Mississippi State Can Tinker with Running Game Against Northwestern State
Nov 22, 2014; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs running back Brandon Holloway (10) advances the ball against Vanderbilt Commodores defensive back Oren Burks (20) and Vanderbilt Commodores defensive lineman Vince Taylor (53) during the game at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
The Mississippi State running game is in a serious state of disarray. After the first two games of the season, the running game has yet to find its stride, and the Bulldogs have struggled offensively as a result.
The Mississippi State running game is being “led”, and I put that in quotation marks because there simply isn’t a lot going on in the running game. Holloway leads the team in yards and yards per carry. Holloway has rushed 12 times and accumulated 88 yards for a 7.3 yards per carry average.
Those numbers are solid, and most people have said we should just run him more. This is something that could happen, but for Holloway to get more of the carries, Dan Mullen would have to change the way he runs the ball.
Ahton Shumpert has struggled. The former 4 star back is not finding any holes to break through, and when he does, he isn’t attacking them the way he needs to. Shumpert is a big strong back and he needs to use this to his advantage to create his own openings.
Then there is the case of Dak Prescott. People across the spectrum of Mississippi State fans are screaming for Prescott to run more. And he probably should, but the only running he is doing right now is running for his life.
The biggest problem with the running game is arguably the offensive line. Inserting three new starters has been more difficult than most of us had hoped. Getting the five guys on the line to play consistently and together as a group is going to be a work in progress.
While all of this very gloom and doomish, the Bulldogs have a nice remedy coming up with their game against Northwestern State. The Demons have had a much harder time stopping the run than the Bulldogs have had getting the running game going.
The Demons have played in two games, and in those two games, they have given up almost 800 yards of rushing. that’s not good. It’s especially not good when the two teams you have given up almost 800 yards of rushing to are Louisiana-Lafayette and Southeastern Louisiana.
If the Bulldogs come out on Saturday and run for 400 yards, no one is going to think the running woes are cured. The quality of the opponent would be a big factor, and no one would dispute that. But if Ashton Shumpert and Brandon Holloway were able to break off some big runs, their confidence would start to go up. And one of the things we seem to be missing in the running game is confidence.
The Bulldogs are likely to win, and they are likely to win by a lot this Saturday against Northwestern State. But just because the game isn’t likely to be a challenge, doesn’t mean there isn’t an opportunity to make the team better. The Mississippi State running game needs a shot in the arm, and the Demons are going to be just what the doctor ordered.