On average, only six offenses in the country have the ball more often than Mississippi State does.
And head coach Mike Leach could not care less.
“A stat that is nearly useless is time of possession,” Leach said Monday. “We might lead the nation in that, which I take no gratification out of.”
While the Bulldogs’ average time of 33:52.75 is nearly seven minutes behind FBS leader Army, Leach has a point when it comes to the disconnect between time of possession and effective offense.
Here’s where the country’s top 10 teams in time of possession rank in terms of total yards per game: No. 60, No. 70, No. 67, No. 35, No. 106, No. 39, No. 48, No. 114, No. 26 and No. 80.
And Mississippi State’s 48th-ranked offense is even less effective when it comes to scoring, where the Bulldogs sit 73rd in the nation.
Just look at Saturday’s game against LSU for an explanation. The Bulldogs had two key turnovers in Tigers territory plus a missed field goal, yet they had the ball for 35:08 compared to LSU’s 24:52.
While Mississippi State can possess and move the ball, only punching it into the end zone will solve the Bulldogs’ offensive struggles.
“We are making plays,” Leach said. “We are putting plays together. We have to do that in the context of drives. We have to finish drives, whether it is offense or defense.”
Defense: Explosive plays mar solid unit
Mississippi State is 43rd in the country and eighth in the Southeastern Conference in total defense, but the big plays the Bulldogs have allowed have cut into their overall success.
Three of them went for more than 40 yards and a touchdown on Saturday against LSU. The Tigers converted touchdown passes of 64 yards to Kayshon Boutte, 58 yards to Trey Palmer and 41 yards to Kole Taylor en route to a 28-25 win over the Bulldogs. On the third play, Taylor scored when defensive backs Emmanuel Forbes and Fred Peters collided.
“I thought we played hard,” Leach said. “Occasionally, we missed a man or a gap, and our eyes were in a bad place.”
With five plays of 50-plus yards allowed, Mississippi State’s defense is tied for No. 110 in the country. Among Power Five schools, only Northwestern, Virginia and Arizona have the same number or more, as do independents Notre Dame and UConn.
Only one such play — Louisiana Tech quarterback Austin Kendall’s 59-yard touchdown scamper — was a run play, a sign the Bulldogs’ run defense remains solid. Mississippi State is eighth in the country with only 71.25 rushing yards allowed per game.
Special teams: Bulldogs excel in touchbacks, not yards
Mississippi State has the 14th-lowest average yards per kickoff in FBS football at 58.86, but those numbers are a bit misleading.
For one, an onside kick drags the Bulldogs’ numbers down. (The two onside kicks nullified due to penalties on Mississippi State do not factor in.) Additionally, MSU kickers have been near the top of the rankings when it comes to touchbacks.
Scott Goodman and Brandon Ruiz have combined to put their kickoffs into the end zone on 15 of 21 occasions, including the onside kick. That touchback rate of 71.43 percent is tied for 25th in the country.
“I wasn’t sure that they would put it in the end zone, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised that they do,” Leach said. “They really have been able to launch it.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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