WMD’s Armchair QB: Purple Haze Edition

Greetings, peeps! Mississippi State delivered an epic thrashing of Kansas State on Saturday, winning 31-10. And the Dogs got it done on the road in Manhattan, a notoriously tough place for visitors. Here’s how I saw it:

Defense:

1. Defense was virtually immovable. They only gave up 213 total yards to the Wildcats, 113 rushing and 100 passing. KSU was held to an absurd 3.2 yards per rush on 35 attempts. The only Wildcat TD was the result of incredibly fortuitous field position thanks to a Nick Fitzgerald interception (more on that later).

2. Defensive line continued to make a case for being the best and deepest unit in the country. I already mentioned KSU’s YPR, indicating just how little room to run the Cats had. The DL accounted for 6 TFLs, 2 sacks, and 3 QBHs. They lived on the other side of the line of scrimmage.

3. The linebackers were outstanding on Saturday. They were flying around and making plays, whether it was pass rush, run stopping or coverage. I’m really excited about the future of this unit.

4. Defensive backs had a really nice day, too. We got burned late on the KSU TD, but again, they shouldn’t have been in that position. And we were well in control by then, up 24-3.

5. Jeffrey Simmons just completely dominates games. And best of all, his dominance tends to show up on the stat sheet, too. That isn’t always the case for a defensive tackle. Simmons collected 4 total tackles, all solo, 2 TFLs, and 1 QBH.

6. Montez Sweat is a monster. The dude is relentless in his ability to generate pressure off the edge. He finished the day with 3 total tackles, all solo, 2 TFLs, 1 sack, and 1 QBH.

7. It’s time for Errol Thompson to get some serious love. The guy is quietly our best LB. He’s not flashy, but he consistently produces. It seems like every week he’s near the top of the tackle chart and this week was no exception. He was second on the team with 7 tackles, all solo. He also had 1 TFL, 1 sack, and 1 QBH. Perhaps my favorite play of the day was his INT. ET laid out, cradled the ball, and made one ridiculous grab. On a day when it seemed like we largely got screwed by replay, there was nothing to be done by the replay crew about ET’s pick.

8. Jonathan Abrams had quite the eventful day. He lead the team in tackles with 8, 7 of them solo. But he was ejected for targeting in the second half, meaning he misses the first half next Saturday. Unfortunately, it was the correct call. I know Abrams loves to lay the big hits, but he’s got to be smarter about it. We can’t afford for him to miss a half against someone like Auburn because he took a dude’s head off up big against Sunbelt Garbage.

Special Teams:

1. Another relatively mixed day for Special Teams. I’m really looking for some consistency and not seeing it yet.

2. Tucker Day basically got a day off on Saturday. He punted just one time for 34 yards.

3. Jace Christmann went 1/2 on field goals, hitting from 30 and missing from 44. That puts him at 1/3 on the season. Not the start we were expecting after his performance last year, but we aren’t at panic button time yet.

4. Keith Mixon only had one punt return attempt and it was ill-advised. Mixon fielded the ball inside his own 10 and was immediately tackled at the 5. If you’re going to try to field it there, which is generally inadvisable, at least fair catch and don’t lose yardage or risk fumbling from taking a hit. We need better decision making from him than that.

5. Jamal Peters had two kickoff returns for 32 yards.

6. Brian Cole had the special teams highlight of the day. He made one kickoff return but made the most of it, breaking it for 37 yards. I really want to see him get more return opportunities.

7. Scott Goodman handled kickoff duties once again, kicking off 6 times for a total of 364 yards. He averaged 60 yards per kick. Unfortunately, he had just one touchback on those 6 attempts. I’m beginning to be concerned he doesn’t have the leg to kick it deep.

Offense:

1. Offense had a solid, productive outing. The Dogs rolled up 538 total yards, 384 rushing and 154 passing. State averaged 9.8 yards per rush but just 5.7 yards per pass. Passing offense really needs to improve, but I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt for now. We started KT last week and this week was Fitz’s first start coming off a horrific injury and in a brand new offense.

