STARKVILLE — One of Mike Leach’s best wins since joining Mississippi State football (2-0) came in his debut.
MSU won 44-34 against defending champion LSU (1-1) in Tiger Stadium — a place he considers one of the best places to play, along with Texas A&M’s Kyle Field.
But on his radio show Thursday, it wasn’t the 2020 trip to Death Valley that Leach spent most of his time discussing. He didn't talk much about Saturday’s trip either (5 p.m., ESPN).
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One of Leach’s most memorable trips to Baton Rouge came in 1998 when he was Kentucky’s offensive coordinator.
The Wildcats came away with a 39-36 win in a place where the tough environment extended beyond the field. The gruesome welcome began on the drive.
Leach says the trip to the stadium wasn’t a typical efficient police escort. Instead, Kentucky’s bus drove past a swamp and some, “mean spots.”
LSU fans rocked UK's bus as it pulled in while flipping off those inside. One fan mooned the bus, Leach added.
“You see law enforcement, so you’re thinking something will happen to him,” Leach said. “No, no. Nothing is happening to him.”
After entering the stadium, Leach remembers walking down a step into the visiting locker room which was less than six feet tall. A hissing pipe ran along the ceiling which he figured was hot but had to know.
“I licked my finger and touched it real fast,” Leach said. “Damn right it was hot. I don’t know if they just brand somebody’s forehead with that pipe from time to time or what.”
Leach still considers MSU’s old visiting locker room, which featured nails in the wall to hang belongings, to be the nation’s worst.
"(LSU) was an honorable mention." Leach said.
Mike the Tiger, LSU’s live mascot, was among the first to meet UK’s personnel when they exited the locker room.
Some folks avoided the tiger, but Leach didn’t shy away from it.
While walking toward the sideline, Leach remembers a plethora of fans in a packed student section wearing gloves. He later realized that was because students would put pennies up to a lighter and fling them at opposing players.
The pennies would fly about 40 yards, so Leach figured they couldn’t be that hot once they reached the field. Once again, he had to find out.
“It wasn’t hot," Leach said. "I mean, it was warm. I hate to shatter the bubble of some LSU fans, but no matter how hot you heat this penny up, if you throw it 40 yards, it’s not going to be very hot when it hits whoever it hits.”
Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.