It’s year two of the Mike Leach era at Mississippi State.

After a tumultuous 2020, the Bulldogs look to show more consistency and stability in 2021. State’s first opponent is a familiar foe, Louisiana Tech.

The two sets of Bulldogs have met 14 times with the maroon and white side holding an 11-3 series advantage. MSU and La Tech have met four times in the last decade; State’s won all four of those contests.

Not unlike State, Louisiana Tech had their fair share of inconsistency in 2020. They made it to their seventh-consecutive bowl game, but the regular season was a rollercoaster. They ended the regular season at 5-4, littered with close wins and blowout losses.

They started 2-0 with a one-point win over Southern Miss and a decisive victory over Houston Baptist before getting steamrolled by BYU, 45-14. They snuck by UTEP before losing back-to-back games to Marshall and UTSA. They responded with a double-overtime win over UAB, on top of a 42-31 triumph over North Texas, but then proceeded to get decimated at TCU, 52-10. They earned a spot in the New Orleans Bowl, where Georgia Southern took them down, 38-3.

Despite ending the year with a .500 record, Louisiana Tech had the statistical year of a team that would seem to be much worse. On offense, the Bulldogs finished 117th nationally in Total Offense, averaging 315.8 yards per game. They also ranked 78th in Scoring Offense, averaging 26.7 points per game.

Losing much of their offensive production from a year ago, LTU took a heavy dip in the transfer portal, starting with quarterback Austin Kendall.

A four-star prospect in the Class of 2016, Kendall started his career at Oklahoma, appearing in a total of six games between 2016 and 2018 before transferring to West Virginia. He started the 2019 season for the Mountaineers, completing 61.5% of his passes for 1,989 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He lost the starting nod in 2020 but ended up finding action in the Liberty Bowl against Army.

They picked up a pair of experienced running backs in the portal, beginning with Marcus Williams. Williams has been the starting running back at Appalachian State since 2017, totaling 400 attempts for 2,216 yards and 14 touchdowns. In 2019, he garnered 652 yards and five touchdowns from 113 carries. A year ago, he totaled 503 yards and three touchdowns on 68 carries (an average of 7.4 yards per rush).

LaTech also added a familiar face, former Vanderbilt starter Keyon Henry-Brooks. Finding action for the Commodores in 2019 and 2020, he complied 746 yards and three touchdowns from 176 attempts. He played in Davis Wade Stadium last season, finding 20 touches for 115 yards and a score.

At receiver, the Bulldogs return many of their starters. Smoke Harris has caught 88 passes for 716 yards and eight scores over his three seasons in Ruston. Griffin Hebert has found action the last two years for La Tech, snagging 49 passes for 812 yards and nine touchdowns. Isaiah Graham, who started his collegiate career at TCU, has been a LTU pass-catcher since 2019. He has 49 receptions over the last two seasons for 225 yards and seven scores.

While their offensive stats weren’t great from a year ago, their defense wasn’t much better. The red and blue Bulldogs ranked 81st nationally in Total Defense, giving up 427.3 yards per game. They were also 96th in Scoring Defense, allowing 34.7 points per game.

The defensive struggles in 2020 belie the fact, they were laden with underclassmen, some of whom have potential. Linebacker Tyler Grubbs was a young phenom a year ago, earning a spot on a couple Freshman All-American teams with his 96 total tackles.

Another notable factor for the Louisiana Tech defense is safety BeeJay Williamson, who was named as a C-USA First Team player. He totaled 56 tackles in 2020, on top of snagging three interceptions.

The Bulldogs return one of their top defensive players from years past, Willie Baker, who opted out in 2020. In 2019, the defensive lineman racked up 51 tackles with seven sacks.

Like the offense, La Tech has also taken a dip into the transfer portal on defense. Baylen Buchanan comes in from Tennessee, where he played in 31 games between 2016-2018. He missed the last two seasons due to injury.

Myles Mason, a defensive back from Arkansas, comes to Ruston with more recent experience. He played in 27 games between 2017-2020, totaling 33 tackles a year ago. While he didn’t play against Mississippi State last year, he notched nine tackles against LSU and Ole Miss.

Mississippi State and Louisiana Tech commence their 2021 campaigns at 3:00 PM CT on ESPNU.