Bulldogs Move On With Plenty To Build On
September 25, 2021 | Football, Joel Coleman
Even in trying times, MSU sees reason for optimism.
STARKVILLE – There are few things in life as impartial as a scoreboard. When the clock runs out in a football game, a scoreboard's judgement can't be argued and it's all that really matters.
Unfortunately for Mississippi State, the last couple of weeks has seen a pair of pesky scoreboards not end up with the Bulldogs on top. Yet what the result doesn't show is progress – progression that has already happened and the potential for more.
"I think we've seen a lot of progress, especially from last year to this year," MSU receiver Austin Williams said on Saturday following a 28-25 loss to LSU. "We're moving the ball. We're putting up some better numbers. I think we have to give it an objective look and look at the bad and the good, but we have to see what we're doing. Our potential is definitely there and when we're rolling, we can see that."
Some might find it easy to dismiss Williams' comments as nothing more than a team leader offering hope. Look deeper though and it's not all that hard to find where Williams' optimism comes from.
For just a second, forget the scoreboards in Memphis a week ago and on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium. Instead, turn your attention to MSU's efforts on the field and you'll quickly find a Bulldog team that has made strides in the right direction.
There's quarterback Will Rogers, who just completed only his 10th career start on Saturday.
"I think he's getting better," Leach said. "He's not as polished as we'd like. I can't say that I've ever had a quarterback that was. I mean, they have a funny way of always giving you something to work on. I think he does a lot of good things and I think he did a lot of good things this game."
Good things like a fifth career game with more than 300 yards of passing. Good things like connecting on seven passes of 15 yards or more.
Rogers benefitted from a strong showing by the MSU offensive line, a group that gave Rogers plenty of time throughout the game and surrendered just one sack. The offensive line also paved the way for a State rushing attack that ran for a season-best 115 yards.
"We've gotten better at running the ball and it's a steady process, getting better up front and getting better at seeing the holes," Leach said. "It was there and we executed it in many cases pretty decently I thought."
Defensively, State was stout, save for four LSU passing plays that accounted for more than half of the Tigers' total yardage. Those plays count, and hurt MSU on that ever-important scoreboard obviously, but fixing mistakes on four plays is a lot easier than if there were errors throughout.
"We've got to do our best to try to eliminate explosive plays," linebacker Jett Johnson said. "I feel like we're pretty solid, then here or there, we'll give up an explosive or something. It's just being sound and knowing what to do and how to do it. Just do your job. Don't worry about trying to do too much. Just try to eliminate those explosive plays and that'll take us to the next level of defense."
So you see there are positives to take away on offense. There are certainly things Mississippi State can take away defensively. Overall though, what's the secret? What do the Bulldogs have to do to ensure these scoreboards around the country end up in their favor?
Leach thinks it all starts with confidence. It begins with the Bulldogs believing, at all times, they are indeed the talented players they frequently show flashes of.
"As a team, I see it on all sides of the ball," Leach said. "We're explosive, but we're a team that has to know good things are going to happen. Right now, we kind of hope good things will happen. What I see is a team that can make a lot of plays. What I see is a team that'll take themselves out of drives because they don't have that focus. We get to hoping it'll work, hoping it'll happen. No, there's got to be an expectation. Some of that comes with experience, but in the end, it's a decision."
Receiver Austin Williams agrees with his head coach.
"We've just got to believe in ourselves," Williams said. "We can't be surprised we're making good plays. We've got to be confident. We've got to expect to do that. When things are going well, we're rolling. We're moving the ball. We're putting up some numbers and yards. We've got to expect that. We can't be surprised."
Williams' case is made by MSU's successful fourth quarters this year. In the season opener, State exploded for 21 points in the final period to erase a 20-point deficit and record the largest come-from-behind win in school history. Last week at Memphis, the Bulldogs scored a pair of quick touchdowns in the final 3:03. Then on Saturday against LSU, MSU tallied two more touchdowns in the game's waning moments.
It all goes to show a couple of things. One, this State team is tough, and two, the ability to consistently make things happen is there. It just has to be unlocked.
"There's no quit in this team," Williams said. "I think that's been evident. We're not going to fold. We're not going to just let [opponents] run away and blow us out. We're going to fight for every last second and every last yard. We've just got to believe in ourselves, like Coach Leach said. It resounded with the team. We've just got to go out there and make the plays. In pressure situations, when we've been down, we're out there playing loose and playing free. We've got to find a way to emulate that in the first half."
So how can Mississippi State get there and finally put all the pieces together?
"It's just part of the process," Leach said. "You start out, can you make plays in practice? Yes. Can you make plays in games? Yes. Can you put things together with the context that really good teams have? We're battling to get there."
And it's a battle that State is seemingly getting closer to winning by the week. There are corrections to make and confidence to develop, sure. But soon, the Bulldogs are planning on their growth showing up on the scoreboard.
"You've just got to control what you can control and keep the morale up and know that we have another opportunity next Saturday [at Texas A&M] against a very good team," Johnson said. "We'll learn from this [LSU] game and watch the film and try to get better. We'll look at the little things and just really improve because we have another opportunity."
