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Mississippi State Football: Report Card Through Week 5 of College Football

By Landon Young

Oct 1, 2022; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs wide receiver Lideatrick Griffin (5) runs the ball while defended by Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Deuce Harmon (11) during the second quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2022; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs wide receiver Lideatrick Griffin (5) runs the ball while defended by Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Deuce Harmon (11) during the second quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mississippi State football is off to a 4-1 start through the first five weeks of the college football season. The Mississippi State Bulldogs won their first two games of the season vs. non-conference opponents, lost to the LSU Tigers in week 3, and dominated the Bowling Green Falcons and the Texas A&M Aggies in weeks 4 and 5. In one of the most convincing SEC wins in Mike Leach’s tenure, the Bulldogs are coming off a 42-24 victory over the Texas A&M Aggies.

Thoughts about the 2022 Mississippi State football team can change weekly, just ask Brian Hadad from Thunder and Lightning. Here is the report card for the Mississippi State Bulldogs through the first four weeks of college football:

Offense – (A-)

The running game was built into Mike Leach’s Air Raid attack this past Saturday, and it was a beautiful sight to watch. Woody Marks, Dillon Johnson, and Simeon Price are going to make this offense hard to stop. Whenever defenses are forced to stay home to defend Marks, Johnson, or Price, Will Rogers will find Rara Thomas for a 75-yard touchdown. I think Mike Leach is licking his chops with the amount of talent he has on the offensive side of the ball.

Defense – (A++++)

Everyone say it with me, “PAY ZACH ARNETT HIS MONEY!” Mike Leach and the Mississippi State staff must figure out a way to keep Zach Arnett at Mississippi State University. He has proven to be one of the best defensive coordinators in the country, and he will be headed elsewhere if we can’t find a way to pay the man his money. Arnett and the Bulldog defense played one of the best games I’ve seen an MSU defense play vs. an SEC opponent. Jett Johnson, Bookie Watson, and the entire defensive line were flying to the ball on Saturday. Not to mention, Emmanuel Forbes and the defensive backs came up with two interceptions. FOUR TURNOVERS on Saturday vs. the Texas A&M Aggies. The defense deserves an A++++ with four +’s for the amount turnovers they caused.

Special Teams – (B+)

I was really close to giving Mississippi State’s special teams an A+ until Ben Raybon missed the 39-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Besides that, the Bulldogs’ special teams played a GREAT game. I could go on and on about the blocked field goal, but I’ll go ahead and stop writing so that you can watch this one more time.

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