Nick Fitzgerald experienced every quarterback’s worst nightmare last weekend on the road in Baton Rouge as the Mississippi State quarterback finished the game completing only eight of his 24 attempts and being intercepted four times.

That result continues a stretch of truly uninspiring performances from Joe Moorhead’s first Mississippi State offense as the Bulldogs are averaging less than 10 points per SEC contest halfway into the league schedule. With many Mississippi State fans calling for Keytaon Thompson to see the field, Fitzgerald not only has the pressure of correct his issues in a week’s time and facing a formidable defensive opponent in Texas A&M but now faces the added heat of hearing fans call for his backup.

Here’s what the Mississippi State quarterback had to say about what LSU did against him that was so successful on Saturday night.

“We had a plan, they went out there and did a lot of things mixing it up pre-snap. I was seeing it well, just didn’t put the ball where it needed to be,” Fitzgerald said. “Made some bad reads that led to turnovers that we can’t have.”

After going back and studying his performance, what could the Mississippi State leader have done better? Here’s what Fitzgerald said when asked that question.

“It just comes down to overthinking things. Not relaxing and playing my game. Just a bad day throwing the ball,” he noted. “That’s something I will continue to work on with my receivers and go from there.”

When it comes to Thompson getting in the game and taking snaps away from the senior, that’s something the coaching staff has told Fitzgerald could be coming.

“(QB) Coach (Andrew) Breiner let me know that at some point (Keytaon) will probably get a series somewhere and — absolutely, he’s an incredible athlete,” Fitzgerald said. “He prepares just as hard as I do and he can go out there and do well.”

Mississippi State won’t have much time to fix the issues, as they are what they are seven games into a season and with only days to prepare as the league’s No. 1 rushing defense is headed to Starkville this weekend. How will Fitzgerald go about personally fixing his issues?

“Taking a deep breath, trusting in my preparation throughout the week that got me to this point is enough and that I just need to follow it up,” Fitzgerald said.

Getting a win over a ranked Texas A&M team would be a great start before a relatively manageable schedule — outside the trip to Tuscaloosa — in November. Keep in mind, Mississippi State is a slight favorite entering this weekend’s game. If the Bulldogs find a way to secure a victory, the team should be favored in every game outside of the Alabama contest.

While an 8-4 record may not have been what many hoped for entering this season, the way the offense has performed to open the SEC schedule, it should be considered an accomplishment to finish at that mark with an offense that doesn’t appear capable of threatening any defense with a pulse.