Mississippi State fans react to Bulldogs' tough late night loss to Arizona State

Mississippi State football fell to Arizona State 30-23 overnight out in Tempe. It was a frustrating game that turned wild in the final quarter, but the Bulldogs are heading home with a loss.

Mississippi State fans had plenty to say about the performance...

Staying up late just for the game to start like THAT

Because they were playing out in Arizona, Bulldog fans back home in the South had to wait a long time to see their team kickoff. The game began at 9:40 PM CT. It was true late night action, and many prepared themselves to be staying up late. But after the Bulldogs quickly got down 10-0 and eventually 30-3, some were asking why on earth they did this to themselves.

Of course others simply looked at the beatdown that was happening at the time as an excuse to go ahead and turn in for the night.

Fans were appalled with the defensive effort

Mississippi State had a horrific night defensively, specifically when it comes to stopping the run. Arizona State totaled 346 rushing yards, the most surrendered by a Bulldog defense since 2016. Every time the Sun Devils handed the football off, Mississippi State had no answer.

The Sun Devils were having so much success on the ground, it was almost surprising when they chose not to run the football.

Such bad run defense had some fans longing for a time when Bulldog linebackers would consistently clog-up rushing lanes for minimal gains. That time being literally last year when Jett Johnson was still here.

State finds life

For as bad as it was going, the Bulldogs found life in the second-half, scoring three-straight TDs to make it a 30-23 game in the fourth. It was the type of action that was reminiscent of the old "Pac-12 after dark" days, when mayhem was sure to ensue after midnight each week on the West Coast.

But with Arizona State now being a Big 12 team and Mississippi State stylistically resembling a 2010s Big 12 team by fielding a wide open offense and painful to watch defense, we can just call this "Big 12 after dark".

Cam Skattebo ends State's comeback bid

Unfortunately for State, 30-23 would be the final. ASU got the ball back with 5:27 left in the game, and that's when they put it in the hands of their bell cow tailback Cam Skattebo. State had multiple chances to force a punt on that final drive, but Skattebo would not be denied. He made the winning plays to run out the clock and end the game.

In all, Skattebo ran 33 times for 262 yards. He was unstoppable.

At least State made it close

The lone silver-lining to this one is that State did manage to make the game interesting. It would've been real easy to totally quit down 30-3 in the second-half, but they continued to fight and gave themselves a chance at the end.

That's at least some reason for optimism. Going forward, though, MSU will have to come out the gates firing offensively. And my goodness, they have got to get better play defensively.