What Mike Leach said after Mississippi State’s largest comeback in program history
By Keith Farner
Published:
Mississippi State had a rollercoaster game in its season-opening win over Louisiana Tech.
The Bulldogs delivered the largest comeback in school history to secure a 35-34 victory, as they reeled off 21 straight points in the fourth quarter.
Here’s a sampling of what coach Mike Leach told reporters after the game:
Leach said some guys quit, and that comes down to coaching or needing a different guy in that spot
— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) September 5, 2021
Mike Leach: “The middle of the game was as bad as a team can play on all sides.” They played a lot better in the fourth, he said
— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) September 5, 2021
Leach: we panicked, and tried to make too much happen, and things just blew up in our face. Fourth quarter settled
— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) September 5, 2021
Leach said all three phases of game “rose from the ashes” in the fourth. Coaches need to “strike the fear of God” in them to make sure they don’t fall apart again
— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) September 5, 2021
Leach says offense, defense and special teams at one point were all playing simultaneously bad as if they were “having a contest.”
“It was fiercely contested, too,” he said.— Theo DeRosa (@Theo_DeRosa) September 5, 2021
Leach on the comeback: I think we just played together more consistently.
— Theo DeRosa (@Theo_DeRosa) September 5, 2021
Leach: “If we get four quarters of that, shit, then we’re a great team.”
— Theo DeRosa (@Theo_DeRosa) September 5, 2021
Leach: We squandered an awful lot, we did it early, and we did it in a bad fashion, too.
— Theo DeRosa (@Theo_DeRosa) September 5, 2021
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
