Things that Mississippi State needs to fix during bye week

With Mississippi State heading into its bye week, the Bulldogs hold a 6-2 record and are playing perhaps their best football of the season.

But there are still some areas where Dan Mullen’s team could improve that are holding Mississippi State back from being one of college football’s elite teams like in last year’s 10-win season.

Here are the things Mississippi State needs to fix during its extra time in between games.

OFFENSE

Mississippi State is not having any issues outscoring most of its opponents this season. The Bulldogs average 35.1 points per game and only allow 17.8 per game. However, the Bulldogs’ rushing attack has seriously regressed from last year.

Last season, Mississippi State averaged 233.1 rushing yards per game. Through the eight games so far this season, the Bulldogs have only averaged 149.6 rushing yards per game. Mississippi State outrushed its opponents by more than 80 yards per game in 2014, but this year is being outgained on the ground by 12 yards per game.

After losing Josh Robinson to the NFL, the Bulldogs have struggled to find a consistent runner in their backfield, and quarterback Dak Prescott is the team’s leading rusher by nearly 200 yards. Running back Ashton Shumpert has also been banged up with a back injury, which has not helped the situation.

Mullen and his offensive coaches will have to figure out a way to get the running game going for the remaining four games on the Bulldogs’ schedule, three of which come against tough SEC West teams.

Mississippi State also needs to focus on holding onto the football better moving forward. The Bulldogs have lost 7 fumbles this season while only recovering 1.

DEFENSE

Causing and recovering more fumbles is certainly one area where the Mississippi State defense could stand to get better. But creating more turnovers in general should be the Bulldogs’ main focus heading into the final stretch of the season.

Mississippi State is having a good season defensively, but the Bulldogs seemed to wake up on that side of the ball last week against Kentucky, getting 3 turnovers after only gaining 6 combined in the first five games of this season.

Mississippi State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz has his group playing very well, and the Bulldogs rank in the top 50 in the country in nearly every major statistical category. But the 8 interceptions the Bulldogs have are just slightly above the nation’s average.

Senior cornerback Will Redmond has accounted for 2 of those 8 interceptions but has recently been lost for the season with a torn ACL. Mississippi State will have an even harder time making plays in the secondary now but will have to rely more on its other playmakers back there like Taveze Calhoun and Brandon Bryant.

Mississippi State returns to action on Nov. 4 against Missouri, and it will be interesting to see how many of these corrections can be made by then.

Pat Donohue

Pat Donohue is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Ole Miss and Mississippi State. Follow him on Twitter @SportsDownPat.