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What To Watch For on Offense, Defense When Mississippi State Visits Memphis Saturday

Two important things to watch for when Mississippi State heads to Memphis on Saturday.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs are 2-0. And while it hasn’t always been pretty, or consistently good, this Bulldogs squad has found ways to win football games early in the season. That alone is a promising statement to make entering week three.

What should we expect to see and watch for when Mississippi State takes on Memphis this Saturday?

The Offense Will Deal

The Memphis defense cannot stop the pass – not at all. Memphis doesn’t have a great pass rush, and the secondary has consistently given up big plays and yards on every drive.

Mike Leach’s Air Raid system should find holes in this secondary. And if Mississippi State’s offensive line can give Will Rogers the time he needs to make the right decisions with the football – big plays will follow.

Sophomore quarterback Will Rogers has thrown for 300+ yards in each of the first two games of the season -- and I’m expecting him to make it three games in a row with 300+ yards.

The Defense Could Struggle

This Mississippi State team has resembled two different teams within the first two games of the season. In a few quarters, the offense has clicked and been in a dangerous rhythm. Other quarters, three-and-outs, and sacks.

The same goes for the defense. We’ve seen a few flashes from this Bulldogs defensive unit, but far too often they’ve been beat for big plays against quarterbacks that should not have beat them.

The Memphis Tigers quarterback Seth Henigan has stepped up his game and helped the Memphis offense hit big plays in both games this season. Henigan is coming off a solid showing in which he completed 22-of-33 passes for 417 yards with five touchdowns and zero interceptions.

If the Bulldogs find early offensive success, it would obviously take some of the pressure off the defense.

Either way, a high-scoring shootout is something I’d expect in this one. It will be interesting to watch how things shake out when the Bulldogs and Tigers kick off at 3 p.m. CT tomorrow in Liberty Bowl Stadium.