Thoughts on the South Carolina Game
If you had told me before the game that Mississippi State would hold Marcus Lattimore to 39 yards on 17 carries, Alshon Jeffrey to 24 yards on 2 catches, and gain 7 more yards
than South Carolina then I would have said, MSU played a great game. Unfortunately, the over-whelming feeling among State fans is disappointment and despair, about losing yet another close game.
It seems like MSU can’t get it done in the close ones. Although I might remind you that we beat LA Tech in a close game just 3 weeks ago. But no one wants to hear that…SEC is all that matters when you want to take it to the next level.
The Dawgs had a chance to win the game on Saturday, that much is true. Thanks to a great game by the defense, the game was in doubt until the end. Plenty of people are upset about a few plays in particular that MSU did not make, which they believe cost us the game. There were some plays that MSU
did
make…South Carolina drove the ball to the 25 yard line, but State stopped them on 4th down. Banks intercepted a pass in the endzone when USC was in prime position to score points. Whitley came up with a key interception deep in our own territory. And on the exact same play where the ball went through his hands and into the Georgia defender’s to cost us a great scoring opportunity two weeks ago, Chris Smith made the play this time…for a touchdown. Without these
good plays, is MSU in a position to win? The 4-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery is a play that will linger in the minds of many State fans for a while. But if the Gamecocks would have had 3rd and goal on the 1 yard line and run it in would they be so mad? So, since the defense stuffed the run on first and second down, they are a victim of their own success on those plays because they did not make the play on third down. Fans tend to forget about all the good plays and only remember the bad in a loss like this. But, as I learned in my youth, you can’t have your cake and eat it too.
The problem State has run into in 2011 is two-fold. The offensive line has been riddled with injuries and Chris Relf has not lived up to expectations. Before the season started, you would certainly expect MSU to play better on offense by Week 7 than they did on Saturday. But, since Relf under-performed Mullen was forced to make a quarterback change. Considering that was Russell’s first career start, and first significant playing time in an SEC game (against the best D Line in the SEC no less), I thought he played pretty well. Basically what I’m saying is, if you look at this game in a vacuum then you aren’t going to be happy about the results. But if you take into consideration what has happened over the course of the season, realizing the circumstances going into the game, then you will be able to view it from a positive standpoint. And as Yazoo City native (but unfortunately here, USC grad) Zig Ziglar always says, get rid of the stinkin’ thinkin’ and be more positive!
After playing like a Sun-Belt team for 12 quarters, the MSU offense came alive in the second half vs. UAB. I wondered if we would be able to continue that good play against an SEC defense…one that was about 5 times better than the Blazers. Well, they did. The offense is moving forward, and Tyler Russell is playing well considering his level of
experience. It is disappointing that State could not win that game, when certainly it was a winnable one. But since the facts are that Chris Relf could not play effectively and Russell was the man, that was a good showing from the offense and certainly a great showing from the defense.
There is no moral victory in a defeat like this, especially at home. But I think we can all recognize that we have the right coach, and even though this season has provided a few speed-bumps, the team has regrouped and will continue to regroup in an effort to salvage the season by making a bowl.