Takeaways from Mississippi State's 28-25 loss to LSU
Mississippi State didn’t just lose to LSU this afternoon – they did so in embarrassing fashion. Mississippi State looked as if it hardly belonged in the conversation with LSU.
And LSU isn’t a powerhouse, if any good at all.
Today’s loss gave me one important takeaway, but here's the gist broken down into three parts.
This offense is not in sync, and it’s not getting any better
Before you overreact, let me ask you this:
What would this exact offense look like without Mike Leach as the head coach?
Awful.
Between players not executing and running the wrong routes, to an offensive line that has vastly underperformed – this Mississippi State offense is absolutely not playing to its potential. And it’s becoming a real problem.
I can make a strong case that this team should be 4-0 right now. But they’re 2-2, and it’s starting to look as if this season could follow a similar path to last season.
If Mississippi State has any hope whatsoever to turn this season around, it starts on offense.
Will Rogers needs major improvement
There's a difference between stats and actual play.
Rogers might be the worst quarterback in all of college football with the best stats, if you get what I mean. And at the end of the day, this Mississippi State team needs a quarterback that can make quicker decisions while also being able to make the throws when asked of him.
It’s been four whole games of Will Rogers – and he hasn’t developed or improved. Rogers needs to improve, and fast. He's holding the ball too long.
Mike Leach and his Air Raid scheme deserves better execution, from everyone
I strongly believe that Will Rogers is not executing this scheme the way that Leach wants him to, but it doesn’t stop there. This wide receiving corps is not doing their part either, nor is the offensive line.
The entire offense as a whole is not doing a good enough job of playing into what this offense should look like. And it’s clearly holding the team back.
We can question some of the talent – and that’s fair. But at the end of the day, Leach preaches execution and end results. Every player on this offense must be held accountable. Because no one has stood out to help carry this team offensively.
Maybe it’s a leadership issue amongst the players in that locker room. Maybe it’s all on the quarterback position. We can debate this offense until we’re blue in the face, but the facts are the facts.
They need to be better. And they know it.
