Mike Leach laments missed opportunities in Mississippi State’s loss to Arkansas

Mike Leach was not happy about Mississippi State’s finish against Arkansas on Saturday as the Bulldogs fell 31-28 in a margin that was razor thin, he said.

The Bulldogs fell to 5-4, and will return to action next week against Auburn.

Arkansas scored with 21 seconds remaining, and Mississippi State drove down for the tying score, but a field goal attempt sailed wide. The Bulldogs twice came from 2 scores down to get back in position in the game, but couldn’t finish off the comeback the final time.

Here’s what Leach told the media after the game:

Mike Leach on Rara Thomas:

“I think he’s going to be a really good player… he’s currently our starting X (receiver).

— Crissy Froyd (@crissy_froyd) November 6, 2021

Mike Leach: “There’s an open tryout on our campus for kickers.”

— Theo DeRosa (@Theo_DeRosa) November 6, 2021

Leach: “We lost this game by one play. We had plenty of plays the first half and in the second half, too, to win this game.”

— Theo DeRosa (@Theo_DeRosa) November 6, 2021

Mike Leach asked about the offensive line, says he thought it was pretty good for the most part, wasn’t impressed early but thought they did a good job down the stretch.

— Crissy Froyd (@crissy_froyd) November 6, 2021

Mike Leach says that Mississippi State did get back on track but squandered too many opportunities in the first half and allowed the game to stay much closer than it should have been.

— Crissy Froyd (@crissy_froyd) November 6, 2021

Leach: We allowed this thing to be closer than we had to and we lost.

— Stefan Krajisnik (@skrajisnik3) November 6, 2021

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.