NASHVILLE — The faces looked understandably grim.
Somber emotions poured out from Mississippi State seniors Tommy Stevens, Darryl Williams and Jaquarius Landrews after a 38-28 defeat at the hands of Louisville in the Music City Bowl Monday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
Stevens declared he’d transfer from Penn State to MSU all over again, even despite a injury-marred and relatively unproductive year in his lone season at quarterback with the Bulldogs.
Williams, the team’s starting center, commended his fellow seniors on keeping the team together through a laundry list of issues, both on and off the field.
As nice as all of that is, MSU’s bowl game served as a harsh reminder. As 2020 approaches, the 2019 version of the Bulldogs will be remembered as an average football team. The craziness and euphoric feelings following the Egg Bowl win that extended the program’s decade-long bowl streak served as a nice monthlong distraction from that caveat. But MSU’s mediocre tendencies reared their ugly head against the Cardinals.
After taking a 14-0 lead, the Bulldogs were taken to the woodshed on both sides of the ball and allowed 31 unanswered points. Whatever adjustments were made, they didn’t work.
At one point in the fourth quarter, MSU was outgained 444-169. A paltry 169 yards against a defense that allowed 446 yards per game entering the contest doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. After gashing Louisville via the read-option in the first quarter, Stevens made questionable reads at best the rest of the night. Considering the matchup on paper, MSU running back Kylin Hill seemed like a slam-dunk pregame pick for Music City Bowl MVP. Tragically, Hill was hurt on the first play of the game, and gutted out six more carries before finishing with three total yards. It was a disappointing end to what was an outstanding MSU career for the Columbus native.
In what could be seen as an alarming trend, Joe Moorhead fell to 0-5 in his MSU tenure when he’s had multiple weeks to prepare for an opponent.
“Certainly ending the season with a loss in the bowl game is not ideal,” Moorhead said.
The Bulldogs’ season woes weren’t limited to simply on field problems. As Moorhead so eloquently put it, “you could write a book on this season alone.”
Ten players were suspended eight games by the NCAA for academic misconduct. The team’s starting linebacker punched its starting quarterback in the face at a practice and caused him to miss the bowl game. Other suspensions were handed out for Monday’s first quarter that had nothing to do with the famously dubbed “Tutorgate.”
Next week, Moorhead is going to take a long, hard look at his football program. He’ll decide what coaching changes need to be made, if any. He’ll meet individually with each returning player.
The uncomfortable truth is that a lot of holes need to be filled if the Bulldogs want to return to fighting for eight wins next season.
Hill’s departure to the NFL draft leaves a very inexperienced backfield. Someone is going to have to emerge as a consistent playmaker at wide receiver, because there sure wasn’t one in 2019. Shrader had flashes of brilliance at times but needs to develop much better as a passer — between him and Stevens, no MSU quarterback threw for 250 or more yards in a single game this season.
The secondary needs to be addressed in a big way. Ditto for the offensive and defensive lines. Fans also wouldn’t complain if MSU brought in a kicker that could produce a touchback once in a while, or found a way to yield reasonable punt or kickoff returns.
In short, it’s going to be a long offseason in Starkville. MSU can hang its head on doing just enough to keep its proud bowl streak alive. But a 6-7 season just isn’t going to cut it in 2020.
Hodge is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
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