Mississippi State football vs LSU: The good, bad, and ugly

The ugly from Mississippi State vs. LSU: an extremely limited offense

4 plays, punt. 3 plays, punt. 3 plays, punt. 3 plays, punt. 3 plays, punt.

That is the recap of the first 5 drives for the MSU offense. 7 total yards. 3 completions, one of which went for negative yards.

We thought Mississippi State was holding back during the Arizona game. It sure looks like they weren’t. After being run-heavy in their first Power 5 matchup of the year, many fans wanted to open up the passing game for Will Rogers.

The result? 11 of 28 for 103 yards.

It was a disaster at every level. Rogers missed throws. The offensive line struggled to give him time. Miscommunications led to negative plays.

Fans wanted an end to the air raid. Fans wanted to watch a game without hearing the phrase “rush 3, drop 8”. Well, we got it. And now we have an offense without an identity at all. Because fans also wanted Will Rogers to continue to be our quarterback.

Rogers is struggling in Kevin Barbay’s system. But who can blame him? He is clearly an air raid QB. It’s all he’s ever known from high school through his first three years at Mississippi State. The offense we are running now does not mesh with his experience. There’s a massive disconnect between how our offense is performing with an air raid QB at the helm and how Barbay’s offenses worked at his previous stops.

I want us to get the ball in our playmakers’ hands. Against LSU, we struggled to get the ball in anyone’s hands.

What’s the solution?

Ironically, Kevin Barbay has already given himself the answer. Tailor the offense to your players’ strengths. If you want to get the most out of Rogers, you have to incorporate the air raid into the offense. Until you can make Rogers comfortable, we’ll have many more of these offensive performances. Not every defense will be as good as LSU, but in the SEC there are plenty of good ones. If we can’t improve, we may miss our first bowl in 14 years.