Attacking A New Challenge
September 18, 2023 | Football, Joel Coleman
Arnett and his Bulldogs eyeing bounce-back opportunity in South Carolina.
(NOTE: Click the image above to watch head coach Zach Arnett's full Monday press conference.)
STARKVILLE – Last weekend is in the past. Mississippi State's goal entering a new week is to keep it there.
With a brand-new challenge coming up this Saturday at South Carolina, the Bulldogs have a golden opportunity to bounce back. However, that'll require everyone in Maroon and White to approach this week with the right mindset.
"We have a choice now how we want to respond [to the LSU game] and how we decide to show up and improve," Arnett said on Monday at his weekly press conference. "You never waste a fail. We've got to make sure we don't allow one loss to bleed into [this week] and create a second. That's the challenge in front of us."
In college football, there is no better salve for a figurative wound than a victory that puts any previous hurt in the rearview mirror. That's perhaps doubly true for a win on the road in the ultra-tough SEC.
For State to have the best chance to get such sweet relief, the Dawgs need the right outlook. After all, the opponent is tough enough.
"[South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer] has done a tremendous job in his short time there," Arnett said. "They're physical and fast on defense. They're very athletic on offense. They've got a returning veteran quarterback [in Spencer Rattler] who has thrown for a lot of yards and can make every throw on the field. Credit to Coach Beamer for the job he and his staff have done there…We know we're facing a very talented football team."
Here's the thing though. Let no one forget that Mississippi State is plenty talented as well. One bad Saturday doesn't change the fact the Bulldogs boast the SEC's leading rusher in Jo'Quavious Marks, one of the top passers in league history in Will Rogers and last season's top two tacklers in the conference – Jett Johnson and Nathaniel Watson – not to mention a whole host of others with the ability to shine.
If they can all collectively pick themselves up off the mat this week, they'll have the chance to do just that and show for as difficult as last Saturday was, it only made the Dawgs stronger.
"We have the challenge this week of going on the road for the first time this season, playing at what is known to be one of the most energetic atmospheres – particularly for a night game – in all of college football," Arnett said. "Hopefully our players are excited for that opportunity and that challenge, because your attitude is your best friend or your worst enemy. We're going to be playing in an electric environment in front of a great crowd against a football team very similar to us. We'll get to learn something about ourselves."
