The Mississippi State Bulldogs will look to end their four-game losing streak this Saturday when they host the LSU Tigers. MSU is currently on the bottom of the SEC Western Division and is still looking for their first conference win. The Bulldogs have an overall record of 1-4, their worst start since 1993. LSU comes in with a record of 1-2 in the SEC and 3-2 overall. If last year’s matchup is any indication, this game should be very exciting. The Bulldogs and Tigers got together in a shootout in Baton Rouge with the Tigers pulling ahead 45-38 in overtime. The key to that game was LSU’s offensive balance. They amassed 220 yards on the ground and seemed to wear down the State defense. Josh Booty was also able to throw for 246 yards, and LSU was able to put up the most points on the Bulldogs since 1997.
“This LSU team has a lot of speed,” head coach Jackie Sherrill said. “They play very physical on both sides of the ball. They have good balance offensively. Josh Reed is the leading receiver in the league, and they have a good running back in LaBrandon Toefield.”
Joe Lee Dunn and the defense are going to have their hands full once again trying to stop the LSU attack. LSU is currently seventh in the country with 464 total yards of offense per game. Meanwhile, MSU is No. 98 with just over 300 yards per game.
Reed, as Sherrill mentioned, is one of the top receivers in the league, averaging just over 20 yards per catch. Toefield is the fourth-rated running back in the league with 430 yards on the season and nine touchdowns.
“They will probably run the two tight end set against us,” Sherrill said. “They used the play action effectively against us last year.”
MSU could be without some key members of the defensive squad in this game. Defensive end Conner Stephens is questionable for the game with a knee injury, and Kahlil Nash and All-American Mario Haggan are nursing ankle injuries. Haggan will probably play in the game.
Senior Pig Prather leads the team in tackles with 40, and Stephens is right behind with 39. If Stephens cannot play, the player to watch this week will be backup Dwayne Robertson. Against Troy State, Robertson had a career high 11 tackles and his first career interception. Robertson will be asked to step up again this week if Stephens is out.
“Last year they got going early and got us away from what we do, which is stopping the run,” Haggan said. “That opened up their passing game. What we want to do is stop the run and keep playing hard. It will be real important for us to come out and make some plays early to get the team thinking that we can win. We have a lot of seniors on this team who don’t want to go out losing, so we need to come out and get this thing going to make something of the season.”
On the offensive side of the ball, things are not looking much better for State. Several offensive linemen have not been practicing on a steady basis because of ankle injuries. Running back Dicenzo Miller is only about 75 percent for the game.
“He will play, but he will be limited with the number of repetitions he’ll get,” Sherrill said.
Another loss for the Bulldogs Saturday is fullback Justin Griffith, who will miss the remainder of the season because of surgery to remove a bone spur in his neck. With Griffith out, look for Darnell Jones to get a lot of playing time in the fullback position. When he is not in the game, State will likely be working out of a one back set.
Offensively, inconsistency has been the story for the Bulldogs this season.
“Wayne (Madkin)is a better quarterback than when he was a freshman,” Sherrill said. “The only difference is that he is not making plays this season.”
The Bulldogs are only averaging 13.5 points per game, last in the SEC. The challenge will not get any easier this week. They will face an experienced LSU defense that has arguably the best linebacker group in the country.
“Defensively, they have size up front,” Sherrill said. “Their linebackers, especially Trev Faulk, are very good. They do a good job matching speed for speed in the secondary.”
For the offense to be successful, Madkin will have to make the Tigers respect the passing game, or else the running backs will go nowhere against LSU’s defensive line and linebackers.
“We haven’t made the plays like we did in 1998, 1999 and 2000,” Sherrill said. “We haven’t had that spark to make plays.”
Of the last 14 meetings between the two teams in Starkville, the game has been decided by six points or less. The Bulldogs’ last win over the Tigers came in 1999 by a score of 17-16. LSU leads the overall series 58-33-3. Game time is set for 8 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN2.