Mississippi State (1-4, 0-2 Southeastern Conference) is back from its first bye week of the season and faces another top-5 opponent on the road this weekend, traveling to Sanford Stadium for a battle with No. 5 Georgia (4-1, 2-1) on Saturday at 3:15 p.m. Central Time (4:15 p.m. local) on SEC Network. UGA has appeared in the last three SEC Championship Games and won national titles in 2021 and 2022.
Here are five keys for MSU in this battle of the Bulldogs.
Slow it down for as long as you can
A slower-paced offense worked well for Mississippi State at Texas two weeks ago — MSU possessed the ball for 21 minutes in the first half, allowing the visitors to stay within one score. Georgia’s defensive front is just as good as that of the Longhorns, though, so the MSU offensive line will need to keep having success in run blocking.
If State falls behind by two or three scores early, though, that approach will have to go out the window. If the offensive line can protect true freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren — far easier said than done — MSU can win some of its matchups downfield between its receivers and UGA’s secondary, a group that has given up some explosive plays in recent weeks.
Contain Carson Beck
Georgia’s veteran signal-caller is one of the most experienced quarterbacks in college football and is putting up very good numbers, but thanks in part to injuries at wide receiver, Beck’s completion percentage is down compared to last season. He is probably licking his chops as he prepares to face MSU’s defense, which has allowed quarterbacks to complete 86.2 percent of passes over the last three games.
Still, MSU is getting leading tackler Isaac Smith back this week, and cornerback DeAgo Brumfield could make his season debut. Mississippi State must slow down Beck and the Georgia passing game in order to string stops together.
Sell out to stop the run
This does somewhat contradict the above, but it speaks to how multi-dimensional Georgia’s offense is when everything is clicking in UGA’s pro-style, play-action-based system. Running back Trevor Etienne was suspended for Georgia’s opener against Clemson for reckless driving, but since then, he has found his stride, totaling 124 all-purpose yards last week against Auburn. Freshman Nate Frazier and sophomore Branson Robinson were both five-star recruits and have favorable matchups this week against a banged-up MSU defensive front.
Feed Johnnie Daniels
Georgia, despite its propensity to wreak havoc on opponents’ backfields, has had a difficult time stopping the run for much of this season. Every UGA opponent except Clemson has rushed for at least 100 yards, so for MSU, that calls for Johnnie Daniels to become the featured back.
The junior college transfer has been State’s leading rusher for three straight games, and with Keyvone Lee still out, Daniels split carries with Utah State transfer Davon Booth against Texas. Daniels received three fewer carries than Booth, yet still out-gained him, 75 yards to 59. He is a tough runner who can slip through small holes and drag defenders with him for extra yardage.
Play mistake-free football
MSU has to be close to perfect in order to pull off an upset of this magnitude, especially on the road. That means keeping penalties to a minimum, taking care of the football and capitalizing in the red zone, a tall order against an excellent red zone defense. Catching a break or two on special teams is also unlikely against a team that rarely misses kicks and has allowed just one punt return all season for minus-4 yards.
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