Mississippi State’s 49-16 win — and I use the word win instead of victory with good reason — over Alcorn State was one of the ugliest and most disappointing 30-plus point blowouts you’ll ever see.
You can easily point to numbers, such as the score or MSU’s 566 yards of total offense, and say it was a wonderful day for the Dawgs. But I challenge anyone who actually watched the game to say the same thing based on what they saw with their eyes.
This isn’t to say that nothing went right for MSU. There were certainly some bright spots, like Chad Bumphis, Vick Ballard (who was profiled in Friday’s edition of The Reflector) and Leon Berry. But what did you expect against a SWAC school?
The initials SWAC, by the way, are dangerously close to the word SWAG, which the Braves showed a fair bit of on Saturday, particularly the Canadian Sensation, quarterback Brandon Bridge, who made the Dawg defense look foolish on more than one occasion. Most notably, he outran an entire team of SEC defenders for a 78-yard touchdown. I actually smiled when he did that. I felt like Ron Burgundy. “You ate the whole wheel of cheese? Heck, I’m not even mad. That’s amazing.”
Speaking of swag and big plays, the highlight of the game, for me, was the halftime show. Alcorn State’s band, as expected, brought the house down. To follow it up, The Famous Maroon Band played Backstreet Boys, N’Sync and Ricky Martin, and I absolutely loved it. I was singing and dancing. It was the most entertaining part of the day.
Speaking of “I Want It That Way,” I’ve got a few observations I’d like to share, both from the Alcorn game and from previous games.
Chad Bumphis
He had nine catches, 133 yards and two touchdowns as a receiver and four rushes for 38 yards out of what I call the Wild Bump. Dan Mullen admitted after the game he had not been getting Bumphis, and other playmakers, the ball nearly as much as he would like.
Bumphis has been begging Mullen since this summer to let him line up at quarterback. What took so long? There were tough losses with bad offense against LSU and Auburn, and, despite the win, a not-so-pretty offensive performance against Georgia, and you break this out against Alcorn State?
Look, the Wildcat, in my mind, is a crutch for teams with poor-to-average quarterback play. That’s why the Saints never do it. Why would you take the ball out of Drew Brees’ hands?
MSU is the perfect example of a team that needs this spark. Tyler Russell, while immensely talented and full of potential, is not the savior of the offense at this point. Chris Relf, who I believe should be on the field non-stop, has shown his limitations as a passer, though he is still an athletic and electric player. Let’s be honest, there were a minimum of three passes Saturday that would have been interceptions against an SEC team, and the Braves did record an interception on their own, too.
The Wild Bump changes it up. It adds a new wrinkle to what has been, so far, a relatively predictable offense. And know this: Bumphis can pass the ball. He’s no Peyton Manning, of course, but he’s got the ability. He did it in high school. I was excited to see the Wild Bump, finally, and I’ll be disappointed if we don’t see a lot more of it over the rest of the season.
Special teams
Speaking of Bumphis, he’s a good player on offense, but I would honestly rather not see him returning punts as much. This might not be the popular view, but get him out of there, or at least teach him to do it differently.
He appears timid and scared of contact. Instead of finding a seam and hitting it, he dances around for a few seconds, running side-to-side instead of straight ahead, and ends up getting tackled for little-to-no gain.
I’d like to see Maurice Langston back there. He was an extremely successful returner in junior college, and I promise you this: Langston will not shy away from contact. He’s a fast, athletic and violent runner.
You know who else could return some punts? LaDarius Perkins. Talk about a guy who needs to get touches in the open field.
On another special teams note, I cannot figure out why there is a competition for kicking field goals. Derek DePasquale shanked a 33-yarder — thirty-three yards. I could hit those regularly in high school, and I assure you I’m no football player, or athlete, for that matter. Granted, it’s totally different in a game situation with 50,000 people watching and 11 guys running at you.
However, Sean Brauchle was an All-American kicker in JUCO. I’m told that’s good. Neither seems to be able to kickoff all that well, but Brauchle needs to be the man on field goals.
Offense
What a waste of a year for true freshman Michael Carr. He may yet prove me wrong with a game-winning catch against Ole Miss, but he has so far done nothing and only been targeted once. He’s an immensely talented receiver, but he got to camp late and out of shape. He needed to be redshirted, though this issue seems to run a bit deeper than meets the eye.
Vick Ballard is a stud and should get 85 percent of the snaps at running back. I said it before the season and stand by it now; he’s the best runner on this team. He says he needs consistent carries to build momentum. I say give it to him.
What’s going on with Perkins — the team’s smallest back — getting short-yardage carries? I asked Mullen that question after the game, and he said he puts specific guys in on different drives, and the rotation happened to fall on Perkins in a short-yardage situation. That may be true, but you already have Relf in the game, and Ballard and Patrick Hanrahan are on the sidelines just itching for more carries.
In Mullen’s defense — and Relf’s and Russell’s — not having starting tight end Marcus Green hurts this offense tremendously. He was quietly becoming a go-to guy in the passing game, and the offense suffers without him. Losing him for the year is a big hit to the offense.
On the brighter side
MSU, at 3-2, is halfway to a bowl game with two more wins likely to come against Houston and UAB over the next three weekends. That would mean the Bulldogs only have to win one out of Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Ole Miss. Of those, Alabama is really the only lock for a loss, and certainly UK and UM are the best chances for a win to get MSU to that magical six-win mark needed for a bowl game.
It was postseason or bust for Mullen’s crew before the 2010 campaign started, and it looks like they may reach their goal.