Mississippi
Alabama Football vs Mississippi State: When the Bulldogs have the Ball
Mississippi State’s offense has undergone some drastic transformations in the time that I’ve been doing weekly opponent previews at Roll Bama Roll. From the old QB rushing-centric offense with Dan Mullen calling the shots with Dak Prescott to the Air Raid with Mike Leach, it’s definitely gone through some very distinct and even iconic iterations.
After averaging 50 passing attempts per game over the last three years, the Bulldogs have dropped to a much more balanced 30 passes and 30 rushes per game this year under first year head coach Zach Arnett. As a career defensive coach, Arnett quickly went out and hired a bright up-and-comer at OC, Kevin Barbay. Barbay spent a couple of seasons with Jim McElwain at Central Michigan and last year at Appalachian State, and has consistently produced very efficient offenses.
With senior QB Will Rogers returning for his 4th year as a starter, many of the old Air Raid concepts still remain in the playbook. A lot of the passing offense is still based around screen passes, quick hitches, and sideline backshoulder routes – All things that Rodgers has spent a career working on.
However, they actually use a tight end and more normal width receiver splits these days, and the running backs and even wide receivers get a significant amount of work in the ground game.
Rodgers is completing 60% of his passes for 8.0 yards per attempt and 6 TDs to only one interception on the year. He’s been effective and efficient, outside of some real head-scratching accuracy problems against LSU. As always, he’s got a quick release and is tough to intercept but is never going to be too much of a threat to throw the deep ball and tends to be pretty easy to sack.
His main target this year has been slot man Lideatrick Griffin. On 3rd downs, you can almost guarantee that Griffin is going to be running a drag route right at the first down line and trying to use traffic to get himself open for the easy chain conversion. He has 20 catches for 388 yards and three TDs so far.
The main engine of this offense, though, is running back Woody Marks. Averaging 5.6 yards per carry on 63 attempts, plus another 14 catches for 105 yards in the passing game, Marks is one of the best running backs in the SEC. The senior has been a constant contributor and starter for the Bulldogs for four seasons now, but with the offense change, he’s now really getting his chance to shine. At 5’10” 210, he’s not the fastest guy around, but he’s got insanely quick feet and plays like a bar of soap. Defenders will almost always miss the first tackle one on one with him, and he’s always going to be getting positive yardage.
Overall, the Bulldog rushing offense was downright dominant against Arizona and Southeast Louisiana, but has had some struggles against LSU and South Carolina in SEC play. Will Rogers threw for 400+ yards against South Carolina in a bit of a shootout, but was mostly shut down by an overwhelming pass rush from LSU. So through four games, the offense has been a bit of shapeshifter with what units are playing well and which ones are not. There’s definitely exploitable weaknesses in both pass protection and run blocking along the offensive line, but the RB and QB both have the capability to keep the offense moving all the time.
For Alabama, I think this offense pretty well plays right into the Tide’s defensive strengths. Alabama’s been extremely aggressive at swarming to outside runs and short passing concepts under Kevin Steele this season, and unfortunately for the Bulldogs, those things make up the bulk of their offense.
Marks will get his yards and make some frustrating plays, sure, but I think Rogers will mostly have a long day, and the Alabama pass rush should be able to make a good bit of noise in this one.
LSU held the Bulldogs to 14 points, and I think Alabama will likely be similar. We’ll err on the side of them getting some short field position from the Tide’s offense and predict 17 points for the Dogs.
Mississippi
Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo ‘disrespected’ by Mississippi State football’s defensive game plan
Cam Skattebo slammed Mississippi State on the football field on Saturday night and also took another jab afterward in his postgame press conference.
The Arizona State running back, following a 30-23 Sun Devils win at Mountain America Stadium, took exception to MSU only utilizing three defenders on the line of scrimmage. The results were damning.
Arizona State (2-0) rushed for 346 yards. It was the most allowed by Mississippi State (1-1) in a game since Arkansas in 2016. Skattebo’s 262 rushing yards on 33 carries were the second-most in ASU history.
“They couldn’t stop us in that three-down front,” Skattebo said when asked what made ASU’s run game successful. “Honestly, we all felt disrespected with them in a three-down front. You can’t come in here and put five guys in the box and expect to stop six. I don’t know. We took that a little disrespectful, and we rushed for what over 300 yards? Something around there. It is what it is.”
Skattebo, a 5-foot-11, 215-pound junior, also led Arizona State with 35 receiving yards on three catches.
“I knew these dudes were big and heavy,” he said. “We knew going into the game they weren’t as physical as most other teams but they’re heavy. So when they hit you, it hurts, no matter how hard they’re coming — 300 pounds at 10 miles per hour or 16 miles per hour hurts the same. I just kept my feet moving.”
