Following a hard-fought 7-3 win at Arkansas last Saturday, Mississippi State will once again be on the road as the Bulldogs (4-3, 1-3 Southeastern Conference) travel to Jordan-Hare Stadium to take on Auburn (3-4, 0-4). The game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on SEC Network. Here are five keys to victory for MSU.
Be selectively aggressive
Against the Razorbacks, the Bulldogs were overly conservative at times in terms of both play calling and decision making. Much of that likely had to do with quarterback Mike Wright making his first start of the season, but now that he has a full game under his belt, MSU should be comfortable pushing the envelope more whether Wright starts again or Will Rogers makes his return.
Midway through the first quarter, the Bulldogs faced a fourth-and-1 just across midfield, and chose to take a delay of game penalty and punt. They did the same thing early in the third quarter on a fourth-and-4 from the Arkansas 41-yard line — after opting not to take a downfield shot upon starting a possession in plus territory.
None of those decisions came back to hurt MSU because of how well the defense played, but against a Tigers team that runs the ball effectively in a variety of ways, the Bulldogs can ill-afford to leave potential points on the field.
Get the ball to Tulu
In three games since he broke MSU’s single-game receiving yards record with 256 against South Carolina, Lideatrick “Tulu” Griffin has a total of 113 yards — receiving and rushing. Part of that was due to a team-imposed suspension for the first half of the Western Michigan game, but assuming he’s healthy, the Bulldogs have to find ways to get the ball in the hands of their fastest player.
Griffin won’t have the same opportunities to take the top off of defenses with Wright at quarterback compared to Rogers, but he is quick enough to win just about any matchup in man coverage, find soft spots against zone coverage and make defenders miss after the catch. He is MSU’s best offensive playmaker, and the Bulldogs need to use him like one.
Keep mixing up the pressure
MSU brought blitz after blitz on quarterback KJ Jefferson and Arkansas last week, taking advantage of a weak offensive line. A big reason the blitzes continued to work was because the Bulldogs showed the Razorbacks a lot of different looks — sometimes bringing linebackers, sometimes sending defensive backs, sometimes a combination.
Auburn uses two quarterbacks, Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford, and both are arguably more effective as runners than passers. The Tigers do have a number of capable running backs, led by Jarquez Hunter, but if MSU can bring enough pressure to overwhelm Auburn’s offensive line, it could lead to several tackles for loss that force the Tigers into undesirable down and distances.
Make life easier for Jett and Bookie
Auburn’s offensive numbers have been subpar — last in the SEC in yards per game and 12th in points per game — but not only is a lot of that a product of a tough early schedule, the Tigers present defenses with formations they rarely otherwise see. It is not uncommon for Auburn to have three or even four tight ends on the field at a time, providing extra blocking for the conference’s fourth-best rushing offense.
That said, the Bulldogs’ defensive line will have to win its one-on-one matchups and even beat some double teams in order to allow linebackers Jett Johnson and Nathaniel “Bookie” Watson to roam free and rack up tackles. Downfield and on the boundaries, MSU’s secondary will also have to shed blocks from those tight ends to prevent explosive plays on the ground.
Win the field position battle
Saturday’s game may not be as low-scoring as last week’s clash in Fayetteville, but neither team’s offense is inspiring much confidence of late. Field position could wind up being critical. The Bulldogs punted eight times against Arkansas, and neither Keelan Crimmins nor Andrew Osteen delivered boomers, with an average of 36.9 yards per punt between the two of them.
MSU could also benefit from a big play in the return game to give itself a short field. Both Griffin and Zavion Thomas have hinted at breaking a long one, and Griffin did score on a kickoff return against Auburn last year.
“We have the best kick returner in Tulu and we have the best punt returner in me,” Thomas said after the Arkansas game. “Our confidence is high.”
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