This was supposed to be the get-ready game for Mississippi State heading into a bye week. It was a game to instill confidence in the team. Indeed, the Bulldogs toppled the Western Michigan Broncos 41-28, but the score is not indicative of how the game was played.
Quarterback Will Rogers was back to his old form, going 16 for 22 (72%) for 189 yards and three touchdowns. But he left the game in the fourth quarter with a left shoulder injury. In addition, their ace running back Woody Marks was benched for the second half due to a leg injury. He originally injured it in the previous game with Alabama, but kept playing in the way tough players do. But the future of the post-bye week games, and the team that takes the field, will be the topic of discussion in the coming week.
Following the game, there was no word on the prognosis for either of them. In his postgame press conference head coach Zach Arnett was tentative about their conditions. “We’ll get them back to the facility and do a thorough evaluation,” Arnett said. “Those guys are warriors; they didn’t want to come out. That’s why I appreciate coaching guys like that. They’re Bulldog mentality guys.”
The team came into the game banged up and bruised and came out even more so, their two aces questionable.
As far as the game is concerned, there are more questions than answers about the defense. They struggled against a MAC opponent playing with a third-string quarterback.
Offense Coming Out Fast
Arnett said prior to the game that he wanted his offense to come out fast and they did, relatively speaking. Their first series only netted three points. However, they would get to 17-0 against the Broncos in the second quarter.
You could say that offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay was experimenting with players seen before, but not on this scale.
True freshman Seth Davis led rushing for the Bulldogs, running 10 times for 65 yards and one touchdown. That was the first of his young college career. Barbay had been high on him in preseason despite his 5’7” frame. He could be a key to the Dawgs future, in this season and beyond.
Penn State transfer Keyvone Lee was next in line rushing with five runs and 49 yards. He had been seen sparingly in previous games.
But the most exciting part for the fans was the emergence of Mike Wright. The fans had chanted “We want Mike” in the LSU blowout. Against the Broncos, they got what they wanted. For the first time, Wright ran several series at quarterback. You had to expect that at some point. He ended up passing seven for 10 (70%) and 57 yards. Wright also ran seven times for 24 yards, scoring one touchdown. He has scored once in each of his last three games. Is this a bit of foreshadowing considering Rogers’ injury? Arnett seemed impressed in his postgame conference. “Every time his number has been called, he’s answered the call,” Arnett said. “We said he would get more opportunities; it allows us to expand the package for him…We had two quarterbacks do a lot to spark our offense today.”
There’s a Time to Be Defensive
The part of the game that had many wondering about the Bulldogs’ future, was the absence of a solid defense. They continued a sub-par performance under defensive coordinator Matt Brock. The veteran line is missing some key players due to injury, and the secondary continues to struggle.
Western Michigan’s starting quarterback Treyson Bourguet did not start the game due to injury. Second-stringer Jack Salopek started the game but was replaced quickly by their third-string quarterback, Hayden Wolff. He ran an efficient offense, completely controlling first and second down. Mississippi State’s defense allowed the Broncos to rack up 413 total yards of offense. And, once again, the Bulldog secondary allowed Wolff to pass 27 for 35 (77%) and 262 yards. In the Dawgs’ previous three games, they’ve allowed passing of 80%. Arnett said after the Alabama that allowing an 80% completion rate was unacceptable, yet here they are.
In WMU’s previous contests with Power Five opponents Iowa and Syracuse, they were only able to tally 17 points combined. Yet, the Dawgs allowed 28 points.
Arnett addressed this in his postgame presser. “The guys aren’t satisfied,” Arnett said. We’ll utilize this bye week to highlight the ways we need to improve. We’re facing a lot of good teams in the second half and it’s time to make our run. We have a chance to get freshened up, really evaluate what we’re doing wrong on both sides of the ball.”
A Time to Heal
The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for Mississippi State. There are a lot of banged-up Dawgs that they sorely need on the field after this coming week. It starts with a quickly improving Arkansas, then Auburn. Both of those games are on the road. Nationally-ranked Kentucky has been playing some amazing football this year. The one good thing for State is that they come to Starkville after the Auburn game. But, we’ve seen what happened with LSU and Alabama in Davis-Wade. Then, the Bulldogs head to Kyle Field to face Texas A&M. The noise level there can sometimes be more deafening than cowbells. Just ask Alabama. They had three straight false starts this weekend against the Aggies because of the 12th man.
All of those are daunting games and they will need a healthy or refurbished Mississippi State. Don’t be surprised to see a totally different team take the field on October 21 in Fayetteville, AR. It might be one that the opponents haven’t scouted. It all depends on the prognosis this coming week.
Of course, Arnett wouldn’t allude to their exact plans. But he did speak of being confident. “We need to improve our consistency,” Arnett said. “We need to give some guys more reps, and we need to do a better job of executing on a consistent basis. I’m very confident in this locker room…it’s full steam into the rest of the season. We’re in control of our own destiny.”
Next week, the story will be about Rogers, Marks, and the rest of the beat-up Dawgs. Perhaps we’ll see a totally different team emerge. Stay tuned.
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