2. Offensive line was fun to watch. They dominated KSU’s DL, opening huge holes in the run game. And they gave plenty of time to Fitz in pass protection. Really looking forward to what this group can do as they continue to jell over the course of the season.

3. Really thought the wide receivers had a good day, despite limited opportunities. They made a couple of nice grabs to bail out Fitz on bad throws and made big plays when they had to in order to keep drives alive.

4. Tight ends are really becoming a weapon under Moorhead. All three caught at least one pass. They also did a great job blocking. It’s really nice to see this unit being used effectively for a change.

5. Running backs had a big day. They accounted for 250 of our 538 total yards.

6. Fitz had a rough day passing. There’s no other way to put it. He was 11/27 for 154 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT. He had a completion percentage of just 40.74% and averaged 14 yards per completion. Fitz’s touch on the deep throw continued to be suspect at best. Almost every deep ball was thrown on a rope past his WRs, giving them no chance to adjust and make a play. He really needs to learn how to put some air under the ball and give his WRs a chance to make a play. If he doesn’t improve his deep ball touch and accuracy, this offense won’t ever click to its full potential.

His pick was particularly awful and directly led to the Wildcat’s only TD. Backed up deep, KSU managed to get some pressure on him. Fitz panicked and instead of trying to escape or take the sack, he forced a pass into the middle of the field. Predictably, it was picked, giving KSU great field position. It was a horrendous decision and one you wouldn’t expect from a senior QB of Fitz’s experience. I was all for giving KT a series after that, to be honest.

But Fitz showed why he’s the starter and this is his team on the next drive. He rallied the team and drove us down for an answering TD to absolutely slam the door shut on the Purple Cats. That’s the kind of intangible leadership we expect from him.

The good news is that when Fitz struggles in the passing game the way he did on Saturday, he can make up for it with his legs. Fitz rushed 19 times for 159 yards and averaged 8.4 YPR. Some was designed, some was him scrambling, but all of it was effective.

7. Kylin Hill is easily the breakout star of the season so far. He’s been completely Beast Mode through two games. Hill had 17 rushes for 211 yards, 2 TDs, and averaged 12.4 YPR. He added another 16 yards and a TD on one reception. I’m a big fan of this kid. His speed really adds a different dimension to the offense from the RB position. But lest you be tempted to think he lacks any physicality, go watch his second TD run. He ran through about 3 KSU defenders to get to the land of milk and honey.

8. Stephen Guidry had a nice game. Just two receptions, but they were both big plays. The second converted a 3rd and long situation to keep the drive alive following KSU’s TD.

Coaching/Intangibles:

1. I thought the game plan was spot on, both offensively and defensively. We were a little more open than we were last week, but I still get the feeling we haven’t really seen the full extent of our offense or our defense. I expect that to change in two weeks when we play Florida.

2. I really like how relaxed but focused Moorhead is on the sidelines. He’s definitely taking care of business and has his finger on the pulse of the game, but his alley-oop celebrations with the players after a TD is fun to see.

3. Man, Schoop loves to bring the heat. We blitz frequently and from everywhere. It’s definitely a different approach to D, and it’s going to get us burned on occasion as the season progresses, but I enjoy the aggression. Try to dictate the game to the offense, don’t react to what they’re doing.

4. I love the killer instinct this team showed in the 4th quarter. KSU had just scored and cut the lead to 24-10. We had been in control, and I doubt they’d have been able to mount a comeback. But this team didn’t take any chances. They immediately marched down the field and stuck it in the endzone to stretch the lead back out to 21. Dagger. Game over.

5. I was surprised Aeris Williams was running 3rd string Saturday. That’s a major statement about our RB depth when an 1,100 yard back is sitting on the bench.

6. I meant to mention it last week and forgot, but I really enjoy how evenly Moorhead distributes the ball on offense. Granted, it’s hard for one guy to get a bunch of catches when there are only 13 and 11 completions, but we’re getting 10 or so players at least one touch every week. I love it.

7. Here’s a stat I love: 7/12 on 3rd down. We’re putting ourselves in great position to convert and taking advantage. It’s also indicative of a well coached team.

