STARKVILLE — After three straight losses for Mississippi State to open Southeastern Conference play, Bulldogs head coach Zach Arnett said he was angry during Monday’s weekly press conference, and hopes his players feel the same way and take their anger out on Western Michigan this Saturday.

“I hope we play like an angry football team,” Arnett said. “I happen to think that that leads to improved play on the field, actually. I would hope we’re a little bit angry as a football program, and I hope we play with that edge.”

Arnett and MSU (2-3, 0-3) SEC have every right to feel that way after the Bulldogs’ 16th consecutive loss to Alabama — a game that was closer than the 40-17 final score suggests, but a game MSU in no way played well enough to win either offensively or defensively.

Senior quarterback Will Rogers sandwiched his best game in a Bulldogs uniform around two of his worst, as he threw for just 107 yards and three interceptions against the Crimson Tide. The defense still has very few answers for opposing starting quarterbacks, who have thrown a grand total of eight incompletions against MSU in three conference games, and a depleted defensive front has made it difficult for the Bulldogs to generate pressure or stop the run.

“Angry, I think it’s the correct word. I really do,” Arnett said. “We’re all competitors. I can guarantee you right now no one is more frustrated or critical of ourselves than players and coaches, because those are the people who put in the most time, effort, work and investment in the program. I appreciate the passion of our fan base, (but) no one is more frustrated than us. How you respond to that is what you control.”

Injury updates

MSU entered the Alabama game thin on depth in the defensive line. De’Monte Russell, Trevion Williams and Kalvin Dinkins were all unavailable against the Crimson Tide, and defensive tackle Jaden Crumedy went down late in the third quarter.

Arnett said Williams underwent surgery and will miss the rest of the season. The redshirt freshman was on his way to a big year, with 1.5 tackles for loss in Week 2 against Arizona. Dinkins will be out against Western Michigan, though Arnett does not expect his injury to be season-ending. The head coach said Russell, who was injured early in the South Carolina game, is probable for Saturday.

Russell’s younger brother, redshirt freshman Donterry Russell, saw more playing time due to those injuries and had a career night. He sacked Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe for an eight-yard loss on a third down to end the first drive of the game, then teamed with linebacker Nathaniel “Bookie” Watson for another sack in the fourth quarter.

“He’s going to see increased game reps from here on out, I would imagine,” Arnett said. “(He’s) somebody who continues to perform like that and be reliable and do his job.”

Wide receiver Justin Robinson, who had six catches for 91 yards against South Carolina, also missed the Alabama game. Arnett said his injury is not long-term, and his status for the Western Michigan game will depend on how he looks in practice this week and whether the team’s doctors and trainers feel he is back at full strength.

Scouting Western Michigan

The Broncos, out of the Mid-American Conference, have already played two power conference opponents this season, losing to Syracuse and Iowa by at least 31 points each. Western Michigan (2-3, 1-1 MAC) picked up its first conference win last Saturday, a 42-24 victory over Ball State.

Quarterback Treyson Bourguet had easily his best game of the year in the win over the Cardinals, completing 24 of 39 passes for 328 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Bourguet, a redshirt freshman from Tucson, Ariz., was named the MAC West Offensive Player of the Week for his strong outing.

Running back Jalen Buckley is well on his way to a 1,000-yard season, with 557 rushing yards and five touchdowns through five games. Receiver Anthony Sambucci is the Broncos’ big-play threat — he has 207 yards on 11 catches and four of Western Michigan’s five touchdown receptions.

“They do a really good job of stretching you sideline to sideline,” Arnett said. “Just watching film, you can tell their offensive staff does a really good job of understanding how defenses are coached. They do a really good job of using angles to divide the defense.”

The other side of the ball has not been kind to the Broncos. Western Michigan is 11th out of 12 teams in the MAC and 121st out of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision squads in scoring defense, yielding 35.8 points per contest.

The Broncos have done a good job getting to the quarterback — their 15 sacks are second in the MAC and have cost offenses a conference-leading 106 yards — but have been almost completely unable to stop teams in the red zone. Out of 22 red zone trips for Western Michigan’s defense, the Broncos have mustered just one stop – allowing 16 touchdowns and five field goals.

Arnett said Western Michigan’s defense reminds him of his own — which could make the Broncos easier to prepare for but could also be an indictment of how the Bulldogs have performed defensively. MSU has also prevented its opponents from scoring in the red zone just once out of 18 trips.

“Defensively, they look similar to us a lot of the time,” Arnett said. “They get into odd fronts, they get their (strong-side) linebacker in interior gaps and jump into a lot of different looks and bring a lot of pressures. Philosophically, their defense and (ours) have a lot of similarities.”