STARKVILLE — The Zack Arnett era dawns Saturday as Mississippi State (0-0) looks for a season-opening win against FCS No. 15 Southeastern Louisiana in Starkville. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at Davis Wade Stadium and SEC Network will televise. Here are five keys to the Bulldogs 119th season opener.
Contain Zachary Clement when he is in the game
Mississippi State defensive coordinator Matt Brock should expect to see both of Southeastern Louisiana’s quarterbacks, Eli Sawyer and Zachary Clement, in Saturday’s game.
Sawyer, a redshirt sophomore, is the more pocket passer of the two, throwing for 1,605 yards and 11 touchdowns last season in a backup role, and being credited for -52 rushing yards for the season. Clement, a transfer from Northwestern State, is the more mobile thrower, finishing with 2,498 passing yards and 345 rushing yards. According to Pro Football Focus, 53 of Clement’s 62 rushing attempts were designed runs in gap or zone schemes. On 11 scramble attempts, Clement tallied 97 yards. It will be key for MSU’s defensive line to keep him in the pocket and force him to make throws.
Limit SELA’s explosive plays
One of Mississippi State’s biggest defensive concerns this year is its secondary, replacing four starters with Marcus Banks, Shawn Preston Jr., Esaias Furdge and Hunter Washington expected to jump into those roles along with returning cornerback Decamerion Richardson.
As a group, Banks, Preston Jr., Furdge, Washington and Richardson allowed 60 catches on 96 targets with Richardson allowing the most at 38 catches on 57 targets, according to Pro Football Focus. Those numbers could be attributed to Emmanuel Forbes Jr. being on the other side of him.
Now the expected leader of the group, Richardson will have to show he can take the next step in MSU’s secondary, helping the back end of its defense limit big plays.
On throws of 20-plus yards down the field last season, Sawyer and Clement combined to finish 34-of-76 for 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Take advantage of SELA’s inexperienced secondary
Of the eight potential starters listed in the secondary on SELA’s depth chart, there are only a combined 26 starts from last season with Victory Tademy, a free safety, tallying 10 starts at Harvard in 2022. Along with him, Markell Linzer, another option at free safety, gained eight starts with the Lions last season.
With MSU’s experience and explosiveness on the perimeter, with the likes of Lideatrick Griffin, Zavion Thomas, Jordan Walley and Justin Robinson, this should be an area where the Bulldogs’ offense finds success.
Attack SELA’s RG/RT combo
The Lions will start two first-team All Southland Conference players on their offensive line Saturday in John Allen at center and Jalen Bell at left tackle. The Lions will want to run the ball behind the strength of that line.
Where they could be vulnerable is at right guard with Brockhim Wicks and right tackle with Jhy Orgeron or Brennan Lanclos. Per Pro Football Focus, Lanclos and Orgeron were two of SELA’s lowest rated offensive lineman last season.
In three games, Lanclos allowed one sack, one hit, four hurries and six quarterback pressures. In 14 games, Orgeron allowed seven sacks, two hits, 22 hurries and 31 quarterback pressures.
In 14 games, Brockhim Wicks allowed three sacks, one hit, 17 hurries and 21 QB pressures at right guard.
Depending on what side SELA lines up a tight end, this could spell a big game for De’monte Russell at defensive end or MSU’s SAM linebackers, DeShawn Page, J.P. Purvis and John Lewis.
Find consistency within Kevin Barbay’s offense
This one has more importance for the entire season and not just Week 1.
Saturday will be the first time MSU’s new-look offense will play against an opponent.
It will be a chance to find chemistry and figure out what works within first-year coordinator Kevin Barbay’s offense against an FCS opponent before the schedule gets tougher down the line.
Justin Frommer is the Mississippi State sports reporter for The Dispatch.
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