South Alabama Game Report Card
Sep 13, 2014; Mobile, AL, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott (15) is congratulated by fans following the Bulldogs 35-3 victory over the South Alabama Jaguars at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Glenn Andrews-USA TODAY Sports
Mississippi State won 35-3 over South Alabama. Here are my grades for offense, defense, special teams and coaching.
Offense: B
I thought the offensive line played well and Dak played well (aside from some accuracy issues but, hey, we can’t have everything). I might consider giving them an A for this game except for the two fumbles, one by Ashton Shumpert and one by Josh Robinson.
7 of 14 is decent on 3rd down. Nothing to write home about, especially against South Alabama, but if we can do 50% in SEC play I’ll take it.
Four three and outs weren’t good. We need to get at least one or two first downs each drive. But five touchdowns are always good.
Jameon Lewis finally made his presence known. He was pretty quiet in the first two games but came up with six catches for 76 yards. Then he had his fourth career touchdown pass on his fourth career passing attempt! Tubby’s career passer rating is now 656.8.
This side of the ball has plenty of weapons. Even without Jamaal Clayborn for a second straight game (death in the family) the O-line has played pretty well. There are play-makers all around, but the engine that makes it go is Dak and Josh Robinson.
Defense: B
The front seven gets and A and the secondary gets a C. Average it out and it’s a B.
MSU’s D-line and LBs are nasty. Stuffing the run, quarterback pressure, sacks, pass break-ups, etc. It’s all there – that front seven is as good as it gets. They only allowed 57 rushing yards and tallied six sacks in this one.
The back four, and sometimes five have left a lot to be desired the last two games. Fortunately enough for this game South Alabama didn’t hit on the passes UAB did. I’m not so sure LSU can hit those passes but they probably could hit a few if receivers continue to get behind our defensive backs. Justin Cox was not available against USA – will he be for LSU? I don’t know, but I’d imagine he’s doubtful.
Special Teams: B+
I’d probably give an A here, but when you go for it on 4th down in the red zone late in the 2nd half – when you know you have yet to make a field goal this year and need the practice, but can’t make a field goal so you don’t even try, I just can’t muster the A. Maybe another week.
Devon Bell did really well with punts and kickoffs. He booted one for 70 yards and had two inside the 20….then had four touchbacks on kickoffs.
Preston Smith blocked another kick, his second of the year.
Only one punt return allowed, and it was just seven yards. Jamoral Graham looks pretty comfortable returning punts although he hasn’t been able to do much returning.
We made all five extra points. Yay!!!
Coaching: B
I won’t give bonus points for not switching quarterbacks, ha. I am glad Mullen stuck with Dak.
I do wish he would stick to running the football early. It seems like sometimes he wants to establish the pass before the run. As a result we had a three and out on each of the first two drives. Why not pound the ball with Dak and JRob and get a first down, get into a rhythm get some field position or score?
I really hope we run the ball more. We have some really good weapons there. Once we stuck to it the running game tallied 288 yards. Other than that there are no complaints. Mullen did a really good job keeping the guys focused – they were ready to play in what could have been a tough environment to win. Without too much trouble State got out to a big lead and cruised, and that’s what you want to do against a team you’re better than.