Mississippi State Football: Silver linings and a tiny playbook
By Avery Cobb
Coaches and players don’t get the luxury of a moral victory, but we fans need something to keep us sane after the perennial beatdown that Alabama gives Mississippi State football each and every year. So anyways, here’s a list of silver linings from Saturday’s 6-30 loss in Tuscaloosa.
There was finally a touchdown scored in Tuscaloosa.
Call it what you will, but I took a lot of pride in seeing Saban and Golding furious after the Tide allowed the Bulldogs to rush one in at the end of the game. Sure, it’s the first touchdown Mississippi State has scored in Tuscaloosa since Dak Prescott’s in 2014. I’ll take it.
The Bulldogs did not allow a second-half touchdown.
This game was not lost by our defense. Penalties and poor field position after turnovers led to most of the points put up by the Tide in the second quarter. Something about the Mississippi State air raid offense on the road just doesn’t quite work. This team needs to figure it out. Especially before the trip to Oxford.
Mississippi State outrushed Alabama.
This stat speaks for itself. Jahmyr Gibbs had nothing going all night. Of course, Bryce Young was still able to dissect the secondary when it mattered. Still, Saban should be embarrassed to be outrushed by a Leach-led team. Especially considering the talent they have on their offensive line and in the backfield.
The time of possession was won by the Bulldogs.
This was never in doubt, to me. Not a meaningful stat, and it took a fraction of the time that the Tide possessed the ball to put up the majority of their points. Still, we had some sustained drives, and likely should have, at the very least, been able to put ten more points than we did (Dropped passes and missed field goals continue to haunt this program).
Will Rogers did not throw an interception.
Only one turnover on the night, and it was a fumble. I’ll take it. Considering the poor play of his receivers for most of the night, Rogers was able to protect the ball fairly well.
Alabama was held below 50% on third-down conversions.
It was nice to see them punt, okay.
Mississippi State got to the quarterback, twice.
Any sack in Tuscaloosa is one that deserves, at the very least, a smirk.
The Bulldogs converted on 50% of their fourth down attempts.
It still blows my mind that casual fans get mad at Leach for not kicking it more. I like it. It feels way better to fail a fourth-down conversion than to miss a chip shot field goal. If you have watched any meaningful minutes of Mississippi State football, you know it’s not wise to trust the special teams. Ever.
Five times this season the Bulldogs scored enough to win this game.
Had our boys in Maroon and White been able to get past the name on the opponent’s jersey, and play the way they had at other times this season (against teams that were way more competitive against Alabama), we would have been able to win, or be competitive. Five times this season the Bulldogs have put up enough points to win this game. Assuming that the defense plays the exact same, and the Bulldogs run their offense as they had against Memphis, Arizona, Bowling Green, Texas A&M, and Arkansas – things would have been different. Alabama be damned.
In any event, there’s always next year. No one beats Mississippi State sixteen years in a row.