Mississippi State trailed 30-3 in the third quarter but scored 20 unanswered points to cut the score to 30-23 with 5:27 to play. The Bulldogs never touched the ball again, with the Sun Devils running out the clock on 12 plays.
Skattebo had a game-sealing 39-yard rush that allowed ASU to kneel down.
“Until the end, we had our ups and downs there, but that was fun,” he said. “You can ask these guys up front, bullying dudes, grown men that are 300 pounds, that’s fun to us. That’s fun to the front-five, the front-seven and the running back. The quarterback probably hates it. He probably likes watching, but he didn’t complain one time the whole game.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Mississippi
Why Mississippi State football loss to Arizona State revealed a strong Jeff Lebby culture
It was 11:10 p.m. Saturday in Starkville when Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt barreled into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.
At that point, it would’ve been fair for Mississippi State football fans to call it a night. The Bulldogs (1-1) trailed 27-3 at ASU in the final minute of the second quarter. They were dominated in just about every statistical category. New coach Jeff Lebby looked like he was headed toward his first loss, and an embarrassing one.
And even if you gave the second half a chance, eyes just a crack open, that wasn’t encouraging either. Arizona State (2-0) took the opening drive of the third quarter for a field goal while eating 8 minutes, 27 seconds of game time. That just about decided the game before Mississippi State touched the ball in the second half.
Wrong.
Instead, MSU scored touchdowns on three of its next four drives and cut the score to 30-23 with 5:27 to play. The defense, which was torched for 346 rushing yards, needed one more stop to let the offense try to tie it. It would’ve been the largest comeback in program history.
Mississippi State’s path to a bowl game seems murkier than it was a week ago. But in the long-term, there’s still encouragement after the 30-23 loss.
“Our guys battled in an incredible way in the second half, and we’re going to hold on to that,” Lebby said in his postgame radio interview. “We’re going to find ways to get back in the building, get back to work and be able to walk into Davis Wade (Stadium) with a ton of confidence and ready to go win a football game.”
The encouragement from Mississippi State’s comeback effort
Lebby said after beating Eastern Kentucky 56-7 in Week 1 that there is an abundance of teachable moments in wins, just like losses.
There is plenty to point to after losing to Arizona State.
Mississippi State came out incredibly flat. The Sun Devils scored on their first five possessions. The MSU offense had one field goal, two punts, a fumble returned for a touchdown and a turnover-on-downs in the first half. MSU had -13 rushing yards in the first half.
There were concerns entering the game about the travel distance, late kickoff and high temperature. But let’s be real, Mississippi State was playing so poorly at the start that it was hard to judge if those were factors.
“I got to do a better job getting these guys ready to go play out of the gate,” Lebby said. “I thought our energy, our effort and our emotion was really good, but then we did not play clean there in the first quarter, so that part was frustrating.”
The Bulldogs outscored the Sun Devils 20-0 in the final quarter and a half. It was a surprise. Arizona State was rolling. Mississippi State was not.
MORE: Introducing Sam Sklar, the Clarion Ledger’s new Mississippi State beat reporter
For Lebby, a first-time head coach at any level, let it be a learning moment for him. It was his first time getting pinned in a corner. The Bulldogs adjusted correctly in the second half like good coaches do.
The rushing offense and defense both need to improve. Badly. Quarterback Blake Shapen has been impressive in his first two Mississippi State games and the wide receiver room is deep and talented as ever, but they can’t be the only answer.
That’s just for this season.
Mississippi State has its first tally in the loss column. But it isn’t a strike against Lebby leading the future of the program.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Sam Leavitt leads ASU to convincing victory in 1st career start
Leavitt and the Sun Devils cruised past visiting Wyoming 48-7 on Saturday night at Mountain America Stadium.
The Arizona State football team elevated its play on the field in its 48-7 win over Wyoming in Week 1.
It is elevating its uniform game for Week 2 against Mississippi State.
ASU football is wearing a gold alternate jersey against the Bulldogs at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Saturday night.
The jersey includes maroon “Arizona State” lettering and maroon numbering, along with a noticeable Big 12 logo.
The Sun Devil football team unveiled the uniform last month, with Athletic Director Graham Rossini posting that “you’ll see this on the field early this season.”
On Thursday, ASU football announced that it would be wearing the uniform against Mississippi State with a video that said “Modern shine, with a classic design.”
On Friday, it posted another look at the uniform.
More: Arizona State vs Mississippi State live score updates, analysis for college football game
ASU vs Mississippi State schedule, TV: How to watch college football game
Promising look: Arizona State football’s 2024 win prediction doubles after Week 1 victory over Wyoming
Social media reacted favorably overall to ASU football’s uniform vs Mississippi State:
Do you like the look for ASU football?
ASU vs. Mississippi State picks: Who wins Week 2 college football game?
Looking promising: Arizona State football makes huge leap in college football ranking, Big 12 power rankings
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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