100.63, so the lower-end price is really about getting in the door, not finding a premium seat on the cheap.
The inventory picture helps explain why the floor keeps sliding. Vivid Seats said only 3% of its stock remained, while TickPick still listed 3,594 tickets available. That leftover supply is what keeps dragging the entry price down, and it could dip a little more if the quarterback situation stays unsettled through Friday.
The on-field circumstances haven’t exactly helped demand. Mississippi State has lost four straight, Kamario Taylor is out for the season with a toe injury, and AJ Swann, who stepped in for him, left the Texas game with an arm injury. Vanderbilt comes in with five straight losses of its own, which makes this a tough sell even with homecoming on the calendar and a TV window attached.
The Bulldogs do still have something tangible to play for. They need two wins in their final four games to become bowl eligible, and with Tennessee Tech still on the schedule, a victory Saturday would move them closer to that goal.
The rest of Mississippi State’s home slate doesn’t offer nearly the same bargain. Auburn comes to Starkville on Nov. 14, with TickPick listing tickets starting at $36.
The Egg Bowl trip to Ole Miss on Nov. 27 is a much steeper ask, with prices starting at $119, nearly six times the homecoming get-in price. The only game left that comes in cheaper is the Nov. 21 matchup with FCS Tennessee Tech, which starts at $13.
Attendance has already shown how the mood around this team can swing. Davis Wade Stadium holds 60,311, and Mississippi State drew 60,417 fans for both Missouri and Alabama while the Bulldogs were still unbeaten. The smallest crowd so far came in the opener against Louisiana-Monroe, when 48,771 were on hand, and homecoming could challenge that mark.
Lebby said the team is ready to head back after spending two of the last three weeks on the road. “Yeah, those guys understand, man, we’re going home,” Lebby said.
As always, the numbers on the resale boards can change fast right up to kickoff, and the listed get-in price is not the same thing as a final checkout total.
In Other News...
Vanderbilt Heads To Starkville With A Drought Finally Worth Watching
Saturdays trip to Davis Wade Stadium gives Vanderbilt a familiar SEC opponent and a setting the program has not navigated often in recent decades. The Commodores and Mississippi State are meeting for the 25th time since 1904, and this one comes with a little extra intrigue because it will be Vanderbilts first visit to Starkville under head coach Clark Lea. The matchup also arrives with a few of Vanderbilts top performers carrying real momentum, including wide receiver Junior Sherrill, who ranks among the nations receiving leaders and has already piled up several school records.
On the other side of the ball, linebacker CJ Heard has been a steady presence for a defense that will need to travel well in a tough road environment. He leads Vanderbilt in tackles and forced fumbles, which makes him one of the key figures to watch as the Commodores try to handle the kind of game that has often turned on field position and discipline. For Vanderbilt, this is more than just another SEC road date. It is a chance to see how far the program has come in a place where the history has not always been kind. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Needs More From Its Offense Before Jared Curtis Pays For It
Clark Lea spent the bye week talking less about a freshman quarterbacks growing pains and more about the offense around him, because Jared Curtis has been asked to carry too much too soon. Vanderbilt has seen enough progress from the young passer to believe the arrow is pointing up, but the bigger issue has been the ground game, which has left the offense too often stuck in obvious passing situations and made every mistake feel bigger than it should.
The timing matters with Mississippi State next on the schedule, because the Commodores used the break to try to get the run game moving again and ease some of that pressure off Curtis. Leas message was clear: the quarterback development is only part of the equation, and until the offense gives him more help, Vanderbilt will keep asking a freshman to absorb the consequences of a unit still searching for consistency. [Read more 🡒]
Clark Lea Sees A Bigger Vanderbilt Defensive Problem After Kentucky
After Vanderbilts loss to Kentucky, Clark Lea came away focused less on a single busted series and more on a larger issue with how his defense handled the game. The Commodores were getting outpaced on run-defense calls, and that showed up in the way Kentucky kept finding steady success on early downs, forcing Vanderbilt into compromised situations before the possession could really settle in.
Lea said the defense has enough potential to be better, but it has to do a better job of tying the whole operation together. He pointed to the need for adjustments in both the play-calling and the execution, stressing that winning the early part of downs is essential if Vanderbilt wants to avoid spending the rest of the series on its heels. [Read more 🡒]