Mississippi State football: 6 random questions I have about MSU’s offense

I don’t expect answers any time soon, but I do have questions about Mississippi State football and its brand new offense heading into 2023.

Look, I’m not a journalist, though I was one at one time. Was I a good journalist? Probably not the best. But one thing that I’ve learned from my years of sports blogging and working in journalism and being surrounded by great journalists is how to ask good questions.

My toddler has also taught me a lot about asking questions. His favorite question is “why?” It’s a very effective question and does a lot to hold me and my actions accountable. I’m told when I was a toddler I had similarly effective question-making skills.

But now that I’m an adult, I don’t have great questions all the time always. Sometimes questions come and go. Like these random questions that I have about Mississippi State football entering into 2023.

Let’s start with some offense oriented questions.

6 questions I have about Mississippi State football’s offense entering 2023

1. Will Kevin Barbay’s offense thrive in the SEC?
2. How does Will Rogers actually fit into Barbay’s offense?
3. How dedicated will Mississippi State be to running the ball?
4. How dedicated will the Bulldogs be to throwing the ball?
5. How many passing yards will Will Rogers throw for?
6. Will the Bulldogs be able to score more than 30 points in a game?

Some of these questions may seem a bit odd or insignificant or whatever and that’s fine. But let’s examine the points per game question for a second, shall we?

The 2010 Mississippi State football team won nine games by averaging 29 points per game. That, at the time, ranked at 48th best in the country. The 2021 Mississippi State football team averaged 29.1 points per game and beat seven foes in the process. But that offensive output ranked 60th in the country.

The 2022 edition of the Bulldogs managed to win nine games by averaging 31.6 games (which was 43rd in the country). 30 points per game isn’t exactly what it used to be. Inflation and all that jazz. 30 points per game doesn’t go as far as it once did.

At one time, that was a lot!

But, as you saw, I have other questions too.

Like, with how Barbay’s offense fits in the SEC, it’s a scheme that will be more pro style oriented and will quite possibly rely on talent winning match ups. Mississippi State has some pretty talented athletes on offense, but it remains to be seen how some of that talent translates with this new scheme.

And how Will Rogers fits into this new scheme. How often will they turn to Rogers to throw the ball? And conversely, how often are they intending to take the ball out of his hands so MSU can run it?

I have questions. I don’t expect answers anytime soon. But let it be known that I have questions.