STARKVILLE — Another week, another loss to digest.
With Saturday’s 49-30 defeat at Texas A&M, Mississippi State has now dropped four straight games and sit at 3-5 and 1-4 in SEC play.
Speaking with the media postgame, coach Joe Moorhead and players were as much deflated as they were perturbed with the loss. Senior safety Jaquarius Landrews said as much.
“We’ve just got to play harder,” Landrews said. “When we get down I just feel like everybody gets down and it’s really messing us up instead being consistent and just believing in the team.”
And while the loss in College Station has its reasonings (suspensions, injuries, etc.), there were some positives from an MSU offense that is beginning to find its stride.
As such, instead of breaking down a defense that was missing four starters this week, let’s take a walk on the positive side and look at MSU’s four-play, 75-yard scoring drive that opened the second quarter.
First up was junior running back Kylin Hill’s 36-yard run — one of MSU’s 13 chunk plays on the day.
With two receivers split out to either side of the formation, Hill stood alongside freshman quarterback Garrett Shrader in the shotgun.
On the snap, Hill took an inside trap handoff from Shrader while right guard LaQuinston Sharp pulled toward the left side of the line.
As the play developed, Sharp and senior left tackle Tyre Phillips created a hole in the C-gap. Hill took it.
Crossing the line of scrimmage and moving to the second level of the Texas A&M defense, the Columbus native collided with linebacker Buddy Johnson. Shaking off the tackle, Hill hit the open field.
Racing past Aggie defensive back Demani Richardson, he was finally tracked down and dropped at the Texas A&M 32 — moving MSU across the 50-yard line for just the second time.
While the play didn’t create a score, it was a clear example of Hill’s more power-based approach Saturday. He explained postgame he made a conscious effort to focus his game between the tackles rather than trying to bounce everything outside — an effort that magnified as he bodied through Johnson his way to the big gain.
“I thought he was running with more physicality and pad level,” Moorhead added. “I think we played a pretty physical game up front and I think the guys did a good job of that through the course of the week and he was seeing it well and he ran hard and the guys blocked well up front.”
With Hill’s big play in tow, Moorhead dialed up a quarterback keeper on the ensuing play — garnering three yards on first down.
Having run the ball on two straight plays to open the second quarter, MSU went to the air its third play of the frame.
While Shrader struggled throwing the ball early, his 32-yard connection with senior receiver Stephen Guidry offered a glimpse at his immense, albeit youthful, arm-talent.
Lining up in the same formation as the Hill run the freshman signal caller took the snap and faked a handoff to backup running back Nick Gibson.
Out wide, Guidry raced left side of the line of scrimmage and ran an inside post route.
Waiting on the play to develop, Shrader took a three-step drop before stepping into his throw.
Staring down Shrader, Texas A&M safety Debione Renfro let Guidry get behind him as defensive back Elijah Blades chased him from behind. Guidry then ran over the top of Renfro before cutting underneath Shrader’s pass with Blades on his back for a score.
“When a true freshman quarterback is in there with some young guys, the explosive nature of the offense, Kylin running it well, they have to support the run without pressure or secondary force and then we can take advantage of one-on-one matchups,” Moorhead said. “When it gets to where it needs to be, I think this is probably representative from an explosive-play standpoint and a balance standpoint of where we want it to be.”
Though the Bulldogs failed to keep pace with quarterback Kellen Mond and the Aggie offense, Shrader’s touchdown pass to Guidry coupled with Hill’s run was an encapsulation of what Moorhead has long preached he expects out of his offense. Differently put, MSU wasn’t consistent enough to win Saturday, but the big plays it expects from a Hill and Shrader-based attack, are finally coming to fruition.
“I think the kids see that we’re fighting and scratching and clawing every game.” Moorhead said. “They’re part mad and part hopeful because they see the things we do, we just need to do them on a more consistent basis.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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