Mississippi State will face Alcorn State this week in an in-state showdown that features the first ever pairing of these two schools but the second matchup between an SEC and a SWAC team — the first being MSU and Jackson State last season.
That contest ended in a 45-7 dismantling of the Tigers of Jackson State, and fans should expect some of the same out of this game.
However, the Bulldogs feel they must stay focused and avoid a letdown like “That School Up North” had against Jacksonville State or Virginia Tech had against James Madison.
MSU is coming off of its first SEC win of the season, which is a big monkey off of the players’ backs, especially considering how well the Dawgs played against Auburn and how well the defense played against LSU.
The team’s excitement over the win was played out in 24 hours, which is Mullen’s rule. He wants the focus to be on preparing for the next opponent, win or lose, 24 hours after the game each week.
Mullen believes there is plenty of motivation because of the proximity of the schools and the familiarity between the players.
“We’re really excited about the game this week. Anytime you get to play an in-state team, there is a natural rivalry between the two teams. A lot of these players got to go up against each other in high school, or maybe in a youth football league,” Mullen said. “A lot of players are from the same hometown. I think our fans that come to the game know players that are from their hometown that they can watch playing for Alcorn, as well as Alcorn fans coming up here to watch our players play.”
One of the positives, other than a W, Mississippi State can take from the Georgia game is the improvement of the offensive line. Coming into the season, the O-line was expected to be a big positive and provide some help for the inexperienced MSU backfield. This has not always been the case this season, sometimes due to poor schemes by offensive line coach John Hevesy and sometimes due to poor execution.
The inconsistency looks to be behind them, and one of the main reasons is the leadership of senior center J.C. Brignone. Brignone spoke to scout.comand expressed he knows the tone is set up front with his unit, and he shed some light into the never-satisfied mindset of the Bulldogs.
“We have nothing to take for granted. We’re not the team that is walking in and everybody saying, ‘oh my God, this is Mississippi State;’ not yet. We’re going to be,” Brignone said. “And it starts with us; the offensive line has to dominate like we did in the Georgia game. But we can’t overlook them because they’re Alcorn State. They’re not D-III, they’re D-I. I’ve watched film on them and they have guys that can play. I’m not overlooking anything.”
This game should provide a tune-up for the offensive line and the rest of the team alike. This game is the beginning of an important five game October stretch which is vital to MSU’s bowl chances. Mullen believes this game is the beginning of a stretch that should help the team find some consistency.
“We’re 1-2 in conference play, so this next run is not loaded with conference games. So we need to improve as a football team and get ready for that finishing stretch, in which we finish with four straight conference games to end the year, and that will be critical.”
If the offensive line plays the way it expects, then MSU’s spread offense should be clicking on all cylinders. Even in some unimpressive offensive showings, the MSU offense has managed to rush for over 100 yards in each contest, and Relf is coming off a highly efficient passing game against the Bulldogs from the East.
The defense is another story. This unit has been stingy all season long. MSU’s defensive unit is led by K.J. Wright with 30 tackles, Chris White and Charles Mitchell with 29 apiece and Pernell McPhee, who has been highly effective although not necessarily on the stat sheet. Behind that leadership, MSU’s D is currently ranked 29th nationally.
Perhaps even more impressive, the defense is ranked in the top half of the SEC in each of the big three defensive categories. The MSU coaching staff still wants more out of the defense because defensive coordinator Manny Diaz and  co-coordinator Chris Wilson have stated numerous times their units are leaving negative plays and turnovers on the field just because of mental lapses. However, they are quite pleased with the effort.
K.J. Wright believes the success of the defense starts with the scheme. He and the rest of the defense alike have been very complimentary of Diaz and Wilson’s philosophies, and they believe as the players continue to settle in and adjust, the big plays will come.
“As you can see, sometimes the offensive line will be confused on who to set the protection to. That just goes to Coach Diaz; he has us in position to make a lot of plays, and the offenses sometimes struggle with what we do,” Wright said. “At the beginning of the year, our first time actually playing in a game with it, of course we’d be a little hesitant. But we’ve adjusted our scheme as it goes on. And we just go out there and play football.”
The defense does have a bit of what would be an unusual challenge if it were not a situation they faced in practice every day. Alcorn State designates two quarterbacks as starters, and both guys are dual threats. Each starter has rushed for two touchdowns this season, so MSU will have to keep an eye on each of these guys, because mobile quarterbacks have given the aggressive Bulldog defense some trouble this season.
Despite the dual quarterback system and the extremely high effort the Alcorn State team is expected to bring to the table, this game figures to get out of hand. No matter the outcome or score, Mullen and a majority of people around the state believe this game has bigger implications.
“I think the opportunity to play these games is a real benefit for the state of Mississippi and the people of Mississippi; for all our fans, a great opportunity who haven’t been to the university before to come up and see it,” Mullen said. “We’re hoping to get our seventh consecutive sellout, and I know there are some tickets still available, and hopefully, we will sell this out so we can continue to play these in-state rivals and continue what we hope to be an every year tradition of playing one of the in-state teams from the SWAC.”