Mississippi State football is one win away from reaching bowl-eligibility. If they want to find win No. 6 this weekend against the Missouri Tigers, here's what they'll need to do...
Somehow, Mississippi State has to stop the Missouri run game
Missouri has the nation's No. 8 rushing offense at over 232 yards per game, led by a 1000-yard rusher in Ahmad Hardy. Meanwhile the Mississippi State defense gives up 176 rush yards a game, ranking No. 111 nationally. This is clearly a poor matchup for the Bulldog defense, but they somehow must find a way to limit the Tiger ground game. With freshman backup Matt Zollers in at QB, Mizzou can do little through the air. And Zollers isn't a run threat. Mizzou's offensive production hinges almost entirely on its RBs to produce. State's gameplan should be entirely focused on stopping them.
The Bulldog offensive line needs to be at its best
Missouri's pass rush can be dangerous, averaging 3.4 sacks per game in conference play. That sounds like bad news for a State offense that's given up 32 sacks on the season. The only time the Bulldogs have allowed fewer than three sacks to a power conference opponent was at Arkansas (two). They'll need to repeat that performance against a much better pass-rush if the offense is going to have any chance of being consistently effective. If QB Blake Shapen, or even the elusive Kamario Taylor, is under constant duress, the MSU offense simply won't be able to perform.
Mississippi State's offense has to take what the Tiger defense gives them
Missouri has been a strong defensive team overall. They don't give up a lot of yards, limit big plays, are strong on third down, and get stops in the redzone. But they aren't a unit one simply cannot find success against. When not getting sacks, their defense has been somewhat susceptible through the air, allowing a 65% completion rate and 7.7 yards per attempt. Their rushing defense has been far less dominant over the last month. Nothing comes easy against them, but if you execute and avoid negative plays, moving the ball is possible. The State offense has to simply operate within their scheme and take what is available to them. If they play clean, they can win.