Mississippi State will leave the Magnolia State for the first time this season for a trip out west to face No. 6 Texas A&M.
The Bulldogs (4-1, 0-1 SEC) are looking for their first conference win while the Aggies (4-0) look to continue building what fans hope is a playoff resume by December.
Here are three keys to victory for MSU.
Take away the home runs
The Bulldog defense did well to limit the Tennessee offense on big scores, much more than the scoreboard would indicate. The Vols scored on all four red zone possessions, but they were held to field goals twice.
The Bulldogs did well to keep the Vols offense away from the deep-shot touchdowns, and if not for the offense handing Tennessee 14 points it may have been a comfortable win for MSU.
The only real defensive lapse came in overtime as DeSean Bishop ripped a 25-yard touchdown run on the very first play, immediately putting the MSU offense under pressure to answer.
However, the defense didn’t take out the chunk plays entirely. The Vols had seven plays of 20 or more yards, three plays of 30 or more yards, and gained more than 200 yards on explosive plays.
The defense is light years ahead of where it was a year ago, but the next step is tightening things up on the explosive plays. Taking the home-run ball away will go a long way in keeping the defense fresh throughout the game, utilizing the depth on the roster, and, most importantly, giving the offense more chances to take control on their end through possessions and better field position.
“It’s a huge deal, and we gave up some stuff the other day, I think (Tennessee) had 238 yards on seven completions,” Lebby said on Wednesday, “so for us we’ve got to limit that as much as we can. I loved how we played defensively last week, without a doubt played well enough to give us an opportunity to go win the game. We’re going to need that same thing on Saturday night.”
Feed Fluff and Booth
The run game in the last couple of weeks has driven MSU’s offense forward. Backs Fluff Bothwell and Davon Booth have formed a powerful duo, and Bothwell’s emergence as the primary back has yielded back-to-back 100-yard games against two proven run defenses.
“I like how they put their trust in us,” Booth said on Monday. “Me, Fluff and the other guys, we want that load. We want to be able to put the team on our backs if we have to. It does good for us confidence-wise.”
The backs have been especially important in the red zone. Of MSU’s 17 red zone touchdowns, 14 have come on the ground. There have been more explosive plays in the run game in general, and despite some injuries, the offensive line has grown into the season to help establish the run.
“I think it was more for our O-line,” Booth said of the big play on the ground against Tennessee. “We’re in the weight room every day, and it starts with those guys. They made the holes for us, we just did the rest.”
The Aggies have only allowed six touchdowns on the ground this season with an average of 117.2 yards per game on the ground for opponents. Their run defense ranks 42nd in FBS so far, and it showed up in the SEC opener with Auburn’s leading rusher posting just 28 yards in College Station.
The Aggies were more vulnerable in their road win at Notre Dame, as veterans Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price combined for 162 yards and three touchdowns.
The Bulldogs will need the run to help fuel a balanced offense, but the other side of the scale in that regard has to get off the ground as well.
Take advantage of opportunities to control the game
The passing game has been hit or miss for MSU as the running game has turned it up a notch. Part of the regression is due to poor pass protection for Blake Shapen as well as the health of leading receiver Brenen Thompson.
Thompson was seen previously with a finger wrap, playing through the issue in the first few games of the season to good effect, but he also left after getting rocked by a hit in the Tennessee game and did not return to action. Should Thompson miss the trip to A&M, there are still plenty of playmakers out wide for the Bulldogs, but the pieces have to start coming together.
Shapen has 1,064 yards and eight touchdowns through five games this season, but his production has tailed off a bit with the absence of hitting on home run balls. His quarterback rating against Tennessee was 22.9 after taking five sacks and committing two turnovers that led to touchdowns for the Vols.
What made matters worse was that both turnovers came as MSU had a chance to take a two-score lead. A scoop-and-score in the fourth quarter came right after the Bulldogs had converted on a fake punt run in their own territory, a gamble that could have paid off with a 31-20 fourth quarter lead and instead put the pressure back on the offense to play from behind.
The Bulldogs had another chance to win the game with just under two minutes to play, but went three-and-out on a series of miscommunications.
Ultimately, it’s about execution. Shapen knows he has to play better, and the line knows they have to protect him better if they’re to reignite the passing attack and stand a chance against the Aggies in front of 100,000 fans at Kyle Field on Saturday.
“Execution, I think it comes down to that,” Shapen said, evaluating the offensive performance last week. “The small details of the game, whether it’s the receiver, me, offensive line, whatever it is. We’ve got to execute better. I like the way that we fought, it didn’t matter the score of the game or how it was going, we continued to fight. That was the biggest takeaway that I had, but we’ve got to execute better.”
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