5 nightmare scenarios for Mississippi State football in 2023
By Ethan Lee
No. 5: Mississippi State’s offensive line doesn’t adapt to the new scheme Kevin Barbay is bringing to the Mississippi State football team
In an ideal world, Kevin Barbay’s offense makes things easier for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The offensive line can pick up the scheme with ease and then that translates into plenty of success for the Bulldogs under their new leadership.
But what if things don’t go according to plan? What if this transition from the Air Raid to Barbay’s system has a few hiccups? What if things just flat out don’t go well at all for the offensive line?
Heading into the 2023 Mississippi State football season, one of the biggest question marks for the Bulldogs is how well the offensive line will adapt to new offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay’s system. Many assume that the blocking scheme will just be a natural transition for MSU’s line, but that may not be the case.
As Cole Cubelic points out, this new scheme and the Air Raid are “very different worlds to live in for an offensive line.”
Now, Cubelic also acknowledges that the Bulldogs went out and brought in an additional offensive line coach to help balance everything and get that adjustment made. But there’s no guarantee that this will be a smooth transition in year one for MSU.
Barbay was brought in so the Bulldogs could have more balance in the way they attack things. His scheme should also add more physicality, which is something that many Mississippi State fans are going to love.
But if the o-line struggles, none of the rest of what happens really matters. State will need its offensive linemen to be on the same page with blocking and scheme. A regression could happen here and that would be bad for the Bulldogs.