After weeks of competing with run-first opponents, the Bulldogs will play host to the No. 1 passing offense – in terms of average yards per game (446) – in the nation as the Houston Cougars come to town. The Cougars are 3-1 after losing a 41-58 shootout versus UTEP last weekend, but have impressive wins over Texas Tech and an Oklahoma State squad that was ranked fifth in the nation when Houston pulled the upset. The Cougars fell out of the top 25 after the loss to UTEP, but Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said he does not take them lightly.
“We’ll have our hands full this week with one of the top offensive teams in the country coming to town,” he said. “The week before, everyone was saying they should be a top-10 team. I know in their minds, they still think they should be. You watch them on film and they still have the same potential they’ve possessed all season.”
Houston junior quarterback Case Keenum is passing for an astounding 424.4 yards per game, top in the nation, including a 536-yard display against UTEP. It is big numbers and leadership on the field that have Keenum in the talk for the Heisman.
Mullen said his numbers are both impressive and representative of how talented Keenum is.
“He’s like all the great quarterbacks in that he is a winner,” Mullen said. “You watch him on film and when the game’s on the line, he makes the plays to win. He’s a very accurate passer and good at reading defenses. That’s exactly what you want in quarterbacks.”
With such a prolific offense visiting Starkville, many fans are worried about the beleaguered Bulldog secondary. MSU is eighth in the SEC in pass defense, allowing an average of 190.8 yards per game through the air.
One of the main issues for the defense has been giving up deep passes, and defensive coordinator Carl Torbush said he expects Houston to make more big plays.
“They’re a very, very good offensive football team. You have to realize that they are going to make some plays, but you have to limit those plays,” he said. “We’ll have our hands full, but I think it’s a great challenge, and our kids are looking forward to it.”
It may sound crazy, but MSU defensive backs actually are looking forward to playing such a high-flying offense.
Safety Charles Mitchell said he thinks the Cougars may regret being so pass-happy.
“I’m very excited. They threw the ball like 75 times last week. Me and (cornerback) Marcus (Washington) were talking; that’s 75 chances to make plays on the ball. We’re really excited about that,” he said.
Washington said he and the rest of the defense are just as excited as Mitchell about facing Keenum.
“I’m licking my chops right now,” he said. “The secondary has been talking about it. These are the games that you live for, teams that are going to challenge you throwing the ball.”
The players are excited, but there are still concerns as the secondary is coming off a disappointing performance against Georgia Tech where it allowed a season-high 266 passing yards to quarterback Josh Nesbitt.
Torbush said inexperience in the secondary plays a role in the defensive woes, but ultimately the responsibility lies with him.
“Right now, we’ve got so many young kids in the secondary, and it’s obvious, people in the stands can see they make some mistakes that get us in trouble at times,” he said. “We’ve got to do a better job of coaching and getting them in the best position, and that’s my responsibility.”
Torbush said he thinks the defense played well most of the day against the Yellow Jackets, but big plays like Nesbitt’s 65-yard pass to Demaryius Thomas are plaguing the secondary.
“Last week, we played a lot of great defensive snaps, but there’s eight or 10 that get you beat and you can’t give up the number of big plays we gave up, especially in the passing game,” he said.
His players are excited about lining up across from Keenum, and Torbush said they have the right mindset to win the game.
“We need to create more takeaways; there’s no question about that,” he said. I think if we can get off the field on third down and get ourselves a lead, normally that’s when sacks and turnovers become more prominent.”
All the talk is on the Dawg defense, but senior quarterback Tyson Lee said the responsibility of stopping the Houston offense rests on his shoulders.
“I saw last week they threw the ball a lot,” he said. “As an offense, you just have to try to keep their offense off the field as much as possible, that way you don’t put your defense behind.”