STARKVILLE — Taking a first down handoff from Mississippi State freshman quarterback Garrett Shrader late in the third quarter Saturday, junior running back Kylin Hill plunged forward for no gain.

Hopping up from the pile, Hill gazed into space and shook his head back and forth in frustration. It was that kind of afternoon.

Following a blistering start to the year in which he led the SEC in rushing after four weeks, Hill was limited to 34 yards on 15 carries in MSU’s 36-13 loss to No. 2 LSU in Starkville.

“Part of it is schematic, part of it is what the defenses are doing, part of it is us being able to get a push and part of it is if that’s going to happen, the other part of the offense has got to pick up the slack,” coach Joe Moorhead said.

Speaking with the media postgame, no one had an exact explanation for Hill’s recent rushing woes. Senior center Darryl Williams said there was nothing specific LSU was doing to slow down the run that he could point to.

Freshman quarterback Garrett Shrader was a touch more pointed — explaining that a stalled run game, in theory, created less passing lanes for him out of the pocket.

Moorhead offered the most complete answer on the subject:

“We want to get Kylin going,” Moorhead said. “The offense kind of centers around him ’cause he’s our most talented player on offense. But at a certain point when they’re trying to stop him or we’re not getting a push or there’s some numbers or angles that don’t work in the run game, then you’ve got to do some of the things you saw today in the pass game, and that’s to get open, protect and throw the ball down the field.”

No matter what the exact root of the issues are, there’s a noticeable difference in MSU’s offensive attack when Hill is clicking. In the four games he’s gone over 100 yards this year, the Bulldogs are 3-1 and outscored their opponents 128-87.

By contrast, in MSU’s past three games against LSU, Auburn and Tennessee — games in which Hill mustered 93 total yards and averaged just 2.14 yards per carry — they are 0-3 and have been outscored 112-46.

Saturday, MSU made a conscious effort to get Hill more involved in the offense. After totaling just 13 touches at Tennessee last week, Moorhead brought Hill in motion numerous times in an attempt to get him on the corner rather than between the tackles. The plan worked to a degree as Hill outpaced the LSU linebacking corps for a handful of 5-yard and 6-yard gains, but the Tigers kept him from making the big play — allowing him just one rush of 10 yards or more.

Speaking with the media postgame, Moorhead pointed to Hill’s recent funk as reminiscent of Penn State running back Saquon Barkley’s late-season lull during his sophomore campaign. Billed as one of the nation’s top rushers and a Heisman Trophy hopeful, Barkley was limited to 247 yards on 80 touches from Weeks 11 to 14.

In response, Barkley concluded the season with a 195-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Southern California in the 2017 Rose Bowl.

This isn’t to say Hill is poised for Barkley-esque explosion next week against Texas A&M in College Station, but the sentiment remains — running backs struggle, and Hill is not the only one to do so.

“The thing I liked about Kylin today is that he kept his attitude positive the entire game,” Moorhead said. “It didn’t necessarily go his way, it wasn’t a 100-yard game, but he fought for the tough yards, and we’re going to continue to work and get him going.”

Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.