8. I thought we came out a little too amped up early in the game. Talking smack to the fans? Really? Calm down, focus on the game. The best way to shut up a rowdy crowd is to score early and often.

WMD’s Thoughts:

Nice to get a road win in a traditionally hostile place to play. This KSU team isn’t as good as some of Snyder’s past teams, but that shouldn’t diminish the accomplishment (much). I’d have like to see Fitz be a little more sharp in the pass game, but that’s why not playing last week was a problem. Thankfully he’ll have another tuneup game against Louisiana this coming Saturday. We need our CBs to improve, but I’m still backing them to do it. On to Louisiana!

Hail State!

WMD

WMD’s Armchair QB: Tough One Edition

Peeps, that was a tough game. I have no idea how that UMass team is 2-7. They’ve got some really good players on that team. I’ll admit, I was guilty of looking at the name on the jersey & the record and thinking it would be a cakewalk, like I’m sure most of you did. But that team could just as easily be 7-2. The WR, Isabella, is a Wes Welker clone. I could see him being drafted in the 6th round by a team and being a star in the slot. And their RB, Young, is going to play in the NFL. He’s 6’3″ & 215 and you saw the speed on his early 66 yard run. He’d start for a lot of SEC teams. That said, it still shouldn’t have been as close as it was. Here’s what I learned:

Defense:

1. This group did everything right to win on Saturday. When it mattered, they got the big stops. They even scored early to give us a quick lead. It certainly wasn’t our best defensive effort, but it was good enough.

2. DL wasn’t nearly as dominant as they have been, but they shut down the UMass run game after the early 66 yard gain. They had several crucial TFLs down the stretch to kill some Minutemen drives that could have seen them tie or take the lead.

3. LBs were just OK. JT Gray is quietly having a huge season. Like the rest of the D, good when we needed them most, just “meh” the rest of the game.

4. DBs brought the pain. They had some key slobberknockers in the game. They struggled covering Isabella, but I’m not overly upset about it. Put it like this, that dude would’ve been our #1 WR on Saturday and mght be our #1 WR this season with everyone healthy.

5. JT Gray’s pick 6 was a thing of beauty. He read the QBs eyes and jumped the route perfectly. Pick up a couple of key blocks and get your TD celebration on. He’s arguably been our best LB this season, right up there with Dez Harris.

6. Jamal Peters absolutely destroyed a UMass WR late to help force UMass into a FG. He’s really coming on the last couple of weeks and developing into a good CB. He gives us some real size to matchup with big WRs on the outside. Need him to play his best game ever next Saturday.

7. Every time I see the replay of Johnathan Abram’s sack, I get angry all over again. Let’s just go ahead and put flags on the QBs if that hit is an ejection. I literally have no idea what else you’re supposed to do as defender. That’s the type of play and hit you live for on D. He comes clean on a blitz, has a full head of steam, wraps up, and drives through the QB. It was an absolute “snot bubbler” hit. If the rules make that an ejection, the rules have to change. It’s football, allegedly.

Special Teams:

1. I said it last week or the week before, but our STs have quietly become a real strength for this team. They got the job done on a day when the offense was struggling.

2. Logan Cooke continues to be great punting the ball. He had just 2 on the day, but they couldn’t have been much better. He had 87 total yards, averaged 43.5 YPP, and had a long punt of 45. Good hang time, no return yards. And he continued to bomb the ball on KO duty, too.

3. Jace Christmann’s emergence has been the biggest and best surprise of the season. It’s nice to feel good about making a FG after the last few years. Christmann was 2/2 on the day with a long attempt of 28 and hit all 4 PATs.

4. Deddrick Thomas was great fielding punts. Personally, I’d leave him as my top PR man after yesterday. He made good decisions and caught the ball cleanly. But more than that, he just looks dangerous back there. He’s got some wiggle with his first step and a way of making the first man or two miss that’s hard to explain. But the best PR guys have it. His PR TD iced the game and DT should be the man on PR moving forward.

Offense:

1. Very sluggish day from this group. We did an ok job running, even against a very stacked box, but weren’t very good passing. Part of that was the game plan, which was run heavy to say the least. Part was personnel and another part was execution. We had the two key drives right after the half to take the lead, then we went back into our shell.

