Aggies Week 5 Opponent Preview: Mississippi State Bulldogs

Texas A&M continues its SEC schedule in Week 5 on the road against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville.

Author:
Timm Hamm
Publish date:
Sep 26, 2022 2:08 PM EDT

In this story:

Texas A&M Aggies

Mississippi State Bulldogs

The Texas A&M Aggies continue their SEC schedule in Week 5 when they face coach Mike Leach and the Mississippi State Bulldogs on the road at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi.

It will technically be the first designated road game since the Week 4 matchup against Arkansas at AT&T Stadium in the Southwest Classic is considered a neutral site game.

Last season, the Aggies and Bulldogs met in an early October tilt with Mississippi State handing Texas A&M a 26-22 loss.

Mississippi State is coming off a disappointing 7-6 overall record and 4-4 conference tally, which tied them for third place in the SEC. This season, the Bulldogs find themselves at 3-1 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

Quarterback Will Rogers is having another stellar year in Leach's Air Raid offense. Rogers has thrown for 1,386 yards, and 16 touchdowns to just three interceptions.

The offensive line is still one of the biggest question marks for the offense with two brand new tackles. The Mississippi State running game has lacked punch this season, with just 323 combined rushing yards in 2022.

The one bright spot for the Bulldogs' running game is back Dillon Johnson, who's carried the ball 36 times this season for 234 yards, with an average of 6.5. yards per carry.

As expected, the passing attack is the Mississippi State forte, and wideout Caleb Ducking leads the team with 21 catches for 258 yards and five touchdowns.

Be sure to stick with AllAggies.com as we preview every aspect of the matchup with the Bulldogs throughout the week.

Mississippi State Bulldogs

2022 Record: 3-1 (0-1 in SEC)

Head coach: Mike Leach

Leach is in his third year as the head coach in Starkville.

Offensive Set: Air Raid

Defensive Set: 3-3-5

Offensive Preview:

The Bulldogs had their moments last season but lacked consistency, mainly due to a lack of experience. But that's all changed now, with more experience at the quarterback position. Quarterback Will Rogers is in his third season under Leach and his offense.

After struggling as a freshman and basically learning everything virtually due to the pandemic, Rogers broke most of the single-season passing records in last year's campaign.

Depth at the receiver position is improved - despite losing Makai Polk to the NFL - with more than 12 years combined experience at the position.

Offensive Starters:

QB Will Rogers

RB Jo'quavious Marks

WR Rara Thomas

WR Austin Williams

WR Caleb Ducking

WR Rufus Harvey

LT Kwatrivous Johnson

LG Nick Jones

C LaQuinston Sharp

RG Cole Smith

RT Kameron Jones

Defensive Preview:

This is the best front six the Bulldogs have fielded in quite some time, even improved over last season's strong run defense. That's largely in part to the return of Jordan Davis who tore an ACL last season.

Linebacker Jett Johnson leads the team in tackles with 36, and safety Jalen Green has one interception.

The weak link for State should be their secondary, although strong defensive line play could mask it.

Defensive starters:

DE Jordan Davis

NT Cameron Young

DT Jaden Crumedy

LB Tyrus Wheat

LB Nathaniel Watson

LB Jett Johnson

CB Emmanuel Forbes

CB Decamerion Richardson

S Jalen Green