Mike Leach coached his first game at Davis Wade Stadium as an assistant under Hal Mumme at Kentucky on Sept. 6, 1997.

He still remembers the 35-27 defeat the host Bulldogs put on the Wildcats en route to a 7-4 season under head coach Jackie Sherrill.

“They were full strength and screaming and hollering,” Leach said of the fans packing the stands in Starkville. “Mississippi State had a pretty good year that year. It was a great environment.”

And it’s an atmosphere Leach and the Bulldogs hope to recreate in 2021.

The former Texas Tech and Washington State head coach took over in Starkville last January, but he has yet to experience the raucous home ambience that comes with the territory. Last season, the COVID-19 pandemic limited attendance, and a 3-7 regular-season record certainly didn’t help.

So with Saturday’s season opener against Louisiana Tech drawing ever nearer, Leach, his fellow coaches and his staff are all ready for what they missed.

“We came last year … and we didn’t get all the cowbells,” said running backs coach Eric Mele, who held the same position under Leach at Washington State. “I’m ready to hear the cowbells myself.”

A young team with a promising defense but an unproven offense, the Bulldogs will be done no favors by their slate of opponents in 2021. Louisiana Tech is no pushover. North Carolina State won’t go down easy. Memphis will be a tough first road test. Tennessee State … well, there’s always an exception.

And that’s not even getting into a Southeastern Conference schedule that never seems to give Mississippi State a break. Alabama visits Starkville. So does LSU. In between, there’s a road trip to Texas A&M. A visit to Vanderbilt could give MSU a break, but the Commodores played the Bulldogs close last year in Starkville.

“We know who we have to face, and we know how well we have to perform to beat those teams,” junior safety Collin Duncan said after the Bulldogs’ defense squashed their offense in an intrasquad scrimmage Aug. 21 at Davis Wade Stadium. “We know that we’re not there.”

But that was a week and a half ago, and Mississippi State simply will have to be where it needs to be by the time the Bulldogs step onto Scott Field on Saturday.

Certainly, the pieces are there. MSU returns eight defensive starters, including standout cornerbacks Martin Emerson and Emmanuel Forbes. A possible first-round draft pick, Charles Cross, will anchor the offensive line. Jaden Walley, Austin Williams and transfer receivers Makai Polk and Jamire Calvin will be major pass-catching threats, and Jo’quavious Marks and Dillon Johnson will provide rushing options in the Air Raid offense.

But it will take a leap forward from sophomore quarterback Will Rogers for the Bulldogs to break out in 2021. Rogers was respectable as a freshman, but his efficiency numbers left something to be desired: The Brandon product was 83rd in the country in passing efficiency and 100th out of 108 quarterbacks in yards per attempt, per NCAA.com.

Still, it can’t be denied Rogers has come into his own as a leader. Coaches and players alike, prompted or unprompted, said the sophomore has taken strides in the clubhouse that have helped the Bulldogs grow closer together.

“We’ve been up here all day, every day with everybody — on the field, off the field, whether it’s watching film, doing this,” Williams said. “There’s a ton of chemistry just all around with the quarterbacks and just the whole team in general.”

The same is true on defense, where despite the loss of defensive end Jordan Davis — rumored out for the season with a torn ACL, the senior didn’t appear on Monday’s depth chart — coordinator Zach Arnett has considerable experience and talent at his disposal.

UCF transfer Randy Charlton will join incumbents Jaden Crumedy and Cameron Young on the defensive line. At linebacker, Aaron Brule, Nathaniel Watson and Tyrus Wheat form a strong starting unit. 

And perhaps it’s in the secondary where the Bulldogs could be poised for a major rebound. Safety after safety went down with an injury last season — C.J. Morgan, Fred Peters, Janari Dean and Dylan Lawrence. By around the time Mississippi State faced Vanderbilt on Nov. 7, the latter third of MSU’s 3-3-5 scheme was so taxed that safeties coach Jason Washington was running out of healthy options.

“I thought I was going to have to suit back up and go in and play a little bit,” Washington said. “Luckily, we didn’t get all the way down there, but that was probably the lowest point.”

Things improved quickly toward the end of the season. The Bulldogs built goodwill with a home win over Missouri, exploding for 51 points. They then edged No. 24 Tulsa in the Armed Forces Bowl, finishing the season 4-7.

And typically, Leach’s history hints at further improvement in his second season in charge. Washington State went 3-9 in 2012, his first season in Pullman, but the Cougars put together a 6-7 record the following season. They won nine games in 2015 after a down year in between.

“I think it’s repetition; I think it’s timing; I think people get used to where they’re supposed to be with more consistency,” Leach said. “Then I think the quarterback identifies it, and it all kind of works together.”

That will be the recipe for success for the Bulldogs this season, but it’s easier said than done. And only on the field, underneath the clamor of the cowbells, will they be able to prove it.

“We’ve all been waiting for a game to come up,” Brule said.

Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.