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Mississippi State Football: Jimbo Fisher’s Seat is Getting Hot

By Addison Thigpen

Oct 1, 2022; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs offensive lineman Cole Smith (57) carries quarterback Will Rogers (2) after the victory against Texas A&M Aggies at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2022; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs offensive lineman Cole Smith (57) carries quarterback Will Rogers (2) after the victory against Texas A&M Aggies at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mississippi State Football – Recap of Texas A&M 42-24

The Mississippi State football team kicked off their first SEC home game of the season against Texas A&M, and boy did the Dawgs come to play. Mike Leach’s offense and Zach Arnett’s defense were just too much for Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies. Mississippi State went on to beat Texas A&M by 18 points in a game that was never really close.

After one quarter with no scores from either side, Mississippi State was finally able to clean up the penalties and score two touchdowns before the half and take a 14-0 lead. After taking the lead, MSU kept a two-possession lead on A&M for the remainder of the game. After being down 21-3, A&M was able to score their first TD of the game at the end of the third quarter to bring them within 11 points. They were able to stay in the game through most of the 4th quarter until Rara Thomas broke out a massive 75-yard receiving touchdown that broke A&M. To put the icing on the cake, Emmanuel Forbes picked off Haynes King and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown. This pick-six was the 4th one in Forbes’s career, and he is now tied for first in the SEC for career pick-sixes.

One major key, in the game last Saturday, was the way Mississippi State won the line of scrimmage on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Our offensive line gave Will Rogers plenty of time to make his reads, and they opened up big holes for our running backs. On the other side, our defensive line paved the way for our linebackers and secondary to disrupt the pocket and A&M’s backfield. This allowed Mississippi State to stick to its game plan and let its playmakers make big plays to win the game.

"In the post-game press conference, when asked about the offensive line production, Leach said “If you were to say who played the best today, it would be our O-Line and D-line, D-line in particular.”"

MSU utilized the run game more than I thought they would which allowed them to put up 144 yards rushing, most of it going to Dillon Johnson who had 14 touches and 68 yards on the ground. Will Rogers had a great day completing 31 of his 45 attempts with 329 yards and 3 touchdowns in the air. Rara Thomas had his best game of the season catching the ball 5 times for 139 yards and 1 touchdown. We also saw some new players step up like Justin Robinson who led the team with 6 catches.

Takeaway:

My main takeaway from the game Saturday is that this is a good Mississippi State football team. Yes, I know that A&M is currently a dumpster fire and Jimbo will likely be gone soon, but they are still a very talented team who got handled on Saturday. Mississippi State has good enough coaches and talent to win games. They just need to fix the stupid penalties, win the line of scrimmage, and stick to their scheme. If they do this, they will be a threat in the SEC for the rest of the season.

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