Last year ended well for the Dogs as they ousted Georgia and went on to win seven of their next nine games. Head Coach Dan Mullen said this year’s game is as big for both teams as it was last year.

“It’s the only stadium I haven’t been to in the SEC, so I imagine it will be a very hostile environment to go into,” Mullen said. “To come out on top, we’re going to have to execute at a high level and play a great football game.”
However, this year’s Georgia team is quite different from a year ago. With a coach on the hot seat, a more experienced quarterback, a highly touted freshman running back and a huge defensive line, Georgia is looking for a win to jump-start its season.
After throwing for over 3,000 yards in his freshman season, sophomore quarterback Aaron Murray has thrown for 940 yards and 11 touchdowns in just four games this season. Considering Murray’s biggest target from last year, A.J. Green, is now in the NFL, Murray’s continued improvement is clearly seen.
State defensive coordinator Chris Wilson said Georgia will put the ball in its playmakers’ hands.
“Murray makes a lot of plays with his feet; he’s a guy who can go out there and not only throw and spread the ball around with his arm, but if he doesn’t see what he likes, he can make plays with his feet,” Wilson said. “They are going to stretch the field, they are going to take those shots and they are going to spread the ball around.”
Georgia’s run game does not lack for excitement, either. Freshman Isaiah Cromwell came in and immediately made an impact on the Bulldogs’ offense. He is averaging 5.3 yards per carry and has grounded out 428 yards so far this season.
Senior linebacker Brandon Wilson said the coaches will have the defense ready to stop such a high-speed ground game.
“He’s not really a down-hill runner. He’s very explosive when he gets outside, and he’s a great talent, so we are going to have a challenge going there and stopping the run,” Brandon Wilson said. “Our whole deal now is continuing to get more pressure in the backfield and try to go more sideways because that’s how you can rattle a freshman, just hitting him and getting him rattled.”
Anywhere you look, Georgia has playmakers covering the field, a fact to which 149 points through four games attests. Mullen said the team has to pick its poison in which way to stop the Georgia offense.
“They have a home-run hitter in a tail back who not only is physical but can make you miss and turn on the jets and go,” Mullen said. “Then they have all kinds of other weapons, so when you start concentrating on the run game and get singled up, whether it’s on the receivers or tight ends, they have a lot of weapons to go to.”
In order for State to counter this high-scoring offense, senior quarterback Chris Relf must put in an impressive showing. Relf has been up and down so far this season but is still averaging 164 yards per game through the air and another 46.8 yards on the ground.
Mullen said Relf still does not have too much experience since he is only in his second year as a starting quarterback. MSU’s offensive coordinator Les Koenning said he still has confidence in Relf, which was shown in allowing Relf to throw to the end zone in the final play of the Louisiana Tech game. Koenning said at the quarterback position there will be good and bad plays, so Relf has to be consistent.
“The most important play is the next play; the number one deal is comfort level, and when you have a comfort level throwing to wide receiver, you have to keep that going,” Koenning said. “I think it’s a timing thing; you can always tell the confidence level of a quarterback when he releases the ball before the receiver is out of his break. That gives you the idea of where he is.”
On the other side of the ball, State’s defense will be looking for continued success from its secondary in addition to more production from the defensive line and linebackers. Junior linemen Fletcher Cox and Josh Boyd were given most of the responsibilities this year, and although they have played well, neither has had a break-through performance.
Chris Wilson said the standards for Cox and Boyd are really high, but that is just what they want and enjoy.
“We will get a good chance to get a good gage and see who we really are this week,” Wilson said. “Because this is a more traditional offense, they are going to run and pound you inside with run leads, run powers and those things where your defensive tackles have to count, so I think this will be a real good test for them to see where we really are.”
MSU won the first version of the battle of the Bulldogs last weekend against Louisiana Tech, but the true test will come Saturday when State faces the Georgia Bulldogs on the road.
This game has the potential to either make or break a season, just as it made MSU’s season last year and was a key part of a six-game winning streak.