After a tough loss at home against Auburn, things do not appear to get easier this week for the Mississippi State football team.
The Bulldogs will square off against the 12th ranked LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge on Saturday at 6 p.m. MSU has an overall record of 18-45-1 in Tiger Stadium and has not won down there since 1991.
Some of the Bulldog faithful may have let some wind out of their sails because of these facts and the close home loss the previous week, but the same cannot be said for the football team.
When asked whether the Bulldogs will respond this week, senior left tackle Derek Sherrod shed some light on the mindset of the team.
“We definitely know that we can [defeat LSU]. We have all the talent on the team that we need, and we have the play-calling and the coaches,” Sherrod said. “Basically, we have all the tools at hand, therefore, we have to use them.”
The casual reader may disagree based on program history, but the statistics this season present the Bulldogs with a somewhat favorable chance.
Just last week, a rebuilding Vanderbilt team held LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson to a pedestrian 96 yards passing on only 8 completions out of 20 attempts with an interception — weak numbers for a second year starter in the SEC, especially one with NFL-caliber receivers such as Russell Shepherd, Terrance Tolliver and Rueben Randle.
LSU won the game on the ground with 280 rushing yards, 159 of those coming from junior Stevan Ridley.
Jefferson will have to improve on those numbers to win this game, since Ridley and the Tigers will have a tough time amassing those type of rushing yards on a solid Bulldog defense that held LSU to only 31 rushing yards in last season’s contest. MSU will also most assuredly stack the proverbial box and force Jefferson to try to win this game with his arm.
Bulldog faithful need not be reminded of the tough loss against LSU last year that would have vaulted the Bulldogs into bowl contention. In the SEC, teams are judged by wins and losses, and coaches rarely speak of positives after a loss.
MSU head coach Dan Mullen said he does see mistakes in last year’s LSU game which, if corrected, can directly influence the outcome of this year’s game in a positive manner.
“When you turnover the ball four times, minus four turnover ratio on the day, give up a 96 yard, whatever it was, punt return, those are things that we can correct ourselves,” Mullen said. “If we were plus four on that turnover ratio last year, I wonder what the result of the game would have been. When we can continually make every play in the game, we’re going to be a championship level football team.”
Offensively, Mississippi State must find a balance between the first and second games of the season. According to Mullen, the Bulldogs will rotate quarterbacks at some point in the game.
Although quarterback play was not stellar against Auburn, the Bulldog receivers must come up bigger in order to open things up for Mullen’s spread. The six drops by MSU’s receiving corps last week cannot be duplicated, or an SEC road victory is not likely.
Mississippi State knows what is stacked against them, but the Bulldogs are ready to play. Taking a healthy team into Baton Rouge is important, and flex tight end Marcus Green (the only significant player with an injury) is expected to return this week.
Expect the Bulldogs to fight until the end, and with a better showing from Bumphis, Berry and company, this game could be a huge win for the Bulldogs.
MSU defensive coordinator Manny Diaz sums up what to expect from LSU, historically and this year as well.
“Before you do anything, you’ve got to make sure your chinstrap is buckled up because they’re going to bring it,” Diaz said.
Fans can tune into ESPNU Saturday night and see if the Dogs have buckled those chinstraps and are ready for a frustrated LSU team.