The first Southeastern Conference matchup in Starkville this season is one that could include plenty of fireworks.
Mississippi State hosts No. 15 Tennessee on Saturday at 3:15 p.m. inside Davis Wade Stadium, which will also be a battle between mentor and pupil. Vols head coach Josh Heupel spent time at UCF with Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby, a relationship that shows up in the respective iterations of the veer-and-shoot offense.
It will be a big test for the Bulldogs, who will look to stay unbeaten against a prolific team and pick up a second win over a ranked team this season.
Here are three keys to victory for MSU in the matchup.
No handouts
The Bulldogs absolutely cannot afford to gift possessions or field possession in this one.
Turnovers, penalties and bad punts have all presented opponents golden opportunities to get points on the board against MSU this season. It’s a credit to the defense, and demonstrative of their growth, that the team has been able to manage those situations and contain the negative effects, but it won’t be so easy against a high-flying Tennessee offense.
The Vols are ruthlessly efficient in the red zone, scoring on all but two of 24 trips this season, with 19 touchdowns. The best way to slow them down is to make them start their possessions as far away from the end zone as possible.
The Bulldogs like to be aggressive on fourth downs, even in the first half, but there may be some extra thought put into those decisions with the danger posed by turning the ball over at midfield or inside their own territory.
Score from far
A big reason why the Bulldogs are 4-0 is their ability to strike deep and open up a defense to mismatches on the outside. Every team knows they want to get the ball to Brenen Thompson and Anthony Evans, and it still happens anyway.
Despite the defensive focus, MSU players and coaches – particularly Lebby as a playcaller – continually exploit teams downfield.
The Bulldogs missed on three deep shots against Northern Illinois, which Shapen has taken responsibility for. That can’t happen again against the Volunteers. The ability to strike quickly may be vital late in the game, or at the very least to keep pace against a high-scoring opponent.
“It shows how important practice is, the timing of everything,” Brenen Thompson said of the misses last week. “I think all of our guys did a good job of getting downfield, even when they tried to stop it, and we’ve just got to connect.”
The deep ball is a staple in Lebby’s offense. Shapen has worked plenty on timing with his receivers, and he’s shown in every game so far that he can exploit the space behind a defense.
Protection may be another issue in this one, considering the Vols have 15 sacks through four games, but Shapen is still intent on airing it out to put the defensive backs to the test.
“Any team you play in this league will be pretty good up front,” Shapen said. “Obviously, you’ve got to be ready for that, but on the secondary side of the ball they’re pretty good too. I don’t think they retained many players from last year, but we’re expecting the same things… the front is going to be the strong suit of their defense, but for us it’s going to be huge to impact their secondary.”
Bend, don’t break
The Vols are going to move the ball, and will likely continue to put up points at a high rate in this game. The offense is efficient and can move the sticks in multiple ways. For MSU’s defense, it is without question the most difficult test to date this season, but they’ve come a long way from the team that traveled to Knoxville last year.
The group has leaders at every position, and even if they don’t get quick stops they’ve shown the ability to hang tough on long drives and hold a team out of the end zone.
“Last year, I don’t think we lacked (ability), we just lacked confidence and belief,” Isaac Smith said. “This year we have belief, we know we can go out and do that. I thank our coaches for just pushing us so much harder this summer, putting us through hard days and hard workouts, and a hard fall camp. It’s paid off and it’s going to continue to pay off once we get to these teams that like to run the ball a lot.”
Smith credited the change in culture on that side of the ball, citing a togetherness that has helped the group endure on long drives. Red zone stops against Southern Miss, Arizona State, and NIU showcased their toughness under pressure, and that may be huge in a game like this against a team that will move the ball and look to wear down the defense.
“It’s the brotherhood, the culture,” he added of the differences from last year. “We’ve built, and the coaches instilled being tough. Not just tough physically, like tough in every form of fashion. Making the play when it needs to be made, long drives when they drive down the field and get in the red zone, and you need a goal-line stop. How tough will you be mentally? Physically? All around. Just building that has meant a lot, and it’s going to keep showing.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
