Takeaways after Mississippi State football's comeback bid falls short in Tempe

Mississippi State football fell to 1-1 on the year after a 30-23 loss on the road against Arizona State. The Bulldogs played poorly all around for more than a half, trailing 30-3, before scoring three-straight TDs to get back in the game late in the fourth. But with the game on the line, the ASU offense managed to go on a drive to put the game away, ending MSU's comeback bid.

Here are some takeaways from what was a frustrating performance out west...

State's run defense is pathetically bad

Arizona State bullied the MSU defensive front to the tune of 346 rushing yards, State's worst run defense performance since 2016. RB Cam Skattebo ran the ball 33 times for 262 yards. He was unstoppable in the first-half. State slowed things for much of the second-half after a few adjustments, but with the game on the line, Skattebo again became unstoppable. Some of it was bad play-calling (I'd love to know the logic of playing with just five in the box against this team), some of it was bad tackling, and some of it was just straight up because of a lack of talent on defense. But regardless of reason, this is a scary sight considering State's yet to face SEC competition.

The Bulldog offensive line is problematic

State attempted to portal a brand new OL this offseason, and we're seeing the result of that. That group just isn't up to speed yet, both in pass protection and in the run game. Blake Shapen was sacked three times tonight, and in all, ASU had seven tackles for loss. Pressure off the edge killed several offensive possessions. On designed runs, State totaled 52 yards on 19 rushes. That's just 2.7 yards per carry. That won't work. Somehow the OL has to improve.

The offense has enough firepower to keep most games within reach

Despite the issues up front, when you've got a QB and good group of WRs, you've got a chance on offense. Blake Shapen wasn't at his best tonight, but he's still a talented enough player to make things happen. And the receivers he's throwing to are superstars. This offense is built to let Shapen take full advantage of the talent he's got at WR, and it also allows for quick scoring. Even when they get down, they've got a chance to get back into the game with this offense.

Returning the postseason just became highly unlikely

State's bowl chances entering the season were already somewhat low given their incredibly difficult schedule, but there was a clear enough pass to the postseason to make it a reasonable goal. Well a big part of that path involved going 4-0 in the non-conference slate, and now that that's out of the question, MSU's bowl hopes are minimal. For State to reach a bowl game at this point would mean pulling off a major upset somewhere along the way while also not falling to either Florida or Arkansas (not at all a given). It's not undoable if the Bulldogs continue to improve, but it's also not at all likely.