Cowbell Corner

Bulldogs’ rough start in SEC play comes with unwanted pattern

Mississippi State’s offense has made opponents look award-worthy. Four SEC weekly honors in two weeks tell the story of the Bulldogs’ struggles.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State Wide Receiver Anthony Evans III (#3) during the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Kyle Field in College Station, TX.
Mississippi State Wide Receiver Anthony Evans III (#3) during the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Kyle Field in College Station, TX. | Mississippi State Athletics

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Mississippi State Bulldogs

The start of conference play hasn’t gone very well for Mississippi State.

It’s gone a lot better for the Bulldogs’ foes, especially the defensive players for No. 12 Tennessee and No. 5 Texas A&M.

It’s gone so well for them that each team has had two players receive SEC weekly honors after playing the Bulldogs.

Last week, Tennessee’s Arion Carter was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week after recording 17 tackles in the 41-34 overtime win.

He was joined by Tyre West, who was selected to the SEC Defensive Line of the Week. West was the Volunteer who sacked Shapen and forced the fumble that Joshua Josephs picked up and scored a touchdown. He finished with three tackles and two sacks.

This week, it was Texas A&M’s turn to pick some weekly honors.

Linebacker Daymion Sanford was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week with nine tackles, two TFLs, a sack and an interception against Mississippi State.

Cashius Howell was the long player selected for the SEC Defensive Line of the Week with three tackles, three TFLs, three sacks and a pass breakup.

That pass breakup was the pass that went wobbling high into the air for Sanford to intercept.

It’s not a good trend for Mississippi State’s offense.

Sure, the Bulldogs nearly beat Tennessee in Starkville and if one or two plays have a different outcome, who knows what happens.

The problem with that is at least one of those plays was directly the result of something West did (the forced fumble).

That argument won’t work as well for the Texas A&M defensive award winners.

The Aggies held the Bulldogs to just 219 yards of total offense, which is more than 200 yards less than the season average.

Another stat that highlights how good the Aggies were was this nugget in the SEC’s press release: Mississippi had just eight, six, and nine rushing yards in the second, third and fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs were also just 1-for-10 on third down conversions.

“It was literally something different every series,” Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby said. “We're second-and-three on the second series and the ball's on the ground and it's third-and-11. We've got exactly what we want, a good first down play, we're in a good situation second-and-three, and then we're third-and-11 and its punt. We're not good enough to overcome things like that.”

Fortunately, the Bulldogs don’t have to worry about seeing this week’s opponent pick up any weekly awards.

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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