STARKVILLE — Joe Moorhead sunk back in his chair as the topic of Mississippi State’s first offensive play of the third quarter came up. It was supposed to be the moment fortunes changed.
An offense with just six points and 159 yards at halftime was just gifted the ball at midfield courtesy of a Cameron Dantzler interception. Moorhead saw a game awaiting a touchdown and decided enough was enough, dialing up a deep ball over the middle.
It bounced off Osirus Mitchell’s hands. MSU would never get within 40 yards of the end zone after that play.
For the second consecutive week, No. 23 MSU’s offense sputtered to barely over 200 yards. Saturday’s exact numbers were 202 yards and a 13-6 loss to Florida (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference), leaving coach Joe Moorhead with an obvious diagnosis yet little in exact treatments.
“For the second week in a row, we were unable to get anything going offensively in the second half,” he said. “I have to put a plan together offensively to put us in a position to be successful, I have to call good plays and when we call good plays, we have to execute them. We have to find a way to score some points on offense.”
How MSU will do so is what remains to be seen.
For two weeks, MSU has tried to use Nick Fitzgerald as a primary weapon and been shown the door. His 16 carries against Kentucky netted 20 yards and his 20 carries Saturday earned 32; he has completed 27 of his 58 pass attempts (46.5 percent) for 243 yards.
Over that span, running backs Kylin Hill and Aeris Williams have combined for 24 carries. Moorhead said the statistical discrepancy is not for a lack of desire.
“When they’re bringing pressure the way they did, it’s hard to hand the ball off with guys unblocked at the point of attack,” Moorhead said.
Fitzgerald added, “If the end knew he was being read, he was going to shuffle down into the line and not give you a really confident pull read. They’re not generally fast, downhill guys, but tonight they were filling gaps pretty well.”
Once again, Moorhead credited some run game issues — 3.25 yards per carry over 32 attempts — to the opposing defense forcing some run-pass options into passes. Fitzgerald credited third-down woes — 2-for-12 — to Florida’s blitzes and the mix it presented.
Whatever the solutions are, they are needed quick. This is just the third time since 2000 that MSU (3-2, 0-2 SEC) has been held to 202 or fewer yards in consecutive games. The 403 yards over the last two games is fewer than in any of MSU’s first three games individually.
Moorhead’s two Penn State teams only finished with fewer than 13 points in a game once; he now has 13 points to his name over two conference games.
“For the defense to play the way they did, we have to turn some of those possessions into touchdowns,” Moorhead said. “It’s very frustrating.”
After it all, clad in his usual postgame black jumpsuit, Moorhead exited Davis Wade Stadium with his wife Jen at his side and son Donovan bouncing around in front of them. Moorhead politely waved at a few MSU fans as he crossed the street.
It was quiet; it won’t be that way for long. Unrest is growing around the very thing he is known for — offense — and he has tasked himself with fixing it. At this point last season, his predecessor, Dan Mullen, was granted a bye week to get things right.
Moorhead has no such luxury. His answers must be visible in a week’s time against Auburn.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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