Armed Forces Bowl halftime notes and thoughts
The weather in Fort Worth, Texas, has been sloppy today. The offensive play on the football field at the Armed Forces Bowl hasn't been much prettier.
Mississippi State leads Tulsa 7-6 after two quarters in the Lone Star State. It has, to this point, been a game where the Bulldogs have offensively looked a lot more like their October selves rather than the group that seemingly was starting to come around over the last few weeks. Meanwhile the Golden Hurricane hasn't exactly been rolling either. Tulsa has out-gained MSU, but has had to settle for only a couple of field goals.
Here are a few other notes/thoughts regarding the first 30 minutes of football:
The MSU offensive line has taken a step back so far today. It's tough to get a handle on exactly what this State offensive front is. It has been such an up-and-down season for the unit and the only thing consistent with the group has been its inconsistency. Some weeks, like in the season finale versus Missouri, the line looks great. Then there are days like so far today when the Bulldogs' five guys on the front can't block three defensive linemen. Five should beat three. Every. Single. Time. But MSU has allowed three sacks so far against Tulsa. To be fair, at least one of those might hang on quarterback Will Rogers for holding onto the ball too long. But still, the Bulldogs need to be better along the line in the second half.
State's biggest defensive plays have come from little-known-names. I'm going to guess there are a whole lot of you reading this that wouldn't know Jay Jimison or Sherman Timbs if you were standing right behind them in the grocery store line. It might even be fair to say half or more of you had never even heard their names before today. But Jimison, a defensive back, and Timbs, a defensive lineman, have delivered two of the biggest plays of Thursday. Jimison stuck his hand in and broke up an almost-for-sure touchdown pass in the second quarter. Later in the period, Timbs picked up a huge sack on a 3rd-and-goal play from the 6-yard line. Both times, the Hurricane had to settle for field goals. If State goes on to win this game, the plays by Jimison and Timbs will stand as two of the most critical moments – a classic example of being ready when your number is called. Especially for Jimison. He hadn't played in a game all year until State took a skeleton crew over to Georgia because the roster was depleted by COVID-19 issues and other things. He's played in every game since and now has a big bowl game play.
Where is Jaden Walley? MSU might need to find a way to get its freshman playmaking receiver more involved in the second half. He's had over 100 yards receiving in each of the last four games, but had just one catch for two yards in today's first half. The Bulldogs have proven they are at their best when Walley is running wild. Getting him more involved would be a good idea for the final 30 minutes.
Tulu Griffin looks electric. Maybe the biggest reason State leads in this game is Griffin's 57-yard kickoff return to start things. The Bulldogs cashed that in not long after on a Jo'Quavious Marks 28-yard touchdown run. Griffin later had another long kickoff return, but it was wiped out due to a holding call. Still, Griffin looks like a player that's gonna be fun to watch for a few years and here's guessing some day soon, the speedster is gonna take one or two or more to the house.
The defense is doing it again. Zach Arnett continues to get the absolute most out of this group. The MSU defensive coordinator, week in and week out, has his guys ready to play. They sometimes bend a little. But they rarely break with any degree of frequency. It's truly remarkable what State has done defensively all year long considering the issues the Dogs had coming into the year.
Now, get you a snack and enjoy the second half. Full postgame coverage will be right here on Cowbell Corner.
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