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3 things I liked, 3 things I didn’t like in Mississippi State’s opening win
By Les East
Published:
Mississippi State started the season like it had already hit its stride and made Memphis look like a team that missed the starting gun.
The Bulldogs were nearly flawless for 2½ quarters.
But they were flawed for the final 1½ quarters.
Overall their 49-23 weather-delayed victory on Saturday night in Davis Wade Stadium was a fine performance.
But there was enough not-so-fine stuff to enable head coach Mike Leach to get his players’ attention when they review the tape.
Here are 3 things I liked and 3 things I didn’t like about State’s performance:
1. The ball distribution
Who wouldn’t like that?
Dak Prescott was on the sideline and had to be impressed with an up-close view of Will Rogers, who broke Prescott’s single-season school records for passing yards and passing touchdowns last season.
Rogers’ efficiency at going through his progressions, utilizing check-downs and delivering the ball was mostly outstanding.
State knew going into this season that no individual was going to match Makai Polk’s school records of 105 receptions and 1,046 yards last season – and probably not the 9 touchdowns he had, either.
But it knew it had a whole bunch of playmakers who were going to give Rogers a variety of options every time he looked to throw the ball. This group has a chance to do something special.
Rogers completed 38-of-49 for 450 yards 5 touchdowns, distributing the ball to 12 pass catchers.
2. The defense setting a positive tone
The defense played a big role in the Bulldogs taking control early and grabbing a 28-3 halftime lead.
The offense was extremely efficient in driving to touchdowns on both of its first-quarter possessions.
But in between that the defense asserted itself.
After allowing a 12-yard completion on its first play, it allowed a total of 6 yards on the next 3 plays, forcing a punt.
And even when the offense messed up early it wasn’t that big a deal, thanks to the defense.
Rogers was intercepted by Quindell Johnson at the State 28 on the first play of the second quarter and the defense mitigated the damage.
After 2 runs for 4 yards and an incomplete pass, the Tigers settled for a field goal.
That was the only 1 of Memphis’ first 7 possessions that didn’t end with a punt.
3. The reaction to the weather delay
The only thing State couldn’t control was the weather.
But it was able to control how it handled the delay and it did that as expertly as it did everything else in the early going.
While the Bulldogs were in the middle of their second drive, reaching a first down at the Memphis 44, the first lightning detection caused a weather delay with 5:17 left in the first quarter.
But that didn’t disrupt State in the least.
When Rogers and the offense returned to the field, he needed just 7 plays to finish a 13-play, 88-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jaden Walley for a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
But there was stuff I didn’t like.
1. The turnovers
In addition to throwing the interception to start the 2nd quarter, Rogers lost a fumble on a 1st-and-goal from the 6 in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs had a 14-0 lead when Rogers threw the interception, and they had a 35-10 lead when he fumbled as an attempted swing pass was deflected in the backfield.
So even though Memphis scored 9 points off the turnovers, they weren’t as damaging as they could have been had they come in a tighter game.
Nonetheless, a recurrence in tighter games could become a major problem.
2. Taking the foot off the gas
State never trailed in the game. In fact after its first possession, Memphis never possessed the ball while it was within one score.
So the Bulldogs were always in control.
Though the Tigers deserve credit for continuing to fight and playing better in the second half than they did in the first, it seemed State contributed to that by losing some of its edge during the last 1½ quarters.
Memphis scored 20 points in the span of 4 possessions in the second half.
Some of the drop-off can be attributed to Leach playing backups as the game wound down, and the offense never took its foot off the gas.
Nonetheless, a better opponent might take advantage of a similar scenario if given the opportunity.
3. The lack of takeaways
State finally got a takeaway when it recovered a fumble on the Tigers’ final offensive play with 91 seconds remaining.
But the Bulldogs didn’t take the ball away during the first 58½ minutes and finished minus-1 in turnovers.
Overall, the stuff that I didn’t like didn’t threaten to turn State’s win into a loss.
But it’s still stuff that could problematic under different circumstances.
Les East is a New Orleans-based football writer who covers LSU for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow him on Twitter @Les_East.