2. Fitz continues to show that he’s a great runner and an average at best passer. 2 INTs, one a pick 6. As I pointed out after the UK game, accuracy for a QB isn’t just getting a catchable ball to the WR. It’s putting the ball where the WR has a chance to maximize yards after the catch. Fitz was a little bit off with his accuracy Saturday.

The good news is that Fitz’s struggles as a passer don’t effect his legs. He helped takeover the game in the 3rd quarter with some nice runs, including the 2 TDs. It’s going to be interesting to see if he can get much on the ground against Bama.

3. Aeris Williams continues to be our workhorse. He does everything well, which is why he plays so much. He finished with 114 yards on 24 carries and averaged 4.8 YPR. He also threw a key block on Fitz’s 2nd TD run. Typical, solid day for the A-Train.

4. OL was very average. They never really asserted their will on UMass outside of the two TD drives in the 3rd. Plays that have been going for 3-5 yards most of the year were going for just 1-3 on Saturday. Overall, I thought it was a disappointing day for this group, even though we ran for 254 and averaged 5.6 YPR.

5. WRs struggled, to say the least. Not having Gray, Myles, and Mixon is a huge deal for this unit. No one else is really ready yet. I liked what I saw from Jesse Jackson early, but then we stopped getting the ball to him. Reggie Todd has the tools, but he’s not there yet. Jamaal Couch is completely MIA. Osirus Mitchell had an early cameo but that was it. As much as I bragged on DT as a PR man, he’s Stone Hands at WR. We need at least 2 of the injured guys ready to go against Bama.

6. I would have liked to see more of Nick Gibson & Kylin Hill. They’ve earned more carries than they got yesterday. Hill didn’t even touch the ball and Gibson only got it twice. That’s unacceptable. As pure runners, both are better than A-Train right now. This season should prove once and for all that you can never trust Dan Mullen to play freshmen RBs, regardless of how highly recruited and ready they may be. Meanwhile, Cam Akers is rushing for nearly 200 yards at FSU. Give the kids the ball.

Coaching/Intangibles:

1. Dan Mullen’s game plan was basic and obvious: Run the rock, let our size & depth wear down UMass. It worked, but it was painful at times. I imagine this was at least partially influenced by our paper thin WR corps.

2. Not the best game Todd Grantham has had, but it was good enough. We got a pick 6 for the 3rd straight week. First time since 2007 that’s happened. We gave up some big plays, but some of that was execution. The 4th & 1 long pass conversion is a good example. Apparently we suspected they’d try to hit us deep, so Grantham called for us to double cover the TE. Someone busts, we don’t double cover, long play for a first down. Gotta execute better.

3. The team as a whole was just completely flat. The last two games took a lot out of them emotionally, especially last week. The good news is they found a way to grind through it, make the key plays, and win the game. Would I have preferred to see a fired up team that was clicking on all cylinders? Absolutely. But you don’t get that every week. That’s why it’s important to have a good crowd behind. Speaking of…

4. Our fans get an F. Mullen and the players literally begged all week for us to have a big crowd for this game. They knew UMass was sneaky good and we likely weren’t going to have the emotional intensity we’ve had most of the season. What happened? A large portion of our fans stayed home. It’s infuriating, sickening, and disappointing. I gotta give our fans credit, if there’s one thing we’re good at, it’s making excuses for not going to a game:

• It’s too hot
• It’s too cold
• It’s too far
• I’m too tired
• [Insert team] is too good
• [Insert team] sucks
• It’s too early
• It’s too late
• I have to wear maroon/white/black
• The team is wearing black
• The team is wearing silver helmets
• I’ll get home in the dark
• I have to drive in the dark
• My sixth cousin thrice removed who I’ve never met and probably hate came into town
• It’s too loud
• I have to stand
• There are better games on TV

B…b…but WMD, it was early and UMass was supposed to suck!! Yeah, I get it. Excuses. If you really can’t go, give your tickets to a State fan who can make that game.

