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Media reacts to Mississippi State’s 44-34 upset over No. 6 LSU
By Andrew Olson
Published:
CBS turned some heads selecting Mississippi State at LSU for its Week 1 SEC showcase game. It turns out they made the right pick going with the defending national champions and Mike Leach’s squad.
LSU entered as preseason No. 6 in the Associated Press Top 25, riding a 16-game winning streak, the longest in the nation, dating back to the Fiesta Bowl win over UCF. The CBS broadcast mentioned that the last national champion to lose its opener the following season was Michigan against Notre Dame in 1998.
Throughout the week, bettors liked the Bulldogs. The line was bet down by 2.5-points at many sportsbooks. It turns out those betting on MSU didn’t even need the points.
K.J. Costello might not have been well-known outside of Pac-12 territory and Starkville, Mississippi, starting the day, but the college football world knows his name now. Costello turned in a record-breaking performance operating Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense leading Mississippi State to a 44-34 upset over the Tigers.
Here’s how a small sample of media members reacted to the shocker in Death Valley:
“Mike Leach’s offense won’t work in the SEC.”
– Some idiot
(me)
— Barrett Sallee ?? (@BarrettSallee) September 26, 2020
But the Air Raid won't work in the SEC??
Most passing yds in a game in SEC history:
2020 K.J. Costello (553 and counting)
1993 Eric Zeier (544)
2012 Tyler Bray (530)
2000 Jared Lorenzen (528)
2001 Rohan Davey (528)
1997 Peyton Manning (523)#HailState pic.twitter.com/JWaYet1Hdj— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) September 26, 2020
ThE AiR RaId WoNt WoRk iN tHe SeC @HailStateFB ?☠️ pic.twitter.com/FaJ4ykPJdn
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) September 26, 2020
Welcome to the SEC, Mike Leach pic.twitter.com/NaWcqcx6Uz
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) September 26, 2020
Mike Leach needed exactly one game to set the record for most passing yards in the SEC
— Woody Wommack (@RivalsWoody) September 26, 2020
KJ Costello raining dimes all over the SEC today… 623 yards at LSU.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) September 26, 2020
LSU sold their soul for that natty, and now they’re back to normal
— Marq Burnett (@Marq_Burnett) September 26, 2020
Third-and-9. Mike Leach swings his sword.
K.J. Costello with 623 yards passing, an SEC record, with 3:39 remaining. Mississippi State up 44-34 at No. 6 #LSU. #HailState pic.twitter.com/VB7sc1W6sK
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) September 26, 2020
Art. pic.twitter.com/tcqT2EfsBv
— Adam Kramer (@KegsnEggs) September 26, 2020
#LSU fans have filtered out of a stadium that was already fairly empty.
You can hear them quite clear.
One of them just yelled toward the Tigers' sideline, "Welcome back, Bo!"
Gonna be a rough few days in Baton Rouge if the score holds.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) September 26, 2020
Everything about this LSU/MSU box score is hilarious pic.twitter.com/F7dWUvObLu
— Chris B. Brown (@smartfootball) September 26, 2020
It’s amazing … almost no one has the offensive timing down early this season, and Mississippi State and KJ Costello come out and rip apart LSU with 600+ passing yards.
— Pete Fiutak (@PeteFiutak) September 26, 2020
? sound the alarm it’s officially over on Baton Rouge. ? 44 ? 34. DBU couldn’t play man to man today simple as that ??♂️??♂️??♂️??♂️??♂️??♂️ pic.twitter.com/po0NSWz03g
— Booger (@ESPNBooger) September 26, 2020
Could you imagine if the Air Raid has been in the SEC for the past 10 years??? I mean, it only took one game to shred a big bad SEC defense apart??
— Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) September 26, 2020
K.J. Costello & Mike Leach pic.twitter.com/QwjoxMKQEw
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 26, 2020
Welcome to the Mike Leach show, SEC pic.twitter.com/guu0TJxyaZ
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) September 26, 2020
LOL pic.twitter.com/uqDWrwwIBr
— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) September 26, 2020
— James Crepea (@JamesCrepea) September 26, 2020
Hats off to Miss St for an incredible win. I've loved KJ Costello and say so on TV every chance I get. But make no mistake about it: LSU was historically bad on Def today…and without the best remaining player on their roster who could easily be the best overall player in CFB.
— Aaron Taylor (@AaronTaylorCFB) September 26, 2020
LSU. DBU. DOA.
— Kevin Scarbinsky (@KevinScarbinsky) September 26, 2020
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
