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Inside The Numbers: Mississippi State scoring touchdowns in bunches in 2014
By Ethan Levine
Published:
Mississippi State (2-0) hits the road for the first time in 2014 for a showdown in Mobile with the South Alabama Jaguars (1-0) on Saturday. Let’s take a look inside some of the numbers.
THE GOOD
96: Points scored by the Mississippi State offense in two games this season. The Bulldogs have scored seven touchdowns in each of their wins over Southern Miss and UAB, and have scored at least one touchdown on offense, defense and special teams. Furthermore, the Bulldogs’ average of 48 points per game is fourth in the SEC.
2: Blocked kicks by the Mississippi State defense this season, one of only two SEC teams with a block so far this season (Missouri is the other). The Bulldogs are the only team in the conference to block multiple kicks this season.
6: Penalties committed by Mississippi State, the fewest in the conference. The Bulldogs returned more starters this season than any other team in the conference, and that experience has limited the team’s mistakes.
THE BAD
38.71: The rate at which Mississippi State converts its third downs, making the Bulldogs one of only four SEC to fail to convert at least 40 percent of its third down attempts.
5: Number of plays of 40 yards or more allowed by the Mississippi State defense so far this season, worst among all SEC teams. The Bulldogs have allowed a league-worst four plays of 50 yards or more, three plays of 70 yards or more and two plays of 80 yards or more, all coming last week in a 47-34 win over UAB.
2: Missed extra points by Mississippi State’s kickers. Only one other team has missed an extra point in the SEC (LSU) and no team in the conference has missed multiple extra points just two weeks into the season. The Bulldogs cost themselves two points on the scoreboard last week, and in a close game losing those points could have been very costly.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
