More cowbell! NC State’s unique challenge at Mississippi State
N.C. State offensive lineman Dylan McMahon was wrapping up his interview with the media when suddenly a noise came from nearby.
Ding. Ding. DING.
The noise got louder as the dings became more frequent. Ding. DING. DING.
McMahon looked over this shoulder and discovered the culprit. Wolfpack linebacker Isaiah Moore walked into the room, cowbell in his hand to remind McMahon, and everyone else in the building, that peace and quiet will be hard to come by this weekend.
On Saturday, N.C. State (1-0) will travel to Starkville, Mississippi, for a showdown with Mississippi State (1-0). Davis Wade Stadium will be the first true road game the Pack has played since the 2019 season. N.C. State played on the road a year ago, but due to COVID, most of those visiting stadiums were nearly empty.
That won’t be the case Saturday night, with more than 60,000 fans in attendance. Oh, and they will definitely have their cowbells in tow. How are Pack players feeling about it?
“Excited,” McMahon said. “With COVID last year there were no fans. We are just blessed to go somewhere, even if it’s a hostile territory, just to have fans there booing you or whatever they are going to be doing.”
They’ll be ringing cowbells, Dylan. Non-stop.
DING. DING. DING.
Origin of the cowbell
The Mississippi State mascot is actually the Bulldogs. Yet their fans don’t file into Davis Wade Stadium with dog collars or dog whistles. Nope. The MSU faithful are loyal to their cowbells.
So where did the cowbells come from?
According to a link on the Mississippi State athletic website, during a game in the 1930’s (or later, maybe 1940’s) versus rival Ole Miss, a cow made its way onto the field. The Bulldogs won the game and the fans thought the cow was good luck, so students continued to bring a cow to games for a while. Over time a cowbell, and not 2,400-pound livestock, made more sense and was probably more convenient.
Moore wasn’t carrying his bell around for good luck. He was just following in the footsteps of his coaches, who had crowd noise blasting inside the practice facility and were constantly ringing cowbells to prepare them for Saturday.
“They have to deal with that cowboy noise coming up,” Moore said. “So I thought I’d give him (McMahon) a little bit during the interview to make sure he’s locked in.”
N.C. State’s last road game pre-COVID was at Georgia Tech on Nov. 21, 2019, in front of 38,198 fans at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The biggest crowd they played in front of on the road last season was 3,535 at UNC. Some of the younger players on the team, like McMahon, a redshirt freshman, have never experienced what they’ll play in front of on Saturday. But these are the kind of games he came to N.C. State for,
“There’s no better feeling than going into a hostile territory and just hearing the roar of the crowd,” McMahon said. “And then a few plays later it’s dead silent because you are beating them. There’s no better feeling than shushing the crowd.”
It’s been a while since N.C. State has shushed a crowd in an SEC stadium. N.C. State’s last true road game in SEC country was 2008, a 34-0 loss to South Carolina. The Pack hasn’t won a road game versus an SEC opponent since they defeated the Gamecocks in 1991. Crowd aside, the talent on the field will be plenty to keep N.C. State occupied.
“They are big, strong SEC guys,” McMahon said. “They’ll do a lot of movement, try to jumble up the (defensive) front.”
But McMahon, who grew up in SEC country in Savannah, Georgia, sounded like he was looking forward to the tussle.
“It will be a lot of fun to go in there,” McMahon said. “Just getting ready to play a bigger front, a faster front.”
SEC vs ACC
It’s no secret the SEC is considered by many as the measuring stick of college football.
Opening weekend was a reminder. Alabama, Georgia and Ole Miss beat Miami, Clemson and Louisville by a combined score of 97-40.
The perception has long been out there the gap between the two schools wasn’t close. Those opening weekend scores make it real. N.C. State has had its own struggles, having dropped eight of the last nine games versus SEC schools, including a 23-21 loss to Kentucky in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl last season.
The players aren’t living under a rock. They hear all the SEC talk and realize it’s right in front of them to change the narrative.
“It’s annoying,” McMahon said. “We want to go in there and prove a point. It’s annoying hearing everything about the SEC.”
Moore has two games under his belt playing SEC schools. He was a freshman when the Pack played Texas A&M and had nine tackles versus the Wildcats a year ago. The perception is SEC players are bigger, stronger, faster. Moore knows he and his teammates won’t be intimidated.
“We respect all, but fear no man,” Moore said. “We just want to go out there and play the best ball we can, no matter who we play. Much respect to them, but it’s not our first time playing an SEC opponent, so we have to prepare for them like we prepare for any other team.”
And for the cowbells, which Moore will continue to carry with him throughout the week.
“I will, our coaches will,” Moore said. “We’re just trying to get ready for that crowd noise.”
This story was originally published September 7, 2021 at 4:26 PM.
