A close loss at home to LSU in Week 2 is nothing for Mississippi State to be ashamed and at the very least provided the Bulldogs with a true gauge of where they are as a team.

And as coach Dan Mullen and his team prepare to right the ship in Week 3 against Northwestern State, Mullen addressed the media in his weekly press conference Sept. 14, but decided to start by talking about something more serious than football.

Mullen used his opening remarks to pay his respects to the victims of today’s campus shooting at Delta State, which is located in Cleveland, Miss., about 130 miles West of Starkville.

“Our prayers go over to the people at Delta State,” Mullen said. “It’s obviously a scary situation.”

Mullen also took the time early in his press conference to thank the Mississippi State fans that attended the LSU game.

“We had an unbelievable atmosphere last Saturday,” Mullen said of the Bulldogs’ crowd.

The game against the Tigers came down to a long field goal attempt by Mississippi State with the game on the line that the Bulldogs failed to convert. But Mullen made it clear that regardless of whether they made the kick or not, it was clear to him that his team had plenty to work on.

“We’ve got problems we have to fix,” Mullen said. “If we make that kick at the end of the game, we still have to fix those problems.”

Mississippi State played much better in the second half against LSU, leading reporters to ask about the adjustments that might have been made by Mullen and his coaching staff at halftime. Mullen said it wasn’t as much about anything the coaches did, just the players settling down.

“I’d love to tell you we made some huge miraculous adjustment,” Mullen said of his team’s second-half performance. “We just calmed down.”

Running the ball has become a staple of the Bulldogs offense, but against LSU, Mississippi State’s rushing attempts were uncharacteristically low. Mullen said that wasn’t by design and he doesn’t care if he’s running or throwing, he just wants to “score points and move the ball.”

Besides the low rushing totals, another coaching decision that was called into question was when Mississippi State had to take a delay of game penalty at the end of the game, which backed them up for an even farther field goal attempt.

“That was on me,” Mullen said. “That was me trying to go 10 yards instead of the four yards.”

In order to help get his team back on track, Mullen said he wants to play more players but has to first make sure they are coached up and ready to go.

“You earn that rotation in practice,” Mullen said. “You earn that right. I want to play more players.”

There was some questions surrounding the health of wide receiver De’Runnya Wilson who appeared to injure his wrist against LSU, but Mullen said he is fine and practiced yesterday.