October Goal In Sight At Auburn
October 26, 2023 | Football, Joel Coleman
Bulldogs eyeing a third-straight win.
STARKVILLE – At the end of a challenging September, Mississippi State head coach Zach Arnett didn't beat around the bush when it came to his goal as the calendar turned the page. The Bulldogs' objective was clear: go 3-0 in the month of October.
MSU is now knocking at the door of completing the mission.
State faces Auburn in a 2:30 p.m. game on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium with the chance to earn a third-straight win. MSU began this month with a victory over Western Michigan, then built momentum last weekend with a Southeastern Conference road triumph at Arkansas. The Tigers are now in the Dawgs' sights as MSU looks to get within a victory of bowl eligibility.
And just how has State put itself in this place and shown itself to be so resilient and able to bounce back from its late September slide? Arnett has a very simple explanation.
"You just control what you can control," Arnett said. "Every week, that's the most important game of the season, because it's the only one you play that week. You can't do anything about what happened before that week [and can't do anything] after that week."
There's been no magic formula for MSU. The Bulldogs have just kept their heads down, blocked out any noise and kept grinding.
Arnett and company knew the situation they found themselves in at the close of September's slate and were locked in on correcting course.
"The results weren't exactly what we wanted," Arnett said. "But we know what our goals are and what we want to achieve and the tradition we'd like to continue here."
Linebacker Jett Johnson emphasized, through everything, the Bulldogs have remained locked in to put themselves in this spot.
"It's all just talk if you don't go throughout the week and have [winning that week] in your mind," Johnson said. "Talk is cheap."
The past few games have shown these Dawgs know how to back up what they say.
The offense hung 41 points on Western Michigan. The defense limited Arkansas to just three points and only 200 total yards.
There have been spectacular individual showings as well. Safety Shawn Preston Jr. now has interceptions in back-to-back games. Linebacker Nathaniel Watson is fresh off of last weekend's 14-tackle, two-sack performance against the Razorbacks that earned him accolades as the Bednarik Award Player of the Week as well as the SEC Defensive Player of the Week.
As impressive as all that's been though, it's now in the past. The present challenge is Auburn, and Arnett knows it won't be easy to polish off a perfect October down on The Plains.
"[They have great] size and athleticism," Arnett said of Auburn. "They play really good on defense…[They have a] couple of linebackers who run and hit. [Head coach Hugh Freeze] has always been a great offensive mind. The athleticism they have at quarterback jumps out. Their run game is very physical. Their backs are quick and strong. Their quarterbacks present problems when they pull it down and run it. They have a really deep tight end group. A couple of them run like receivers. It's a big, strong, athletic football team. We'll have to be on our game."
Fortunately, State has proven in recent weeks to have the capability to rise to the challenges in front of it. They've been through fires and haven't blinked.
The Dawgs have been tough as nails. Now down at Auburn, they'll have the chance to show that tenacity again.
"These players are competitors," Arnett said. "They have pride. They want to have success and win. They know in order to do that you have to go to work. I credit the leadership in the locker room. It's a lot of mature guys who have played a lot of football. They've been on winning teams. They know it's hard in this league. You have to prepare to have success on Saturday, and I credit those guys for leading the charge."
