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What to expect when Mississippi State-ing – Week 4: South Carolina

By John King

STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI - SEPTEMBER 16: Will Rogers #2 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs walks onto the field before the game against the LSU Tigers at Davis Wade Stadium on September 16, 2023 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)
STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI - SEPTEMBER 16: Will Rogers #2 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs walks onto the field before the game against the LSU Tigers at Davis Wade Stadium on September 16, 2023 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images) /
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Spencer Rattler #7 prepares to pass the ball
ATHENS, GA – SEPTEMBER 16: Spencer Rattler #7 prepares to pass the ball after a fake to Dakereon Joyner #5 of the South Carolina Gamecocks during a game between South Carolina Gamecocks and Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium on September 16, 2023 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/Getty Images) /

HIGH EXPECTATIONS – Mississippi State football finds success on the road

Yes, it’s still possible to pump sunshine for this Mississippi State team after last week’s debacle.

We can score a lot of points. We can dominate this football game. There’s no law against it. How would we do that though?

Luckily for us, South Carolina is awful on defense. They aren’t nearly on the same level as LSU. Now that we know we weren’t holding back an amazing passing offense in our first two games, it should make you feel better that USC’s run defense is at the bottom of the SEC rankings.

If Mississippi State can pound the rock in the run game with Woody Marks, we should be able to score points. I expect good games from our running backs and from Tulu Griffin. And shoot, if we let Mike Wright run the ball instead of just handing off, he might do well too!

The question then falls on our defense. Can they bounce back after allowing 30 completions on 34 attempts last week? Maybe. This is where Spencer Rattler’s performance will come into play.

When Rattler is good, he can be great. But he also has a tendency to get, uh, rattled. If we can force him into mistakes early, we should be able to make him compound those mistakes as the game goes on. You force him into interceptions like we did against Jaden DeLaura and you can expect to contain Rattler.

If the Bulldog defense forces Rattler into mistakes and the running game dominates the Gamecocks, we may end up blowing out South Carolina, a welcome sight for Mississippi State fans.

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