25 Questions from Cowbell Land

 

Wants to see the manager

What is their body of work?

Obviously, Mississippi State plays in the toughest conference in college football. Having said that, they are always sort of outside the very elite part of college football.  During the 2000s, they have pierced the top 10 only once (#1 though, under Dan Mullen) but have finished in the top 25 3 times. 

They are coached by Mike Leach, the pirate, the lock the James kid in the equipment closet guy...he's 13 and 15 and in his 3rd year at Mississippi State.  They are 2-1 this year, with wins over Memphis and Arizona and then a loss to LSU in which they played poorly and caused a lot of consternation around the program.  Leading to this awesome Leachquote:

Question:  Is there anything you can say to your guys to get that done?

Leach:  So, you think there was a sentence or two that wasn’t said?  Left out a phrase maybe.  A couple of words, a key adjective here or there.  I think it’s a little more complex than that. 

All right then.

The teams only played once.  BG battled Dak Prescott tough in 2013 before losing 21-20, the closest Clawson got to a P5 win in BG.  Also, LB coach Matt Brock was a Jinks-era assistant at BG.

How experienced are they?

This is a very experienced team. They have 36 juniors and seniors. They have 17 players who are 5th year seniors of graduate students.

Who are their pre-season all-conference players?

LB Tyrus Wheat (1st)

KR Lideatrick Griffin, (1st)

CB Emmanuel Forbes (2nd)

QB Will Rogers (3rd)

WR Austin Williams (3rd)

DL Jaden Crumedy (3rd)

What is their turnover ratio? 

They are -2 so far this year.

Offense

How is their QB play?

Their QB is Will Rogers (no really) and he's been OK.  His QBR is 150, which is 41st.  He completes a high percentage (72%), 10 TDs over 3 INT and only 9.7 YPC.  Of course, this is Air Raid and high percentage passes. He is a uni-threat QB.

What is their scoring and yards per play

They are scoring 35 a game, which is pretty close to the NCAA average and have 5.7 yards per play, which is 77th in the nation and not great.

Can they run the ball?

They are all right.  Their two lead backs collectively average 5.2 yards per rush.

Do they pass the ball?

As noted, their passing is 41st in FBS. Their leading WR is Dillon Johnson, who is a RB. Their long completion of the year is 35 yards.

How is their run/pass balance?

They have run on 33% of their plays, which is really low.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

They are at 48%, which is pretty good, 33rd in the country.

What happens in Starkville....

Do they score in the red zone?

Really well, 6 per trip.

Do they protect the quarterback?

They allow sacks on 5.4% of passes, which is decent.  Shallow passes prevent sacks.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play

They allow 24 points per game, which is 62nd in the country. They allow 5.1 yards per play, which is 50th. 

Do they defend the run effectively?

Not really.  They allow 4.6 per rush, which is 97th.

Can they be passed on?

They are #21 in team pass defense. They allow only 56% completions, 3TD/3INT, and only 5.3 yards per completion.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

Yes.  They allow only 32%, 4th in the MAC.

Do they defend in the red zone?

Not great, 5.6 points per trip.

Do they pressure the QB?

Machine Gun Kelly attended Mississippi State

Not really.  Sacks on 4.7% of passing attempts.

Special Teams:

Punting?

They are really good.  #14 in the country.  No blocks.

Punt Return?

They are having a little bit of a PR controversy there.  Zavion Thomas is looking dangerous.

Placekicking? 

He's 3-3 with a long of 45.  He has not been blocked.  As a team, they have missed 3 XP.

Kickoff? 

Good.  Teams start on the 22.  7 TBs.

Kickoff Return?

They are really good.  Griffin is #4 in the nation.

Intangible Miscellany

This is the last game of the year outside the MAC for BG.  The Falcons are 30 point dogs and ESPN gives the less than a 2% chance of winning.  For my money, I'd take the points on this one.  This Mississippi State team is not dominant.  Having said that, win/lose favors them big time.  BG has two upsets of this magnitude during the Loeffler years.  We'll see. 

You wouldn't believe it, one night I got in jail in Starkville Mississippi
For picking flowers.
I was walking down the street. I may sing heaven for you a little bit later
I was walking down the street....what?
Excuse me I couldn't hear you I was talking
I was walking down the street, and uh
You know, going to get me some cigarettes or something
'Bout two in the morning, after a show. I think it was
Anyway, I reached down and picked a dandelion here and a daisy there as I went along
And this car pulls up.
Said, get it the hell in here boy, what are you doing?
Said, I'm just picking flowers
Well, thirty six dollars for picking flowers and a night in jail (goddamn)