“They’re All Important”
September 12, 2022 | Football, Joel Coleman
Mike Leach and the Bulldogs not adding any extra weight to game at LSU.
STARKVILLE – Turn on the television or listen to sports talk radio this week and there's a good chance you'll hear Saturday's upcoming Mississippi State-LSU tilt described as a defining game for both this year's Bulldogs and Tigers.
It's both teams' Southeastern Conference opener. It's on a Saturday night down in Death Valley. It'll be broadcast by ESPN for the world to see. It has all the makings of a big-time contest.
And while talking heads and everyone else might look at things through such a lens, you won't find the Bulldogs treating this week any differently.
To be fair, they're not downplaying its significance. They're not even saying labeling it as a defining game is wrong.
It's quite the opposite in fact.
State head coach Mike Leach insists every single game on the schedule is incredibly important and the Tigers are simply next on the list.
"You just need to line up each week and play one defining game after the next," Leach said. "Then after a while, after 12 defining games, you figure out where you're at. You just do the best you can each game and try to focus on what we're trying to do in our building, which is focus on the specifics of improving."
So, with the Tigers just ahead, the Bulldogs will spend much of the next few days focused on…the Bulldogs. They'll zero in on refining themselves. That's no slight at LSU, it's just how Leach and company operate. It's how they function at all times as they seek to reach their primary goal of going 1-0 every single week.
So far, so good in that regard in 2022. Mississippi State's gameplan to put full focus on themselves and the task ahead has reaped incredible dividends through two games.
Only one other SEC school has a better scoring offense so far this season than MSU's 44-points-per-game average. The Dawg defense has been strong as well, limiting Memphis to just 29 first-half yards in the opener to set the tone for an eventual triumph, then following that up with a performance in which the group forced three Arizona turnovers in the victory over the Wildcats.
When State has run into issues, the Dawgs have been able to overcome them quickly through good, old-fashioned work.
"Our answer to problems lately is to play hard, which I think is a good thing," Leach said.
There certainly is no questioning this team's effort. In two-plus years under Leach, seemingly every Bulldog has developed a constantly-running motor.
Don't believe it? Sunday, when no one was watching, served as the perfect example.
Mississippi State didn't make it back to campus until around 10 a.m. on Sunday morning following the trip to Arizona. The team flight home from Tucson was unable to land as scheduled at Golden Triangle Regional Airport due to heavy fog in the area, so the plane diverted to Birmingham, Alabama, as it waited for the fog to clear. Once it did, the Bulldogs finally were able to get back home.
Despite the interruption and delay, MSU maintained its normal game-week schedule, which includes Sunday work.
"It was kind of dinner and business as usual," Leach said. "We just pushed everything a little later."
And the result?
"We had good work [Sunday] night, so I think we're excited to prepare this week," Leach said.
Of course the Bulldogs are. Because Saturday is another opportunity to compete. It's another chance to prove themselves. It's another week to attempt to go 1-0.
Defining game? You better believe it's a defining game. They all are.
"They're all important and you only get one of them a week, so give them all your full attention," Leach said.
