Mississippi State football: Joe Moorhead rediscovers Bulldogs’ winning formula
The Mississippi State football team salvaged their season with a dominant rushing attack in a 23-9 win over the Auburn Tigers.
Mississippi State Football Head Coach Joe Moorhead had a tough two weeks leading into the team’s game against the Auburn Tigers. The Bulldogs were reeling after losing to Kentucky and Florida in two no-shows by the offense in those two losses.
The biggest criticism of the team was directed toward Moorhead. The Bulldogs seemed to abandon the running game in those two losses, and no one was sure if they would try to get back to it.
On Saturday, the Mississippi State football team ran for 349 yards on 57 carries. Nick Fitzgerald rushed 28 times for 195 yards with two touchdowns, and Kylin Hill added 23 carries for 126 yards This was against an Auburn defense that was giving up under 100 yards rushing a game before this season.
The passing game was once again very ineffective. There were only 69 passing yards by the Bulldogs. But this game against the Auburn Tigers reestablished what we all saw last year. This team doesn’t have to be good in the passing game to win football games.
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We saw in 2017 that this Mississippi State football team can do behind a dominant rushing game and an elite defense. A great passing game would be wonderful, but this team isn’t built for that type of offensive attack.
If Joe Moorhead has truly discovered the winning formula for this Mississippi State football team, then the Bulldogs can salvage the season we once thought they were going to have. Nine wins is back on the table.
LSU struggles on offense just like Auburn does. Texas A&M has similar struggles. Louisiana Tech and Arkansas are just bad teams. Ole Miss can’t stop anyone. This team can get to nine wins.
But it’s all up to Joe Moorhead to stick to the plan that worked on Saturday night. This isn’t the way Joe Moorhead likes to run an offense. But for one or two years, if Moorhead decides to play to the strengths of his team he can win football games with a heavy emphasis on the rushing attack, the wins will come.
Next. Nick Fitzgerald carries MSU to win over Auburn. dark
Joe Moorhead might be stubborn about his offense. But he showed on Saturday that he won’t let his stubbornness to boil down to sheer stupidity for an entire season.