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Well it wasn't pretty folks but the Bulldogs are 3-0. The offense looked pretty balanced and the line was blocking well. But there were several teaching points from the game and a win is a win so I think the ball game helps the Bulldogs in the long run.
Now lets get down to whose stock it up and whose is close to crashing.
We don't know much about the Bulls and the Bears, but we saw some Bulls tear the Bears up North a new one Saturday night. That's all we'll say about that. Anyways, here we go.On the rise: Chad Bumphis- Bumphis burst onto the scene as a true freshman and was thought to eventually be one of the all time greatest receivers to play in Starkville. Then came a broken collarbone in the Egg Bowl ending his sophomore season. Last year he seemed to disappear in big games, and he was on a lot of fan's hot seat for his final season. Man has that changed. Bumphis has gone for 10 catches and 236 yards in three ball games and is one of the only players in the country to score every game so far standing at five on the year. His latest game Saturday was his best in his four year career. 6 catches for 180 yards and three touchdowns was one of the better games in MSU history. I think Bumphis continues to put up big numbers. He lacks one more touchdown to be State's all-time leader. In the end we'll look back at him and say he's one of the best we've ever had.
On the fall: The rest of the MSU receivers: At the risk of being redundant and using Devon Bell two weeks in a row after a missed extra point, I go with an even more glaring mishap. The Bulldogs dropped three sure fire touchdowns and six total passes Saturday. Tyler Russell threw 15 incompletions but for the most part was as accurate as you can be. Dropped pass after dropped pass made for a very frustrating night and State was actually very luck to get out of Troy alive. Robert Johnson, Joe Morrow, and yes even Bumphis all dropped open passes. And let's not forget the bobbled ball that Bumphis caught on fourth down for a TD. I think that this won't be a problem for the rest of the season but definitely brings Bulldog fans back to reality after thinking that wide receiver might be one of the deepest position on the team. This has to get better.
Right on the cusp: Ladarius Perkins had an incredible ball game and was as steady as they come Saturday. If not for Bumphis hauling in three touchdowns I probably would have chosen Perkins as the player of the week. Perkins is a darkhorse heisman candidate in my opinion and I think by the end of the year you're looking at another member of the 1,000 yard club.
The Bulldogs defense had its worse performance of the year and they were close to falling in my eyes. But I think the offensive system has a lot to do with the yardage that was put up by Robinson and company. On the other hand, State played very soft in coverage and very vanilla. I don't think the scheme was a good call but I'm not worried about the defense this year.