Mississippi State (1-5, 0-3 Southeastern Conference) is back home for the first of three straight games at Davis Wade Stadium, and will play its third straight game against a ranked team when No. 14 Texas A&M (5-1, 3-0) visits Starkville on Saturday for a 3:15 p.m. kickoff on SEC Network. The Aggies have won five straight games following a season-opening home loss to Notre Dame.
Here are five keys to victory for the Bulldogs as they look to snap a five-game skid.
Contain Le’Veon Moss
Texas A&M’s star running back is the best rusher MSU will have faced all season — he has rushed for more than 100 yards per game and 6.9 yards per carry with six touchdowns. A depleted Bulldogs defensive front will be tasked with slowing Moss down, and MSU may want to put more linebackers in the box to prevent him from getting into the secondary.
Moss is the focal point of the Aggies’ offense, so if the Bulldogs can even limit his production and force Texas A&M to throw the ball, they should be able to keep the game within reach.
Ring that turnover cowbell
Opposing quarterbacks have had no trouble completing downfield passes at a high rate against MSU, and the Aggies’ Conner Weigman is coming off an 18-of-22 performance in his return from an injury two weeks ago against Missouri.
Forcing turnovers has been easier than forcing punts lately for the Bulldogs’ defense — MSU recovered two fumbles against Texas and intercepted Georgia quarterback Carson Beck twice last week, with Brice Pollock and DeAgo Brumfield each recording his first career pick. The Bulldogs will need to take the ball away and cut Texas A&M’s possessions short.
Protect the quarterback
Texas sacked true freshman Michael Van Buren six times in his first collegiate start on Sept. 28, a product of both poor pass protection and Van Buren holding onto the ball too long. Against Georgia two weeks later, the only sack Van Buren took was nullified by a penalty. Freshman Luke Work replaced Makylan Pounders, who missed the game with an illness at left tackle, though Pounders was not listed on Wednesday night’s initial injury report this week.
The Aggies have an excellent pass rush headlined by Nic Scourton, who has 10 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks through six games, so MSU may need to double-team him. Texas A&M pressured Arkansas’ Taylen Green and Missouri’s Brady Cook all game long and is surely looking to do the same to Van Buren. The Bulldogs cannot let that happen.
Push the ball down the field
After a slow start, Van Buren had success connecting with his receivers on deep shots against Georgia. Mario Craver, Kevin Coleman and Kelly Akharaiyi all brought in passes from Van Buren for explosive plays, an encouraging development for Akharaiyi in particular. The big-play capability gives MSU an avenue for a comeback if the Bulldogs find themselves trailing by multiple scores again.
What’s more, Van Buren now looks much more comfortable in the pocket than he did in the Texas game and is rapidly improving at going through his progressions. He can run Lebby’s offense as well as Blake Shapen could, and is giving MSU fans a reason to be optimistic about the future.
Keep the crowd in the game
This is the Bulldogs’ first home game in nearly a month, and players, coaches and administrators are pushing for a sellout. The crowd will surely be fired up during pregame ceremonies, but the important thing is it stays that way in the second half. MSU held its own in hostile environments in its last two games. This is the Bulldogs’ turn to make an SEC opponent uncomfortable — especially one that has struggled in previous trips to Starkville.
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