As the Mississippi State Bulldogs seek to bounce back vs. Western Michigan, there are some big questions that must be answered in this Mississippi State football game.
As Zach Arnett and the Mississippi State Bulldogs host the Western Michigan Broncos, the Mississippi State football team has the perfect opportunity to get a solid win and some positive momentum heading into the Bulldogs’ bye week.
MSU needs to get back to winning and facing Western Michigan is a great chance to do just that. An SEC school should be able to easily handle business against a MAC program.
Both the Broncos and the Bulldogs head into this game with identical 2-3 records and MSU is fresh off of a frustrating loss to Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide. As the Bulldogs hope to get back on track before facing any more SEC teams, they’ll need to answer a few big questions against the Broncos.
Can Mississippi State football’s offensive line keep Will Rogers upright?
This Miss. State football roster was assembled to throw the ball frequently. This is an Air Raid team that was built to throw the ball. Just flat out, that’s what it was designed to do. Things are a bit different this year, as Kevin Barbay’s offense is fundamentally different from what Mike Leach had the Bulldogs doing.
And so, the offensive line is tasked with a few different things and Will Rogers is having to do a few different things.
As a result, the offense has been hit or miss.
With this game, as the Bulldogs try to find some life on offense, there’s a pretty good chance MSU will try to leverage Rogers’ expertise and air things out a bit. But if State is going to have success through the passing game, the Bulldogs’ offensive line needs to hold up to a pass rush that seeks to create chaos.
MSU has had issues in recent weeks handling opposing pass rushers. Will we see Rogers stay upright?
Will the Bulldogs limit Western Michigan’s run game?
While Western Michigan very clearly has their own issues all over the place (just as Miss. State has some problems, the Broncos has done a really solid job of averaging 184.4 rushing yards per game so far this season.
On top of that, Western Michigan has also run for 11 touchdowns this season.
Mississippi State has done a pretty good job of limiting what opposing rushing attacks plan to do and thus far MSU is holding opposing teams to less than 135 rushing yards per game. If State can limit Western Michigan’s strengths on offense, the Bulldogs can really have some success against the Broncos on Saturday.
Can Miss. State Bulldogs win the turnover battle against the Broncos?
Interceptions and bad mistakes have been a problem for the Mississippi State football team as of late. Bulldogs quarterback Will Rogers has thrown four picks so far this season and has been uncharacteristically inconsistent and error-prone as of late.
But thankfully, Mississippi State won’t be facing the same sort of rigorous defense that the Bulldogs have seen in recent in weeks. This isn’t Alabama, this isn’t LSU, this is Western Michigan.
And while there are some strong points to WMU’s defense (most notably that defensive front looks a little concerning), there’s a significant talent difference between what the Broncos have on their roster and some of the opponents MSU has already faced.
If State can avoid dumb mistakes, then this could easily be a straightforward win for the Bulldogs Saturday.