As a fan base we’ve been asking the question for the last couple of years “How do we take the next step as a program and break through this glass ceiling?” I can tell you right now, part of it is showing up to the games. And it’s especially true when the players beg for you to show up. Until we’re willing to look into the mirror and admit our own faults, we will always be what we are.

5. Students: You’re the worst and you suck. Period. It’s an absolute disgrace and embarrassment for you to not show up yesterday. You’re in town and on campus. There is literally no excuse in your sections being completely empty. You should be there to support your fellow students who represent you and the university. Unlike some, I don’t care if you leave early if we have the game in hand. But to not show up at all is completely inexcusable. I was a student not so long ago during the Crxxm Error. I’d have killed to see a team this good play while I was in school. Our teams sucked, but we still showed up. Where the hell were you? I repeat: You’re the worst and you suck.

WMD’s Final Thoughts

A win is a win is a win. In a way, I’m glad it was a close game. We haven’t had one all year and you knew we would eventually. I didn’t really expect it to be UMass, but that’s football. The good news is that despite being flat and having no crowd to feed on emotionally, we found a way to gut it out for a W. Sometimes that’s all it’s about. I have no doubt we’ll be fired up and ready emotionally next week. I expect we’ll have a full house, although half of them will be Bammers that our fans give their tickets to. (And you suck for that, too) Hopefully we’ll get at least two of Gray, Myles, and Mixon back for the game. That said, it’s still going to be really hard to beat the semipro team called Alabama.

Hail State!

WMD

WMD’s Armchair QB: Liver Smoothie Edition

Peeps, that win was huge. That one could easily be the difference in 9-3 or 7-5 in a few weeks. We dominated from start to finish and played arguably our best game of the year to date. Here’s what I learned from the game on Saturday night:

Defense:

1. The D is the saltiest we’ve had under Mullen. Sumlin’s aTm teams are known for their ability to put up points. While this year’s Aggies haven’t been quite as prolific, they’re still solid, and we absolutely shut them down. The numbers are impressive: aTm managed just 285 yards of total offense, 189 passing and 96 rushing.. The Dawgs held them under 3.5 YPR at 3.4. Aggie QB’s had a nightmare night throwing, too, completing just 16 of 41 attempts. The Dawgs also had 6 TFLs. Total dominance, peeps.

2. State’s ability to entirely shut down the run was the key on defense. Once aTm was forced to beat us passing, they were in trouble. This aTm team isn’t equipped to play from behind and go Air Raid against a team with a good pass rush.

3. Speaking of our pass rush, those guys wreaked absolute havoc on Saturday night. aTm’s QBs were under pressure all night long. State was credited with 3 sacks and another 6 QB hurries.

4. Montez Sweat was unblockable at times on Saturday night. He wound up with 6 total tackles, 3 solo, 2 sacks, and 2 TFLs. He lived in the backfield and aTm had no answers.

5. Leo Lewis had arguably his best game of the season on Saturday. He tied for the team lead in total tackles with 8 and had 4 solo. He was all over the field and finally looked like the guy we saw last year. There’s no doubt all the off field drama he’s been roped into has affected his play this season. Hopefully he’s starting to put it behind him and play the way he’s capable.

6. DBs played well as a unit. Other than a couple of times early, they had good coverage. It helps when they don’t have to cover for 6 seconds. All the pressure forced the QBs into mistakes, which the DBs turned into picks. Being in the right place matters or you don’t come up with catches on the tip drill.

7. Jamal Peters had the big play of the night defensively with the 90 yard pick 6. He’s really starting to figure it out at CB a little. And he showed some serious speed I didn’t know he had on the return, pulling away from the aTm WRs.

8. Our DL is as dominant as we’ve had in a long time. They absolutely wrecked a good aTm OL. It’s awesome to watch those guys just blow up the point of attack play after play. Getting Cory Thomas back makes this unit that much better.

Special Teams:

1. A typically solid night for these units. No big returns allowed to Christian Kirk, one of the most dangerous return men in football. Jace Christmann didn’t attempt a FG but did hit all 5 PATs. We had one solid return, too.

