Mississippi State football: 5 positives from Joe Moorhead’s first season in Starkville
By Ethan Lee
Mississippi State’s offensive line held up pretty well.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs were really, really good at the line of scrimmage this past season. Most folks are going to focus on how the Bulldogs had one of the best defensive lines in the country last year. And that’s fair and understandable.
But MSU’s offensive line needs some recognition too.
On the offensive front, the Bulldogs had a cohesive unit that helped pave the way for Mississippi State’s running game while also adapting well to the new offense and protecting MSU’s quarterback in the process.
The Bulldogs ran for 223.6 yards per game last season and got 5.7 yards per carry. That’s really good and was one of the biggest reasons that Mississippi State was able to get to eight wins in 2018.
Outside of just a few games, opposing defensive fronts weren’t really able to get to Nick Fitzgerald either.
Fans will remember the Kentucky, Alabama, Florida, Iowa and LSU games and routinely point out how this group failed. But that’s not totally true. Iowa and LSU only sacked Fitzgerald one apiece.
Florida sacked Fitz six times, but MSU’s former coaching staff was there to point out all of the Bulldogs’ tendencies. Alabama did get to Fitzgerald five times, but that game was in Tuscaloosa and it’s a Nick Saban defense. Kentucky sacked Fitzgerald three times, but the Wildcats had a great defense this past season.
Yes, there are moments that this unit failed, but it was a key reason as to why the Bulldogs even managed eight wins this past year.