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Last Saturday in Tuscaloosa, it was clear to everyone that the Mississippi State offense just didn’t look right. Against Vanderbilt, the Bulldogs can get back into the offensive groove that helped them rise to No. 1 earlier in the season
It wasn’t just Alabama’s defense, a very good unit capable of shutting down the best offenses in the country, which Mississippi State has been among all season. Mississippi State seemed to have the ingredients to really exploit the Crimson Tide defense, but for whatever reason didn’t take advantage of them.
While State ended up running a ton of plays against Alabama — 88, to be exact — they moved methodically more often than not. Dak Prescott was used more as a battering ram that the defense-stretching threat he can be, and he set a career high in pass attempts, and the Bulldogs seemed intent on blasting Alabama off the line every play. It certainly wasn’t the efficient unit that uses the zone-read to set up a lot of other options that we’ve gotten used to seeing.
Truth be told, the Bulldogs haven’t been lighting it up in the SEC for a few games now, slugging it out with Arkansas a few weeks back. But with Vanderbilt coming to town, they have a chance to get rolling again before the Egg Bowl, just as several other SEC contenders are doing this week against out-of-conference foes.
That’s not meant to be a slight to the Commodores; they’re an SEC program that had been very competitive in the East for the last several years. They’re just not a good team this year. They’ve gotten rolled by Ole Miss and Georgia, the two best teams on their schedule before this weekend. The Bulldogs are favored by about 30 points for a reason.
What can Dan Mullen do to make sure his Bulldogs are clicking once again when they take the field in Oxford next week? Let his team let loose. That’s not a cry to mercilessly run up the score, as you certainly wouldn’t want to see someone go down with any injury in garbage time.
That means moving quickly, getting in an offensive rhythm that was absent last week. It means continuing to work senior Jameon Lewis back into the game plan after he missed the better part of five games, finding a variety of ways to use the dangerous receiver. Feeding the Bear, 6-foot-5 De’Runnya Wilson, would be a good idea as well, after Wilson looked the part of go-to target with a career high in catches against Alabama.
Most importantly, Prescott will have to play a clean game, which he hasn’t done against an SEC opponent in some time. Mullen needs to get him, along with running back Josh Robinson, in a rhythm early, playing fast setting up easy throws to hopefully help him avoid the interceptions that have plagued him over the last few weeks.
Mississippi State is still in line for a College Football Playoff bid, and if they can get back on track following their first loss of the season they’ll be as dangerous as any of the three other teams in the field. If Mullen gets back to putting his guys in the position to maximize their talent, the Bulldogs will head into the Egg Bowl ready to compete with a strong Ole Miss defense and potentially secure a playoff spot.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.