Mississippi State Report Card vs. BYU

C. Offensive line play was……good enough to win I suppose. They weren’t great but certainly better than the Auburn game. This unit is just mediocre so I guess “good enough to win” is the best we’re gonna get.<p class=. . . OFFENSE

It would be hard to suggest the defense didn’t play well in this game. They held the BYU offense to half their points scored per game (through regulation) and really bottled up Jamaal Williams.<p>Williams got the all-time BYU record but he really had to work for it. Only 76 yards on 26 carries (2.9 YPC). Considering what Fournette and Pettway did to the MSU defense I was pretty concerned about him, but they did pretty well to limit him.</p><p>The secondary held a 6th year senior to 165 yards passing. The only knock against them was a big one: allowing a touchdown on 3rd & Goal from the 15 yard line. </p><p>In overtime, State allowed two touchdowns and that’s what is keeping them from getting an A.</p>. . . DEFENSE . B

D. Westin Graves missed a 42 yard field goal in his only attempt. It’s safe to say that you do not want him kicking from the hash. <p>With the game tied 14-14, Mullen elected to go for it on 4th & 2 at the 31 yard line. Fitz ended up tripping over his own feet and falling down short of the line to gain, but it’s the inability to kick a go-ahead field goal right there that hurts. Having a kicker that can hit in inside the 50 is huge and we haven’t had that in a really long time.</p><p>Punts were mediocre most of the night, but at least we caught the ball on punt returns from their rugby kicker. </p>. . . SPECIAL TEAMS

C+. The good news is the coaching staff did not lose the team after the Auburn massacre and all the noise surrounding the program. The bad news is that the coaching staff is going to have to provide the leadership in order for State to have a chance in games this year. The Dawgs best games have been against South Carolina and BYU – which were the two games where it looked like Mullen was focused and energized.<p>You could say this was as consistent as MSU has played for four quarters all year. I’m not saying they played well for four quarters, but at least it wasn’t another tale of two halves game. </p><p>The question moving forward will be: can this staff get the players ready and focused enough to compete in every game? Or at least compete against everyone but Bama – we are good enough to win the next two games but who knows if that will happen.</p>. . . COACHING