STARKVILLE — Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach is preaching patience, at least offensively.
One week after torching then-No. 6 LSU for a school and Southeastern Conference record 623 passing yards, the Bulldogs were befuddled by Arkansas’ heavily-zone scheme in Saturday’s loss in Starkville. So why is it that MSU had such difficulty with the eight men the Razorbacks dropped into coverage? Patience and consistency.
“Consistency, I think, would be the best way to put it,” Leach said Monday of how to attack an eight-man zone scheme. “You’ve got to understand, we’re out of business decades ago if dropping eight is some secret deal.”
For nearly 20 years, Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom has made a habit of frustrating opposing offenses. Saturday, he dropped eight men into coverage and rushed just three most every play, daring MSU’s high-flying air raid offense to take shots into tight windows if it wouldn’t be patient. In response, the offense was anything but.
Senior quarterback K.J. Costello finished his night with an MSU record 43 completions, yet his three interceptions doomed the Bulldogs in crunch time. Saturday also marked the second-straight week Costello spotted the opposing teams seven points as his first quarter pass was swiped by Greg Brooks Jr. and returned 69 yards for a score.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to execute in crucial situations,” Costello said postgame. “When it’s third-and-short, fourth-and-three (or) when it’s fourth-and-one, I have to take care of the football, bottom line. It’s that simple. I’ve got to take care of the football, take what the defense gives me and move the ball one play at a time.”
Through two weeks, Costello has been perplexing. He’s completed just over 66 percent of his passes for 936 yards and six touchdowns in just eight quarters. By contrast, neither Tommy Stevens nor Garrett Shrader passed for more than 1,170 yards yards a season ago.
But for as many completions as Costello boasts, turnovers and his intuition to force the ball into coverage have become a persistent issue through the season’s first few contests. Take the loss to Arkansas, for example. Trailing by seven with just over five minutes remaining, Costello stepped and fired a pass to senior receiver JaVonta Payton in the back of the end zone despite being draped by two Arkansas defenders. Underneath, a wide-open Tyrell Shavers sat just a few yards short of the line to gain.
Two plays later, the Bulldogs were stuffed on a fourth down run by freshman Jo’quavious Marks, giving Arkansas both the ball and, ultimately, the win.
“Just be patient, put it in place, stretch the field, but you have to do it aggressively,” Leach further explained of how to attack zone-heavy defenses. “The guys away from the ball have to push and stretch the field also. Of course, you know, run the ball, be more consistently strong up front as far as moving the pile.”
Speaking with the media Monday, Leach noted Oregon — a team he finished his final five years at Washington State 4-1 against — dropped eight players into coverage much of the time his squad faced the Ducks. In response, the Cougars averaged 39.6 points per game against the Ducks between 2015 and 2019, while completing 68.3 percent of their passes.
Following Saturday’s effort, Leach mentioned there’s a good chance his squad will see more zone coverage going forward and beginning as soon as this weekend against Kentucky given what was put on film. But if past precedent proves anything, it’s that the air raid can continue to be successful when the quarterback remains patient.
“(Zone coverage is) not something that was newly invented either,” Leach said. “You’ve got to go out there and execute. They did, we didn’t, and we had a lot of chances that game too. We just have to get better. We have to be a steady, consistent team. We can’t rest on any level of perceived success. We have to be the same team every snap, and I didn’t think we were.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
You can help your community
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 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
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 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
