All In For Another Test
September 28, 2023 | Football, Joel Coleman
State getting set to host No. 12 Alabama.
STARKVILLE – For Mississippi State, it's another week and another big-time test. Such is life in the Southeastern Conference.
After staring down tough league foes LSU and South Carolina, this coming Saturday, the Bulldogs welcome No. 12 Alabama to Davis Wade Stadium for an 8 p.m. kickoff. MSU head coach Zach Arnett needs no warning for the situation his squad is encountering as they prepare to face one of the country's perennial powers.
"We find ourselves coming off back-to-back losses and we're facing a program most teams don't want to be facing in that scenario," Arnett said. "Alabama is playing very well right now. They're obviously as talented of a program and roster as any team in the country…It's going to be quite the challenge for us."
Of course, challenges are expected in the SEC where every game is an absolute grind. It's why, to a large degree, Mississippi State's mentality is unchanged week to week.
It doesn't matter the opponent. They can be Tigers or Gamecocks. They can be Razorbacks or Rebels. Or, in this case, they can roll westward into town on Highway 82 from Tuscaloosa.
No disrespect to any foe, but the Bulldogs stay locked in on the Bulldogs.
"We've got to go out and we've got to focus on us, and we've got to play," Arnett said. "We've got to execute. That's what football comes down to. You've got to show up excited to play with energy, and you've got to do your job. It doesn't matter who it's against."
Handle your own business. It might sound cliché, but it's what is required.
It's what is necessary to keep on improving and building on things like last week's offensive showing at South Carolina when State racked up 519 yards.
"I hope we draw confidence from [last week]," Arnett said. "You gain confidence when you put in the work, you prepare, you do all the little things, and you go play the game and see that in your results. We preach that's how you gain confidence. If we've done it once, we ought to be able to do it again."
Being concerned about only the things that can be controlled also has another added benefit. It allows for quickly moving on from recent disappointments on the scoreboard. The past is in the past.
"We just understand as a team, we have to bounce back," linebacker J.P. Purvis said. "Win or lose, you have a battle the next week. You just have to flush [the past] and keep pushing."
The past few days have indeed seen State facing only forward. Practices have been intense and productive. The Bulldogs have been focused. They've been locked in – not on their Saturday opponent, but on their own individual roles.
Success on Saturday night will depend on doing the same.
"We've got to do our job better," Arnett emphasized.
And without question, everyone has a job to do. Offense. Defense. Special teams. Even the Mississippi State family has a role to play against the Crimson Tide.
The task at hand for all the cowbell-clanging crazies in Starkville? Make life as difficult on Alabama as possible and give the homestanding Bulldogs a potential difference-making boost.
"We have a top-notch opponent so we need a top-notch environment," Arnett said. "That's my request to the entire fan base.
"We need our entire fan base to get in the game-day spirit and we need Davis Wade rocking."
