STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State football team will step outside of the Southeastern Conference for a game against Massachusetts (1-2) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday (WCBI) at Gillette Stadium, home of the NFL’s New England Patriots, in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
MSU coach Dan Mullen, a native of Manchester, New Hampshire, will have several friends and family on hand. He said he didn’t have many plans and was focused on his team and getting a win.
MSU is coming off a 23-20 loss at then-No. 20 LSU. It opened the season with a loss to South Alabama before beating South Carolina in the second week of the season.
UMass is coming off a 21-13 victory against Florida International. It lost at Florida (24-7) in its opener and to Boston College (26-7) in week two.
MSU is a 24 1/2-point favorite.
Here are five things to watch:
1. Will Nick Tiano get to play?
Third-string quarterback Nick Tiano hasn’t played this season.
He was expected to make an appearance in the opener against South Alabama, but MSU couldn’t put the Jaguars away and ended up losing. Starter Nick Fitzgerald and backup Damian Williams played, with Williams getting most of the snaps.
If MSU can build a big lead, Tiano might get to make his collegiate debut.
“We would always love to get guys in and get guys reps to see what they can do in a live situation,” MSU quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson said. “As much as you do at practice, there is no substitute and no way to simulate that action in a live game setting. Hopefully we can get him on the field and see how he handles live situations.”
Johnson recalls playing in his first game as a freshman at Utah in 2004. Mullen, serving as his quarterbacks coach, let Johnson gets snaps against Texas A&M in the 2004 opener. Johnson played in 10 games that season and served as a backup to Heisman Trophy finalist Alex Smith. Johnson became the starter in 2005.
“If he ever has to go in a game, you don’t ever want that to be his first opportunity going into a game,” Johnson said. “We try to introduce it to them and force feed them early on in their career, so when they get their opportunity they’re ready to go.”
2. Can MSU’s defense get off the field on third down?
MSU struggled to get off the field on third downs in the first half last week against LSU.
The Tigers were 6 of 10 on third downs in the first half and 7 of 16 overall. Mullen said the Bulldogs didn’t get enough pressure on the quarterback.
MSU first-year defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Peter Sirmon was pleased with his defense’s performance on third and long. Third and medium was the problem, though.
“It’s a combination of how to continue to build the rush plan and how that meshes with the back end,” Sirmon said. “We’re still developing guys, and we’re still trying to get the guys in the very best position of what they’re best at.”
Sirmon said it’s like a Rubik’s Cube in reference to figuring out the matchups that will give the Bulldogs the best chance to get off the field.
Rubik’s Cube is a 3-D combination puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Erno Rubik.
MSU’s defense, which is allowing 338.0 yards per game, has been solid on defending on third down. Opposing offenses are 18-for-47 (38 percent).
3. Who will be the UMass quarterback?
UMass sophomore Ross Comis missed the game against Florida International with an injury.
Backup Andrew Ford, a Virginia Tech transfer, played well after throwing an interception on the first drive, and was 28 of 42 for 278 yards and three touchdowns.
Comis’ status is unknown because UMass coach Mark Whipple didn’t reveal his game plan for the quarterbacks.
“We’ll see how (Comis) does,” Whipple said Monday. “There’s always competition. Every day. That’s why I think Andrew’s gotten so much better. We’ll play the best one during the week — whoever we think. But I was really happy with the way Andrew played. I was happy with the way Ross played, so we’ll get that up to a level of competition this week (and) see how the week goes.”
Whipple said Tuesday that Comis did more in practice this week than he did last week. Whipple said Comis threw some, but he hasn’t thrown any deep balls.
Comis is 20 of 45 for 286 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
“Both quarterbacks I think are really fine players,” Sirmon said. “I thought (Ford) played his tail off. He moves in the pocket to throw people open.”
4. Will MSU overlook UMass?
Coming off a tough SEC road loss, MSU might not be focused. It enters the game against UMass as a huge favorite, so it could look ahead to its bye next week.
But Mullen hopes MSU learned it can’t overlook any team after losing to South Alabama in the season opener. Sirmon said it’s about MSU playing against itself, not its opponent, and doing the things it needs to do.
“I want us to leave the field and think this is the best performance we could have put on tonight,” Sirmon said. “To leave the field with that confidence and that stamp of putting the signature on your performance, that’s what I want us to be able to do.”
The trip to the Northeast will be once in a lifetime for many Bulldog players. Although MSU has played in a NFL stadium seven-straight years, playing in Gillette Stadium will be a different road trip than any the Bulldogs have experienced. MSU junior linebacker Dez Harris said the Bulldogs have to treat it like any other game.
“It’s not really your opponent, you’re playing against yourself,” Harris said. “It has to come down to us. It doesn’t matter what they do. We have to stop it and go out and make plays.”
5. Will MSU play for four quarters?
This was one of the five questions last week. MSU didn’t and came up short after a furious rally in the fourth quarter.
Unlike the first two weeks, MSU struggled in the first half but played better in the second half. Despite trailing 23-3 at halftime, the Bulldogs had a chance to win in the final minutes but a fumble ended the game.
Mullen said the team’s inexperience is a big reason why it hasn’t competed in all four quarters of a game.
“I thought we played hard in the first half at times, too. We just didn’t make plays,” Mullen said. “Guys were worried about too many things. When you have young players, they’re worried about everything. ‘Oh, we gave up a touchdown. Oh, what do we have to do? Can we score? Are we going to win the game? Are we going to lose the game? How’s this going to affect the season?’ All of those things. They worry less about how hard they can go on the next play.”
Against South Alabama and South Carolina, MSU stormed out to an early lead and didn’t allow any points in the first half. South Alabama was able to overcome a 17-0 halftime deficit and win 21-20. MSU led South Carolina 24-0 at halftime en route to a 27-14 victory.
“If you can do it for a half, you can do it for a whole game,” Harris said. “We just have to lock in, play our brand of football, and not get bored at halftime and think we’ve got it wrapped up. We have to come out and play from the kick of the ball until the clock strikes zero.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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