HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - When the 2025 college football season kicks off in Hattiesburg this Saturday, a few University of Southern Mississippi players will have more than a vested interest in the game against Mississippi State University

USM linebacker Avery Sledge, running back Jeffery Pittman, defensive lineman Mason Clinton and long snapper Luke Beard are all transfers from Mississippi State.

Sledge and Pittman wore the Bulldog uniform the last time the two teams met, which was 2023 in Starkville, where MSU beat USM, 41-20.

Pittman scored a 59-yard touchdown in that game, while Sledge recorded one tackle.

Another Southern Miss member has a different point of view on Mississippi State.

Ole Miss transfer Matt Jones spent the past four years with the Bulldogs as his biggest rival.

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