What Mike Leach said following the first shutout loss of his coaching career
Mississippi State’s vaunted Air Raid offense was grounded on Saturday in a 41-0 loss to Alabama.
Coach Mike Leach was shut out for the first time in his career as MSU was held to less than 280 yards passing for the third straight game. The Bulldogs have lost four games in a row in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2004-05.
Leach went with Will Rogers at quarterback after K.J. Costello absorbed a big hit.
The Bulldogs return to action next week against Vanderbilt.
Here is a sampling of what Leach shared with the media after the game:
Leach: “I thought we played hard. I thought we played sloppy and dumb at times.
Alabama is a team that has been put together over a decade…We’re a program trying to get there.”
— Ben Portnoy (@bportnoy15) November 1, 2020
Leach said K.J. Costello is still being checked out.
“He’s an important part of our team and we’re going to look after him the best we can.”
— Ben Portnoy (@bportnoy15) November 1, 2020
Mike Leach: “In the end, I think the reps and experience are going to pay off.”
Leach says he’s proud of the way Mississippi State competed.
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) November 1, 2020
Leach notes catching onto the air raid has been “slow and tedious,” but has been encouraged by a number of the young guys on this squad.
— Ben Portnoy (@bportnoy15) November 1, 2020
Leach on the inordinate amount of interceptions MSU has had in the end zone:
“If we don’t lead the nation in this I don’t know if anyone else could.”
“It’s one of the most unbelievable things I’ve ever seen.”
— Ben Portnoy (@bportnoy15) November 1, 2020
Leach was impressed with DeVonta Smith tonight.
Said, “He’s a pretty good example for anybody on our entire team.”
— Ben Portnoy (@bportnoy15) November 1, 2020
Leach on the effort tonight:
“This would not be the standard, but as far as battling, I was happy with that. But certainly we have miles to go.”
— Ben Portnoy (@bportnoy15) November 1, 2020
Mike Leach said Will Rogers has played very well for a kid who “should have just gone to his senior prom.”
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) November 1, 2020
Mike Leach: “We’re 100% healthy around here. Not even an ankle sprain. So that’s the good thing.”
Ha. Haha. Hahaha.
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) November 1, 2020
This is for the idiot state fan that posted he enjoyed watching Ole Miss lose. I enjoyed the fail state shutout.
Yes lol sweet revenge
Lol well I’m happy at least one football team was able to make you happy this season.
Yeah, that was about what I expected. Honestly could have been much worse, I’m still impressed with this defense. Offense is still stalling but there was a little overall improvement I think. The amount of red zone INTs has been crazy, it really has shifted games. Gotta get that fixed.
We’re headed to better days, but the road will be rough. Just gotta get through it. Hail State!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. You are such a moron
Love you too
I will say this for the State players. I feel they were playing hard. I’ll take that any day. Hate to lose but at least there was effort. You can build off that.
Alabama is simply a methodical beast…no doubt about it. I find it simply amazing that they have continued on this trend for so long. Brutal… keep your chins up, tough year for first year programs.
Is it just me or does the offense put up more effort when Rogers is in. How, when reviewing for the catch on the sidelines, did everyone miss the targeting, not to mention the one in the end zone. Not like it made a difference, but 41-7 would have been better than a shutout. I thought the defense looked okay til after about the 5th three and out by our offense. If Costello is starting, I might just not watch Saturday. We just spent 4 years wasting more 4star quarterbacks than kevin sumlin. If leach doesn’t figure out how use a tight and run the football, I don’t see us doing much at all the next two years.
Ole Miss fan here but my comment is regarding MSU: With all the disappointment focused on the MSU offense, not enough credit is going to the MSU defense. Personally, I think MSU hit a home run with the hiring of Zach Arnett as defensive coordinator. One could take the Ole Miss offense and the MSU defense and compete with anyone. On the other hand, the Ole Miss D and the MSU O might lose to Delta State.
Yep