The Mississippi State Bulldogs are opening up the 2009 campaign in historic fashion against the Jackson State Tigers with the first pairing of SEC and SWAC football teams.
The state of Mississippi will have all eyes on Starkville to see the excitement this game will produce.
The instant new rivalry is not the only interesting game subplot: Fans want to see sparks fly from Mullen’s spread offense, and the Tigers are bringing a familiar face to town, former Bulldog Trae Rutland, who will get the starting nod at quarterback for the visiting Tigers.
Senior quarterback Tyson Lee said anything can happen on the offensive side of the ball.
“It kind of depends. If we’re running the ball well, then we’ll stick with the run-game,” he said. “But if we’re passing the ball well, then we’ll stick with that. So basically, how we’re executing and how the game is going will probably determine what we are doing offensively.”
Expect the Bulldogs to be well prepared for Jackson State’s offensive attack. Coach Mullen holds a philosophy that game preparation extends until the moment before kickoff.
“We started studying them last spring,” he said. “We’ve been studying it (film) for months. We’ll be ready to go.”
The Jackson State offense features Rutland and an oversized offensive line by SWAC standards, with two lineman weighing in at 330 pounds.
Senior linebacker Jamar Chaney said Rutland possesses a strong arm, and the Bulldogs respect the Tigers wide receivers. Mullen is not taking Jackson State lightly either.
“When you watch the film, you realize they have extraordinary athletes,” he said. “They have some dynamic players in their return game. They are very mobile on defense. They run a spread offense set, which will be familiar to our defense, so we’ve got to be prepared for the various schemes they might throw at us.”
Chaney said he may be the most anxious player in the nation.
“You work Monday through Friday to get your paycheck; this is our paycheck,” Chaney said. “We’ve been training all these months… went through two-a-days, now it’s time to get paid.”
The MSU defense will be relied on heavily against a JSU offense that returns its top two leading rushers and Rutland as its leading passer; however, the anticipation for the MSU offense is at a brink.
Fans want to see touchdowns – something that they did not see much of under the Croom era. The Bulldogs never scored 40 points in a game and averaged a dismal ranking of 104 in total offense over Croom’s tenure.
After facing his offensive counterparts for a year, Chaney said the Bulldog’s spread package will not disappoint.
“I expect a lot of them. They’re improving every week; every day they get better,” he said. “You see starters getting healthy. Chad Bumphis is back out there; B-Mac (Brandon McRae) is running well out there. I expect them to put on a show.”
Lee and Mullen have both been clear that offensive execution, a major focus of the offseason, will be key to victory. However, Mullen said focus must shift during game weeks.
“The last couple weeks have been about us as a team. This week, the focus turns to Jackson State’s team and how we will use our strengths against Jackson State,” he said. “We will begin our routine game week schedule this week, and work toward that goal on Saturday,” Mullen said during a Monday press conference.
By this point, the Bulldogs are well into that ‘game week schedule,’ fans have their tents ready for The Junction and Starkville is showing its pride with Maroon and White blaring at every corner.
Saturday, everyone will find out if a change in attitude will translate into a change on the field, and questions – to some degree – about Mullen’s version of the spread offense will be answered.
“I am very excited. I’ve wanted to be a head coach my whole life,” Mullen said. “Now that the week is here where I will step out on that field for the first time as a head coach, it is another first for me. Just like first team meeting, first spring practice, first fall camp and Saturday will be my first game.”