Mississippi State was certainly prepared for Texas A&M’s rush-three, drop-eight defensive scheme.
Quarterback Will Rogers completed 31 of 45 passes for 329 yards and three touchdowns without throwing an interception as the Bulldogs beat the Aggies 42-24.
But that doesn’t mean MSU has “put to death” the idea that a drop-eight defense can neutralize the Air Raid offense.
“Well, I don’t know if we’ve put it away yet,” Rogers said Tuesday. “But I think we’re doing a little better job of getting the ball in space and getting the ball to playmakers, whether it be on the ground or through the air. It’s just an ongoing problem every week, and we have to answer the call.”
Rogers and the Bulldogs have mostly done that through five weeks so far.
The junior quarterback has thrown for more than 300 yards in four of Mississippi State’s first five games. He hasn’t thrown an interception since Sept. 17 at LSU, the lone exception — Rogers threw for just 214 yards in that contest.
Rogers has upped his yards per attempt from 7.06 in 2021 to 7.32 this season, but he challenged the idea that he has been intentionally looking downfield more often.
“I don’t ever think I wasn’t looking downfield,” Rogers said. “I just think that we weren’t getting press-man on our best wideout very much.”
He could be poised to take advantage of a dinged-up Arkansas secondary giving up 289.4 passing yards per game, the eighth-worst total in FBS.
But the Razorbacks have the second-most sacks in the country, and Rogers is well aware of the challenge Arkansas poses when it comes to pass rush.
“We’re going to have to be on our game in pass protection and getting the ball out on time and things like that,” he said.
Bulldogs set to play first half without Watson
Linebacker Nathaniel Watson will not play in the first half Saturday due to a targeting foul against Texas A&M quarterback Max Johnson in the third quarter of the game against the Aggies.
Mississippi State linebackers coach Matt Brock praised the play of both redshirt freshman John Lewis and redshirt junior J.P. Purvis in Watson’s stead.
“If you told me, I don’t know, six months ago that J.P.’s playing 54 snaps or whatever it was against the Aggies, I probably would have laughed at you a little bit,” Brock said. “That’s not derogatory towards J.P.; he’s just done a good job of making improvements, and he got an opportunity and went out and made plays. We kind of scheduled him to be in that third-down package, and that role obviously expanded once Bookie’s situation happened.”
At times, Mississippi State has used additional linebackers — four or even five.
Brock said the extra players give the Bulldogs the ability to do different things in the pass rush and in coverage.
“When you do that, obviously it gives you versatility with people being able to drop from different areas,” he said. “It just gives you a lot of flexibility as a defensive staff.”
For the first 30 minutes Saturday, Watson won’t be one of those players — a big loss for MSU.
Brock said the Bulldogs have treated the first half of this week’s practices like the first half Saturday; Watson takes the field for the second half of practice to mimic when he’ll be able to play.
“He’s really done a good job,” Brock said.
Hollingshead keeping players engaged
Mississippi State receivers Jaden Walley, Jamire Calvin and Austin Williams have just 29 combined catches all season.
But inside receivers coach Drew Hollingshead said Wednesday those Bulldog pass-catchers who might not be getting as many targets are still fully engaged in MSU’s Air Raid scheme.
“Overall, I think there’s been a pretty big emphasis on playing when the ball’s not coming to you and it doesn’t find you as much,” Hollingshead said. “We’ve been fortunate enough that (Caleb Ducking) is playing really good and Rara (Thomas) is playing really good. This past game, I was really, really proud of our guys. We rushed the ball for a good amount of yards, and we blocked really well.”
Starkville native Rufus Harvey is among Mississippi State’s starters and has lived up to the preseason hype so far.
Harvey has 24 receptions for 229 yards and two touchdowns, including an impressive 4-yard scoring catch against Texas A&M in which he dragged a defender over the goal line.
Hollingshead said the ball has continued to find Harvey, right down to the 10-15 catches the redshirt sophomore made during Wednesday’s practice.
“Proud of him with the way he’s been playing,” Hollingshead said. “Obviously, I’ve got to stay on him and keep that progression going because it’s easy to find some early success and think you’ve made it, but luckily I think he’s a pretty sharp kid who understands where he’s at and needs to keep working. What he’s done so far, I’ve been really proud of.”
Hollingshead is still proud of those who haven’t racked up the numbers like Harvey, provided they embrace their roles when it comes to blocking, special teams and more.
The first-year position coach mentioned one reason not many players behind Harvey were getting targeted.
“A lot of it had to do with what A&M was doing to us,” Hollingshead said. “They were putting eight or nine guys in the middle of the field, and that’s kind of where our routes happen.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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