The cowbells started early and never stopped.

On Oct. 11, 2014, Mississippi State hosted No. 2 Auburn at Davis Wade Stadium in front of a record crowd of 62,945. ESPN's College GameDay was in Starkville for the first time. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 3 in the country. What happened next had never happened before.

Mississippi State won the game and announced itself to the country.

21-0 before Auburn blinked

Auburn's first offensive play set the tone. Quarterback Nick Marshall's pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by safety Jay Hughes. Two plays later, Dak Prescott hit De'Runnya Wilson on a 34-yard touchdown strike through the heart of Auburn's defense. Wilson broke two tackles. It was 7-0 before most of the crowd had settled in.

The Bulldogs scored again quickly — Josh Robinson punched it in from a yard out. Then Prescott capped a 71-yard drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown of his own.

It was 21-0 with 6:09 still remaining in the first quarter.

Auburn mounted a comeback and trimmed the deficit to 28-20, but Prescott responded every time. A chip-shot field goal from Evan Sobiesk restored the two-possession cushion entering the fourth quarter. Mississippi State pulled away to the final score of 38-23.

Prescott finished with 246 passing yards, 121 rushing yards and three total touchdowns. Robinson added 97 yards and two scores on the ground.

It was a masterpiece. And it put Mississippi State where it had never been.

No. 1 for the first time in history

The AP poll released the following day told the story in a single line: Mississippi State, No. 1, with 45 of 60 first-place votes.

It was the first time in the 78-year history of the AP poll that Mississippi State had held the top ranking. The Bulldogs were also the fastest team in AP history to go from unranked to No. 1 — five weeks — breaking Ohio State's record of six, set in 1964.

Their path to the top had been forged by three consecutive victories over AP top-10 teams. Only four other teams in poll history had accomplished that.

Dak Prescott appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The issue's cover story was titled "La Cowbell Epoque" — a play on the French phrase "La Belle Epoque" — framing Mississippi State's rise as possibly ringing in a new era in the SEC.

Mississippi State also became the first team ever ranked No. 1 in the inaugural College Football Playoff rankings, released on Oct. 28, 2014.

The sound of Starkville

The atmosphere at Davis Wade that night became the story within the story. Producers at ESPN's College GameDay reportedly needed to ask fans to ease up on the cowbells because the broadcast was struggling to be heard. Auburn coach Gus Malzahn later noted that the students with their cowbells were "extremely loud even when we went to midfield."

Between the third and fourth quarters, with MSU nursing a 28-20 lead and Auburn still threatening, the crowd launched into "Don't Stop Believin'." Dan Mullen had strategically selected the song for that moment, modeled on what Florida does at the end of the third quarter — when the band plays "We Are the Boys from Old Florida," 90,000 fans lock arms and sway, and the stadium is electric heading into the final period. Mullen spent six seasons at Florida watching that ritual, and he wanted Davis Wade to have the same moment.

It worked.

What came after

Mississippi State held the No. 1 ranking for five consecutive weeks. The Bulldogs went 9-0 before No. 4 Alabama ended the streak with a 25-20 victory in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 15. MSU finished the regular season with a loss to Ole Miss as well, fell to No. 7 in the final CFP rankings and lost to Georgia Tech 49-34 in the Orange Bowl.

The final record was 10-3. The final AP ranking was No. 11.

But what lives in Starkville — what still echoes — is that first-quarter avalanche against Auburn, the cowbells shaking Davis Wade to its foundation, Dak Prescott on the cover of Sports Illustrated and the simple, unprecedented fact of it:

Mississippi State, No. 1. For the first time ever.

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