The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Week 9 (Texas A&M)

Let’s Talk Hail State

I don’t think I need to tell anyone on this site that this past weekend was a bit of a surprise to say the least. The Bulldogs came ready to play in Starkville and for the third straight year in a row put a good old fashion butt whopping on those Aggie's. This win couldn’t have come at a better time and was drastically needed by Mississippi State to build some confidence headed into the final stretch of the season with three SEC opponents lurking in the month of November. The next four games which include number one ranked Alabama and in state rival Ole Miss always seems to be a tough stretch for the Bulldogs as seen in years past and this year looks no different. As I look at the rest of State schedule, I see a very good chance the Bulldogs finish 8-4 this season with a 4-4 sec record. But before we get to those games we must first get through Louisiana tech and believe me that is not an easy task looking at their record, So without further Ado; LETS TALK HAIL STATE; the GOOD the BAD and the UGLY, week eight LSU.

The GOOD:

I will tell you something very good and that was passing for 245 with two touchdowns Saturday, That’s Right the Bulldogs found a passing game against A&M and it was so, so sweet to watch. I had to check my DVR to make sure I wasn’t watching the recorded Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns game, because that was the last time Nick Fitzgerald threw a touchdown pass which was over 16 quarters of football ago. SAYYY WHAAAT!

One thing I noticed was that A&M used more of a zone pass system in order to stack the box expecting a heavy run game, that type of high/low pass coverage allowed State the opportunity for a few timing routes to split the coverage with some back door passes and stop and go routes for the deep throws. All in all it was a great night for the passing game and the Aggie's were not expecting it for sure. Both Stephen Guidry and Osirus Mitchell had good nights as well, Guidry finished with three receptions for 130 yards and a TD, while Mitchell had six receptions for 96 yards and a TD. I’m sure everyone was thrilled with how well the offense performed this past weekend. Keep It Up!!

As usual the defense was outstanding in the middle, on the edges, and everywhere else. I truly meant it when I stated last week that this is the best all-around defense in the country. The best part of this week’s performance was that the defense was rewarded for all their hard work with some offensive production, AMEN! Leading up to Saturdays contest I heard a lot about Trayveon Williams running abilities, so I kept my eye out for him and I can’t really remember seeing much of him and later found out that he had rushed for only 26 yards on ten carries, Say That Again In English, that’s 2.6 yards per carry, “Good job defense”.

And last I must state that it was a great surprise to see our head coach show some true emotions on the Mississippi State sidelines during the game. It just filled my heart with joy and glee watching coach Moorhead getting fired up during the game. Just in case you forgot that never happened when Quasimodo was our coach, he would just come to the game wearing shorts and a smile as teams like South Alabama kicked the game winning field goal. So thanks Coach for showing the Hail State Fans base you give a shit!! And as for Quasimodo down in Florida you Ring that bell, Ring that bell!

On to the BAD:

Disciple, disciple, disciple; The Bulldogs cannot afford to give up 95 yards in penalties and expect to win many games in the SEC West, especially when penalties result in giving up points. A good example of this was at the end of the second quarter when the Bulldogs had the Aggie's basically stopped with less than forty second left on the clock and in a fourth down situation with a mile to go for a first, then yep you guessed it we have to go and get a full hand of face mask for Halloween and show it to all the trick-or-treaters or as I like to call them referees. This cost us fifteen yard and another set of fresh downs. Thanks A Lot!!!!!Yet just like in all horror films there’s always a surprise for the candy giver and our favorite ref just makes up a pass interference penalty for the Hell of it. I mean Holly Hog Warts!! That was bad. In the end that set of circumstances cost us a touchdown and the lead going into the half. “That’s Bad”

I would also like to give a shout out to the special teams play notably the punt game, this area could improve, I understand that kickers don’t grow on trees and that Mississippi State acted like they didn’t even exist a few years ago, but currently we are averaging just over 37 yard per punt this year, that’s bad.

The UGLY:

I would have to say that with all the good this week I didn’t want to put anything bad out there but I just can’t help myself so here it goes. The pass game was great and well over due at this point in the season but why, why, why do we just abandon the run game with any hint of a pass game? I understand that it is very important to have balance in the offensive scheme but in all three of our losses we abandoned the run game for the most part which lead to fewer point and our defense spending way too much time on the field getting worn out. This is without a doubt an ugly part of our current offense. I just hope that as the team grows into this new system that our offense will be truly balance with both a productive passing and running attack, because we have an outstanding defense to go along with that balanced attack. Just Saying!

HAIL STATE!