Report: BYU and Mississippi State schedule football series in 2016-17

BYU has agreed to a home-and-home football series with the Mississippi State Bulldogs, according to ESPN's Brett McMurphy. The Bulldogs will visit Provo in 2016 and BYU travels to Starkville the following year.

Mississippi State, BYU agree to home/home series; 2016 at BYU, 2017 at MSU sources told @ESPN

— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) March 19, 2015

In no coincidence, the news comes on the heels of McMurphy's report that the SEC will count BYU as a team that meets their non-conference Power 5 schedule requirement, which requires each SEC team to schedule one Power 5 school in non-conference play every season.

BYU and Mississippi State played a home-and-home series in 2000-01. BYU lost the first in Provo 44-28, then won on the road the next season 41-38 -- the infamous game where Luke Staley broke his leg in the final play before Mitch Payne nailed a game-winning field goal.

The 2016 schedule is shaping up quite well, to say the least:

HOME: UCLA, Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Utah State
ROAD: Utah, Michigan State, Boise State, Cincinnati
"NEUTRAL:" Arizona, West Virginia

One would hope BYU could fill in that slate with two "easier" home games to provide competitive balance. It's a hell of a road/neutral schedule, and with UCLA and Mississippi State at home (and Utah State), it would definitely be a better schedule for season ticket holders than 2015.

Here's a look at the 2017 slate so far:

HOME: Utah, Boise State, San Jose State, UMass
ROAD: Mississippi State, Utah State, East Carolina, Fresno State, Hawaii
NEUTRAL: LSU