Mississippi State dropped a 31-16 decision to LSU on Saturday. The Bulldogs took a 16-10 lead into the 4th quarter before the Tigers outscored the Bulldogs 21-0 in the final frame to improve to 2-1 on the season.

For Mike Leach, it’s not so much a matter of effort than it is the team’s mental response when things go wrong.

“I think we played hard,” the MSU head coach said on Monday. “We play hard and we practice hard and I think we’re a little too quick to get discouraged. We’re fragile to get discouraged when we face adversity. We have to fight through that.”

The Bulldogs host Bowling Green on Sept. 24 before facing 4 straight ranked opponents as they get into the depths of the SEC schedule. Saturday’s game against the Tigers will be hardly the only time Leach’s team will find themselves with their backs against the wall.

“There’s going to be adversity. That’s why they have a football game in the first place, to create adversity and see who comes through it,” he said. “The way you come through it is you have the discipline to do your job more times in a row than the guy across from you. That’s what we’ve got to do.”