Following its second conference loss of the season, the Mississippi State University football team will take on the Bowling Green State University Falcons on Saturday for homecoming. This will be a big game for the Bulldogs to try and get back on track after a rough loss Saturday against LSU. 
The Bulldogs fell to the Tigers 59-26 in a game where the score did not reflect the entire story. The Bulldogs played well through the first three quarters; however, in the fourth quarter, the team began to fade, and the score quickly got out of hand. 
Finishing games has become a broken record for the MSU team, and head coach Dan Mullen said fatigue became a factor in the final minutes. 
“We did a great job battling for three quarters,” Mullen said. “Then we wore down there a bit in the fourth and did not finish.”  
The Bulldogs will look to rebound against BGSU, but the Falcons may not be the pushovers most Bulldog fans expect. BGSU enters the matchup with a strong 5-1 record and undefeated in the Mid-American Conference. The Falcons boast one of the fastest offenses in the country, running around 74 plays every game. The amount of plays translates to one of the best offenses in the country, averaging 480 yards per game, 28th best in the country. 
Defensively, MSU had its fair share of trouble the past couple of weeks containing players in the secondary. The Bulldogs gave up 339 yards through the air in the last-second loss to Auburn. Last week, the secondary gave up 340 yards to the explosive LSU Tigers passing attack. The secondary is banged up and lacks depth, especially with starting corner Jamerson Love leaving on crutches after last weekend. Cornerback Will Redmond should return from his suspension this week, giving the defensive backs some much-needed help.
The BGSU defense is also nothing to look past, allowing only 340 yards per game, which is ranked No. 29 in the country. The defense only allows 16.5 points per game, which is 15th in the country.  The Falcons have made 38 tackles for losses in their six games, which is in the top 25 for teams this year. This is a strong defensive team that does not give up much to opposing offenses.
Offensively, the Bulldogs looked as strong as ever against LSU. MSU implemented the two-quarterback system, which worked with some strong results. Sophomore quarterback Dak Prescott got the nod to start the game, but senior Tyler Russell played a good bit throughout the game as well. Both quarterbacks moved the ball well and showed great command of the offense. In the fourth quarter, however, neither quarterback moved the offense effectively — scoring only three points in the second half. 
Prescott said despite the first-half performance, the team takes credit for a lack of production in the second half.
“It was definitely all on us,” Prescott said. “We just got to execute better and finish the game.” 
The Bulldogs will have to figure out how to finish games effectively if they want to keep their bowl hopes alive. Following BGSU and a short week to prepare for Kentucky, MSU still has games against South Carolina, Texas A&M, Alabama and Ole Miss down the stretch of the season.  
 

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Emma Katherine Hutto

MSU vs. LSU