Three Takeaways From Mississippi State's 45-19 Loss to Georgia
Mississippi State football held on for a half, but it couldn't overcome a top-ranked Georgia squad and ultimately fell by a score of 45-19.
MSU (6-4, 3-4) struggled in many areas across the field, especially offensively. The team already has bowl eligibility but will look to finish the season with some big wins against ETSU and Ole Miss to head into the postseason with momentum. Georgia (10-0, 7-0) clinched the SEC East and hopes to reach the College Football Playoff again after winning it all last season.
There are certainly some things that Mississippi State must clean up in the final stretch. Here are three takeaways from the Bulldogs' tough loss on Saturday night.
1. Mississippi State is dangerous on returns.
The Bulldogs have recorded a special teams touchdown for two weeks in a row. In last weekend's win over Auburn, Tulu Griffin returned a kickoff for a 92-yard score. This time, freshman Zavion Thomas recorded his first collegiate touchdown with a 63-yard punt return with just a few seconds remaining in the first half. Mississippi State has not one, but two speedy returners that have each made a huge difference over the past few weeks. Even when they aren't scoring, they continuously give their offense a favorable field position and make huge differences in small ways. Next year, both will be back and should be making big plays on offense as well.
2. A defense can't win championships if an offense can't win games.
Mississippi State's defense held its own for most of the game and served as a big part of the reason why the Bulldogs kept things competitive for nearly three quarters. The problem was the offense, which couldn't seem to gain much traction when it was necessary. MSU had two three-and-outs, three other punts and three turnovers on downs. The Bulldogs only truly scored one touchdown on offense, as the remaining 13 points came off of a special teams touchdown and a pair of field goals. No matter how well the team's defense performs, it can only do so much without offensive assistance before fatigue and frustration set in. Mississippi State needs to regain much of the momentum that it had earlier in the season if it plans to stand a chance in the final few games of the year.
3. Nathaniel Watson is extremely underrated.
Could Watson be one of the most underrated players in the SEC, or even in the entire FBS? It certainly seems like it. The linebacker had another solid night, recording 16 tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss and one quarterback hurry. That brings his totals on the season to 94 tackles, eight tackles for loss, four sacks and two quarterback hurries. Watson has also accounted for a forced fumble and an interception returned for 51 yards. He has had more than 10 tackles in six of his 10 games, and that includes the half of two games he missed a few weeks ago due to an ejection stemming from a targeting penalty. Despite all of this, Watson has seemingly flown under the radar in the eyes of the SEC. As the redshirt senior begins to wrap up his college career, it's likely that he will continue setting new personal bests in many defensive categories and could see big things coming in the future.
