When Louisiana Tech and Mississippi State take the field Saturday afternoon for a non-conference matchup between squads from the SEC and the WAC, both teams will be attempting to put their disappointing starts behind them.
Louisiana Tech will be looking to rebound from heartbreaking losses to Southern Miss and Houston that have resulted in them getting off a 1-2 start, and the Bulldogs of MSU will be seeking a victory to get their season back on track after suffering a devastating loss at Auburn and a close loss to the second-ranked LSU Tigers. With a win this week, both teams would find themselves in position to make a run at a nice bowl berth.
Louisiana Tech, in its second year under head coach Sonny Dykes, was picked by many to make a bowl game this year and is  certainly disappointed in their start to the season. Led by Tennessee transfer Lennon Creer at running back and freshman quarterback Nick Isham, the Bulldogs of La. Tech like to spread opponents out and be balanced on offense while relying on a scrappy, undersized defense to limit the opposing team’s scoring opportunities.
This is a dangerous team, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who watched Tech defeat MSU in the ’08 debacle that would be the beginning of the end for former MSU head coach Sylvester Croom. Dan Mullen is all too aware this isn’t a team that can be taken lightly.
“Louisiana Tech is a team that has been in three close games. All of them have come right down to the wire,” Mullen said. “They won an overtime game. Lost two really close, heartbreaking games: one to a top-25 team in Houston, we know how explosive they are. They’re coming in with some confidence as a team that knows they can play with anybody in the country. They’ve just got to find a way to win close games. A lot of similarities to us right now.”
In order to beat La. Tech and restore some confidence in a fanbase that had high expectations coming into the year, MSU needs to continue to improve on defense and to see dramatic improvement from a patchwork offensive line that was dominated against LSU. MSU offensive line coach John Hevesy is not exactly sure how the OL will shake out as the season goes on, but he has been impressed with the play of redshirt freshman Blaine Clausell and Dillon Day.
“I told them from day one of camp, you’re a shoelace away from going in,” Hevesy said. “The two of them, they both played well. As a group, they’ve got to play better. But they’ve done a good job, and we’re going to go through with the injuries we have to Tobias and James.”
On the defensive side of the ball, things are a lot more positive. After getting gashed by a young Auburn offense, MSU responded by holding LSU to 19 points and only one touchdown. Junior cornerback Johnthan Banks attributes much of the defensive improvement to improved play on the defensive line.
“Yeah, I mean I’ve seen it from Auburn week to this week. Kaleb Eulls is a prime example. He played like a freshman against Auburn. Kaleb is a very good football player and, this week against LSU, Kaleb grew up, got his first career sack. He played like we knew he could play. He’s a beast out there on the defensive line,” Banks said. “That gets the secondary motivated, we’ve got these guys that we know are going to go hard for us, so we just gotta lock it down on the back end and let them make plays.”
If Banks and company can continue to improve on defense and the offense returns to its early season form, MSU should be able to get by a pesky La. Tech team and return to its winning ways. A victory Saturday would set up a huge game against Georgia in Athens the next weekend, but first there is a game to be won.