It is hard to believe that the Mississippi State Bulldogs are headed into the fifth week of the 2020 season and arguably the most important bye week in as many seasons. I sure hope the coaches and players get the chance to do some soul searching to find a way to put the last three weeks in the past and come back with a different approach moving forward.

In the past, bte weeks were a time for players to recover and for coaches to address issues identified over the past few games. This open week is no different. However, we only have 14 days off and more issues that any one team can address in short amount of time. The bottom line is this. It is time for this coaching staff to game plan around what talent they have instead of what they want in the future.

Use what you have and the abilities you inherited in this program or the rest of the season will look just like the last three weeks. In simple terms for those that seem to over think everything, throw less and run more. Take the opportunity to develop our future quarterback and stop trying to force a round peg in a square hole.

With that being said, let’s talk Hail State Football with the Good, the Bad and the Ugly against Texas A&M.

The GOOD!

The Bulldogs scored!

After nearly eight scoreless quarters, the Bulldog offense mustered up an 85-yard drive and freshman quarterback Will Rogers threw his first touchdown pass at Mississippi State. Rogers came into the game after another lackluster performance from K.J. Costello, who continued to break records of the most turnovers in a four-game period. It is time for Rogers to get the green light whether his play is Good, bad or ugly. He can’t do any worse that what we have seen so far from Costello.

How about the MSU defense? It is hard to believe that after a rough 1-4 start, the Bulldogs are still ranked second in the Southeastern Conference in overall defense. To me, this is an indication that the Bulldogs have had more than enough momentum on the defensive side of the ball this year to win at least three games. I am still very impressed with Zach Arnett, who has put the Bulldogs in a winning position all four games with his defensive coaching.

The BAD!

Turnovers!

Just in case everyone reading this does not understand, it is hard to win in the SEC. Period. I mean, you can have a very good team and make few mistakes and still get crushed. But when you continue to turn the ball over time after time, it is almost impossible to win in this league. Through four games, Costello has thrown for six touchdowns and has also thrown 10 interceptions. That’s almost two interceptions to every one touchdown. The Bulldogs are not going to win many games, if any, with these types of mistakes.

How about comments like, “I play the quarterback that looks the best in practice, usually that translates to he earned the job and he’s our guy.” I can respect that to start the season, but here we are headed into Week 5. How does good practice play change how a quarterback is playing during the game? It doesn’t! Maybe Coach Leach needs to take a few business classes because comments like “that plan sure did look good on paper all week,” won’t save your job when it is a total failure.

The Ugly

Losing players!

How about hearing that last year’s true freshman quarterback Garrett Shrader is entering the transfer portal due to coach leach saying he can’t play quarterback at Mississippi State? Well, he won more games as Mississippi State’s quarterback than Coach Leach has as a coach at MSU. I also want to state for the last time, he was our best chance to win more games this season with his skillset and mobility out of the pocket to help the Bulldogs adjust to a totally new offense. This team is not totally equipped to run. I wish him the best of luck and hope we don’t have to face him down the road. I am a true fan and will continue to support this young man wherever he goes. Hail State!

If losing Shrader wasn’t bad enough, how about MSU losing its top strong safety in Fred Peters? The Bulldogs already lacked experience in the secondary, and now losing a tree-year veteran will only make matters worse. Some of these young guys are going to have to step up and make a name for themselves over the next two weeks.

Please give me your opinions on the game against Texas A&M!

HAIL STATE and Go Dawgs!!!