3 big questions Mississippi State football must answer vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
By Ethan Lee
Can Mississippi State’s offensive line hold up against Alabama’s pass rush?
Mississippi State’s offense has been up and down all throughout the first quarter of the 2023 Miss. State football schedule. And one key issue has been the way that MSU’s offensive line has adjusted to this new scheme that the Bulldogs want to run.
It doesn’t matter that some of these guys were recruited to run the ball at MSU because five years ago they were good at run blocking in high school. What matters is that the transition from the Air Raid to this somewhat run-centric pro spread sort of offense hasn’t always been great at the line of scrimmage.
LSU routinely got after Will Rogers and made his day miserable a couple weeks ago. South Carolina sacked him four times and created some turnover chaos.
Rogers has been the center of MSU’s offense for the better part of the past three seasons. And when the Bulldogs’ offense was clicking on the road a week ago, it’s because he was thriving throwing downfield off of play action passes (something that hasn’t been super present for most of his career).
If MSU is going to have something that resembles a functional offense, the Bulldogs will need to keep Rogers upright. Should be easy when facing one of the most talented defenses in the country.
If Alabama is able to set up shop in the backfield, Rogers (and Mississippi State football fans) will have a miserable experience against the Crimson Tide.
State needs to keep Rogers on his feet. Here’s to hoping they do just that.