Mississippi State football vs. South Carolina Gamecocks: Quick preview

Zach Arnett and his Mississippi State Bulldogs hit the road for the first time of the 2023 Mississippi State football season as they face the South Carolina Gamecocks.

After falling flat to start SEC play, Zach Arnett and the Mississippi State football team are looking to bounce back. But the Bulldogs won’t have the home crowd behind him. For the first time this year, the Bulldogs are leaving Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field to face off against the South Carolina Gamecocks in their stadium.

Let’s get into previewing MSU’s game against the Gamecocks:

What happened last week for MSU Bulldogs and South Carolina Gamecocks?

Well, each team’s offense managed to score 14 points and each team ended up falling flat against the respective reigning division champs. MSU was humbled, hard, at home against the LSU Tigers.

Meanwhile, Georgia ended up beating South Carolina largely thanks to some efficient passing partnered with a fair bit of physical running that reeked of “we’re more talented than you, so we can run the ball right at you and not have to worry about the consequences of playing antiquated styles of football.”

Not every team has enough of a talent disparity over fellow SEC foes to do that, by the way.

Why does this Mississippi State football game matter?

The Bulldogs desperately need to get something positive to happen. While some folks somehow seem to believe that only one game has shown that MSU has problems, the Bulldogs have had some concerning issues show up in all three games this season.

It’s bigger than just the loss to LSU. MSU’s offense has been sporadic, at best, even in its two wins earlier this year. And it was nonexistent against the Bayou Bengals. South Carolina’s defense has had some issues.

Maybe we’ll see Kevin Barbay and Will Rogers and the rest of this MSU offense get some things figured out before heading back to Starkville to host Alabama.

More MSU vs. South Carolina preview resources

You want to read more about the Bulldogs and Gamecocks? We’ve got some great preview content ready for you right here:

• “Can MSU attack South Carolina’s defense?” by Andrew Miller – Andrew does a great job of exploring film and breaking down big plays. He may have found a blueprint that’ll work for the Bulldogs against the Gamecocks’ defense.
• “What to expect when Mississippi State-ing – Week 4: South Carolina” by John King – Look, you want to know what to expect and how to expect it? Nobody does a better job of diagnosing expectations and situations than our own John King.
• “Meeting the Opponent: Week 4 – South Carolina Gamecocks” by Evan Ertel – We don’t have an investigative journalist on staff, technically, but our own Evan Ertel does a really good job of chatting with folks from opposing fanbases and getting information for us.
• “How can MSU slow South Carolina’s offense?” by Andrew Miller – South Carolina has a really impressive passing attack. MSU’s going to need to find some answers on defense in order to help slow that down.
• “Mississippi State football depth chart: Bulldogs vs. South Carolina two-deep lineup” by Ethan Lee – I wrote a thing. Here’s a bit about Mississippi State’s lineup as the Bulldogs face the Gamecocks.
• “Mississippi State football roundtable preview: How will the Bulldogs do vs. South Carolina?” by MWN staff – How will the Bulldogs fare when they face the Gamecocks? Well, we chatted about that as a group earlier this week.

Mississippi State football vs. South Carolina Gamecocks prediction

This road matchup likely comes down to whether or not the Bulldogs have figured out something on offense. The Bulldogs NEED to find a way to manufacture points because what has happened the past two weeks can’t continue to happen.

This weird, forced combination of a pro-spread sort of system with the Air Raid can’t continue. Find a way to score points. Focus on one style of offense. Situate your two deep depth chart accordingly.

We’ve heard a lot from coaches about how they’re embarrassed and how certain things just aren’t working out because of rotations or whatever. But after this offensive coaching staff was assembled, a rather significant storyline that followed was how Barbay was going to adapt play calling to this roster.

So, this is as good a time as any to see that happen.

On the defensive side of things, I have a hard time imagining MSU’s veteran-laden defense taking what happened last week lightly. And, to be completely honest, while Spencer Rattler has a high ceiling, he has proven to be inconsistent. Along with that, LSU’s talent surrounding Jayden Daniels is better than what South Carolina has around Rattler.

Expect a close matchup that drives MSU fans nuts. But I (optimistically and against my better judgement) am going to make a prediction here that the Bulldogs come out on top.

Score: MSU 27, South Carolina 24