You're looking LIVE at an empty Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, where the faint clanging of cowbells is ubiquitous throughout the city.

It is a steamy one out here right now, which I can imagine will improve a little bit by gametime, but not that much.

First impressions of Starkville: pretty nice campus. Very pastoral. I like the tailgating set up just outside the stadium with plenty of tents set up in a central open yard. It's easy to find a focal point for the pre-game celebrations, which isn't always the case at most schools.

As for the cowbells, they're everywhere. It's funny, a chorus of cowbell clanging will break out in certain parts of the tailgating area and it will crescendo until everyone gets tired of banging on them. Then it picks up in a different area. So there's pretty much a constant sound of cowbells going on. Bruce Dickinson would be proud how the fans are exploring the stadium space.

This will serve as your all-encompassing pre-game post, with updates about players and any other information I can scrape together before the game starts. Follow the blog on Twitter for any big pre-game news. I plan to tweet crucial information throughout the game as well. I'll throw all other minutia on the blog, so check back.

UPDATE (4:15 p.m.): Here's a bunch of information about the game from the schools' notes packets:

• Auburn is 16-1 in its last 17 season openers.

• The Tigers are 6-2 all-time in Thursday night games, including 4-0 in SEC games. Their last ESPN Thursday night game versus an SEC opponent was against Mississippi State in 2002. Auburn won 42-14. South Carolina in 2006. Auburn won 24-17.

• The Bulldogs are 6-8 in Thursday night games.

• Auburn leads the series 58-23-2 and has won 21 of the last 28 overall.

• MSU and Auburn rank 1 and 2 nationally in passing efficiency.

• Cam Newton leads the SEC in rushing (171 yards) and total offense (357 yards) after one week.

• Auburn has topped 500 yards five times in 14 games under Gus Malzahn. The Tigers had not reached the 500-yard mark in the 40 games prior to Malzahn's arrival.

• The Tigers played 12 true freshmen in the opener. Expect at least one more to get on the field tonight: WR Trovon Reed, who missed the opener with a bruised knee cap.

• The stat that keeps on giving: Auburn has won 57 straight games when scoring 30 or more points, dating back to 1996.

• MSU's last four home games have been sellouts. This one looks like it'll be that way too. Davis Wade stadium holds 55,082 fans.

• The 569 yards the Bulldogs put up in a 49-7 season-opening win against Memphis was the fifth-highest mark in school history.

• MSU led the SEC in rushing last year, averaging 227.6 yards per game. The Bulldogs ran for 197 yards on 41 carries in the opener.

• The Bulldogs had two receivers top 100 yards in the opener: sophomores Chad Bumphis (112) and Brandon Heavens (100). Heavens is a former Auburn commit.

UPDATE (4:42 p.m.): MSU coach Dan Mullen just came out to the field and put his hand up to his ear Hulk Hogan style to get the students to clang their cowbells. And clang they did. I wonder if they'll have the endurance to ring those things throughout.

UPDATE (4:59 p.m.): Auburn just came out for its pre-game gathering on the field. I've got a pair of binoculars and did not see LB Craig Stevens out there.

UPDATE (5:02 p.m): WR Trovon Reed is on the trip.

UPDATE (5:40 p.m.): Freshmen P Steven Clark and PK Cody Parkey both on the trip.

UPDATE (5:49 p.m.): Reed's out there with the other kick returners. Looks like he has a pretty good wrap on his left knee. He seems to be able to dance pretty well to D.J. Khaled's "All I Do is Win," though.

UPDATE (6:04 p.m.): Auburn just took the field. No Stevens. No Jonathon Mincy. CB Chris Davis is out there.