Mississippi State football will take the field at Davis Wade Stadium again on Friday
The Bulldogs, 2-0, are coming off an impressive but tense win over Arizona State. The Sun Devils arrived in Starkville ranked No. 12 in the AP Top 25, but began this week unranked after losing on a last-minute touchdown pass by Blake Shapen to Brenen Thompson.
Now the Bulldogs welcome in-state FCS program Alcorn State as overwhelming favorites with a chance to build on a positive start to Year 2 under head coach Jeff Lebby.
Here are three keys to victory over the Braves on Saturday.
Win the game comfortably
The goal every week is the same: win the game.
MSU is 2-0 because it has found a way to execute against talented teams that may not have it all together yet. No team, including State, has it all together at this point in the season, but the Bulldogs have an opportunity on Saturday to build a lead early and work out kinks over the rest of the game.
MSU still absolutely has to respect its opponent, study the film and build an understanding of what it’s up against this weekend, but the talent difference is such that a Bulldogs team that does its homework should have the game in hand by halftime.
The reality of this sort of game is that the Bulldogs get to add another win and give their younger players a chance, while Alcorn State gets to test its first team against the best team it will play all season before SWAC play begins. Both teams and both coaches want to come away without any more injuries
Play a clean game
One of the problems with the offense that Lebby has focused on the most is penalties. The Bulldogs cut the penalties in half against Arizona State, tallying six for 60 yards, but they also ran fewer plays and had much less time of possession.
On offense, the penalties came at inopportune times once again, and proved costly on a third-quarter drive that resulted in a turnover on downs at midfield.
For the Bulldogs, the key is going to be to move the ball efficiently and cleanly on offense. Avoid pre-snap penalties, avoid holding calls. Run the right routes, hit on the right blocks and find the right gaps.
It may not all be clean, but by this point, the team has to be conscious of its mistakes and how to fix them.
The other part of a clean game is to avoid injuries and suspensions. Neither program wants that to happen, so if the players all keep their heads straight and play a clean game, everyone can go home to play again next week.
Find out who you have behind the starters
The biggest objective for the Bulldogs on Saturday may be exploring the depth options. MSU has plenty of talent at skill positions who haven’t taken the field yet, and with the game in hand the coaches can confidently send out the new arrivals and younger players to get some live game reps.
Defensively, Lebby also has a question of who will step up in place of Will Whitson. The Coastal Carolina transfer went down with a season-ending injury last week against the Sun Devils, and four players are currently listed as competing for his vacated spot at the top of the defensive end depth chart. Deonte Anderson took advantage of his playing time last week, and seems likely to get his fair share of snaps again.
An opportunity for the second team offense will also see more reps for backup quarterbacks Kamario Taylor and Luke Kromenhoek. Lebby has not yet separated the pair into QB2 and QB3 yet, so a full half to explore the playbook with each player under center may offer some clarity on who the best option is behind Shapen.
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