Fraternizing with the enemy: Talking Mississippi State vs Missouri with Zach Sweet

Q: Statistically, the Mizzou defense has had a great year, and they've done a great job limiting most of the offenses that they've played. But they had some really rough outings against Texas A&M, Bama, and South Carolina. Obviously those are good offenses, but what caused the struggles in those matchups?

A: The main problem with defenses has been the secondary. Miscommunications and missed tackles have completely plagued the Tigers this season. It’ll be interesting to see whether they run a man or zone for the majority of Saturday’s game. I think Corey Batoon has overall been as good as he can when replacing six NFL players. I think next year will be a bigger tell about where the defensive coordinator is at. The defensive front has looked great, and I’d expect them to make a difference on Saturday.

Q: Johnny Walker Jr. has had a strong year off the edge. Is he the top player to gameplan for on defense?

A: Johnny Walker has been great this season. I think Walker is definitely someone opponents would want to game plan for. I’d expect Walker will be playing on Sunday’s in the near future.

Q: Outside of the big name players we've already discussed, give me one player on both offense and defense that Mississippi State fans should know before Saturday?

A: Not really a sleeper, but we haven’t talked about Theo Wease on offense. There have been games where he is the number one receiver this season. Wease is also a captain and someone to watch out for on Saturday. On defense, look out for Chris McClellan and Zion Young to make a difference up front. I think if they are able to get pressure, they’ll be a huge reason Mizzou wins on Saturday.