Mike Leach has seen a lot in 21-plus years as a head coach in college football.
But Mississippi State’s performance for much of Saturday’s game against Louisiana Tech was a whole new animal to the second-year coach as MSU turned a 14-0 lead into a 34-14 deficit at Davis Wade Stadium. The Bulldogs’ offense, defense and special teams all cratered practically at once.
“I’ve been in deals like this where one side just plays pathetic and the other side plays really good,” Leach said. “I’ve never really been in one as clearly defined as this where all three sides played simultaneously bad — almost having a contest who could play the worst. It was fiercely contested, too.”
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a switch was flipped somewhere in the Bulldogs’ inner workings. With 13 minutes, 11 seconds remaining, a 70-yard kickoff return by Lideatrick “Tulu” Griffin sparked a fast, furious comeback. Mississippi State scored three straight touchdowns in 10 minutes, blocked a winning field-goal attempt and hung on for a 35-34 victory.
After Saturday’s game and in Monday’s press conference, Leach offered insight into how the Bulldogs pulled the turnaround and staved off an upset loss at home — as well as what they will have to do in order to avoid similar scenarios down the road.
“I think right now everybody’s very happy that they won,” Leach said Saturday night. “I’d like them to draw a lot of confidence and perspective on how well we can play when we play together. I also think there’s a sense that we have a lot of work to do.”
That begins Monday as the Bulldogs start preparing to face N.C. State (1-0), which whipped South Florida 45-0 on Thursday in Raleigh.
Leach said the Wolfpack are a good team with plenty of experience, and that means the Bulldogs can’t afford to dig themselves into a hole like they did against Louisiana Tech, falling down three scores when quarterback Will Rogers threw a pick-six under pressure in the third quarter.
“I thought that as our team started pressing and panicking, so did Will,” Leach said Monday. “That’s when he started to force balls or hold on to balls.”
Leach said it was a “team-wide” panic that enveloped the Bulldogs when Rogers’ mistake put Louisiana Tech up 17 points.
But when the third quarter ended and Mississippi State came off the field, the mood had changed. Safety Dylan Lawrence, wide receiver Jamire Calvin and offensive lineman Kwatrivous “Dollar Bill” Johnson were instrumental in leading the charge, Leach said Monday.
“Collectively, our entire unit rose up there in the fourth quarter — offense, defense and special teams,” Leach said. “When we got to the fourth quarter, I thought we were a different team. It is almost like we decided. If it is just as easy as deciding, we have to make that decision a little sooner.”
Leach said cutting down on turnovers was fundamental in Mississippi State’s three consecutive touchdown drives as well as keeping Louisiana Tech off the board after Jacob Barnes’ field goal made it 34-14.
The maroon and white Bulldogs had four giveaways on the night already — Rogers’ interception and fumbles by Rogers, Austin Williams and Dillon Johnson. In the fourth quarter, they didn’t turn over the ball once.
“The starting point was we quit giving it back to them,” Leach said. “One of the biggest keys to finishing a drive is don’t give the ball back to the other guy.”
Mississippi State’s offensive line began to hold its own against Louisiana Tech’s three-man rush, something that hadn’t happened much as Rogers dealt with pressure on nearly every dropback. On one play, right tackle Scott Lashley even handled three defenders at once.
“We will need a lot less players if we have a few more Scott Lashleys that can block three,” Leach said. “We would only need three players on the offensive line, then we would have a lot more people to throw it to.”
And on defense, Mississippi State limited the explosive plays of which Louisiana Tech had many — including a 72-yard touchdown pass to Bub Means and a 59-yard scoring run by quarterback Austin Kendall.
Not so much in the fourth quarter as Louisiana Tech went three and out after each of Mississippi State’s first two touchdowns. After the third, MSU stuffed its opponent on several key run plays to set up a 46-yard field goal try from Barnes, which Crumedy promptly blocked to preserve the win.
Still, it was a triumph fraught with warning signs. Leach said he saw some players take a “screwy victory lap” when Mississippi State led early or simply quit when the Bulldogs fell behind. Against a Louisiana Tech team Leach praised for producing NFL talent and giving Power Five teams a scare, that won’t fly.
“They’ve been upsetting people for years, and I can actually rattle some of them off,” Leach said. “All of a sudden, we act like since we play in some big conference that they have to roll over for us, and they’re not cooperating.”
And he knows N.C. State is far from likely to collapse like Louisiana Tech ultimately did as MSU rallied to win. With the Wolfpack in town, it will take more than one quarter of standout play for the Bulldogs to improve to 2-0.
“We just have to focus on ourselves and be the best team that we can be out there,” Leach said. “That’s all we really have control over. If we do our job the best we can, that gives us the best chance.”
Heath, Russell will return Saturday
Leach said Monday that senior wide receiver Malik Heath and redshirt sophomore defensive end DeMonte Russell will be available for Saturday’s game.
Heath did not appear against Louisiana Tech for personal issues, according to Leach. Griffin started in his place.
“We are really excited to have him back, and he is excited to be here,” Leach said.
No reason was given for Russell’s absence in the season opener.
Both players were involved in the fight between Mississippi State and Tulsa following the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 31. Heath was captured on video kicking a Golden Hurricane player and later bragged about the incident on Instagram.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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