2. Logan Cooke continues to be one of the best punters in college football. His numbers won’t blow you away on the night, but that’s because he was punting from a short field. He did a great job of getting hang time to prevent Kirk from having a chance to make a return. And he crushed his kickoffs, with 3 of 6 going for touchbacks.

Offense:

1. Offense continues to get it done. They steamrolled the Aggies D to the tune of 369 total yards, 141 passing and 228 rushing. State averaged 4.4 YPR and 6.7 YPP.

2. OL had another great night. They gave Fitz all night to pass and opened nice holes for the RBs. And they did it without Martinas Rankin, too. Impressive performance from this unit.

3. Nick Fitzgerald had another solid night. His passing was effective, completing 12 of 21 for 141 yards and 2 TDs. He added another 105 yards and 1 TD on 18 carries. He made a mistake on the INT, making a bad read and throw. That said, I’ve never seen a ball stay in the air so long on a tip drill. It was a little bit of bad luck, but to his credit, he shook it off and played well thereafter. His TD pass to Thomas was an absolute dart. I didn’t like the throw into triple coverage he completed, but that was an NFL caliber throw. Bad decision, but his arm talent allowed it to work out for us.

As usual, his biggest impact was in the run game. aTm held him in check a bit early, but then Fitz did what Fitz does and busted one for 45. It was a big play in the game that really put the Aggies on their heels.

4. Aeris Williams had an average at best night. He carried it 22 times for just 68 yards and averaged a poor 3.1 YPR. I like Aeris, but he showed again tonight that he isn’t our best runner. That’s either Nick Gibson or Kylin Hill. But Aeris does everything else well, which is why he plays so much. He’s good at lead blocking for Fitz, does a good job in pass pro, and has nice hands out of the backfield. That makes him our most complete RB.

5. Speaking of Nick Gibson, it felt a little bit like he was having a breakout game on Saturday night. He had 4 carries and man did he make them count. He gained 43 yards, averaged 10.8 per carry, and scored a TD. He also had a long run of 17. If I’m remembering correctly, that was his TD run. Nick added one catch for 12 yards, too. And he made one hell of an adjustment to catch it, displaying really nice hands.

The guy NEEDS more touches. I thought it interesting that he was in the game down the stretch in the 3rd and early 4th quarters. That said, no I don’t think that means Mullen will use him more. We all know how stubborn he is about “program guys” and Aeris is one of those.

6. WRs were solid but not great. Losing Donald Gray didn’t help them. I did like what I saw from Jesse Jackson. He’s improving and starting to provide Fitz with that big body possession WR he desperately needs. That’s good for the offense as a whole. Now let’s hope it’s nothing serious with Gray and he won’t miss any significant time.

Coaching/Intangibles:

1. I thought Dan Mullen had a really great game plan offensively. We ran the ball 58 times and passed it 21. You all know by now how much WMD loves it when we go run heavy. It forced aTm to be physical and they clearly didn’t have the horses to hang with us on that front. Now if he’d just stop being stubborn and give Gibson/Hill some of A-Train’s touches. But Mullen gonna Mullen. Hard to be too critical when we’re sitting at 6-2 and staring a potential 9-3 season in the face.

2. Todd Grantham has been the SEC Coach of the Year so far as I’m concerned. The turnaround on D so far has been spectacular. His game plan against aTm was superb. We loaded the box to completely stuff aTm’s run game and force freshman QB Kellen Mond to beat us with his arm. As we all saw, he couldn’t do that. Mond completed just 8 of his 26 attempts with 2 INTs. It was a nightmare for him and a dream for our D.

3. This team feels like there’s something special about it. Don’t really know how that will play out yet, but they seem to be getting better every week and peaking at the right time.

4. Gotta give Mullen some credit for making a big time hire in Chris Boniol to fix the special teams. They’ve gone from a liability to a strength this year.

WMD’s Final Thoughts:

I really like how this team is playing right now. The D is lights out and the O is grinding teams down with a formidable run game. It’s a lot of fun to watch. Mullen & Grantham have done pretty much everything right, especially since the bye week. Now we need to get some guys back and healthy, notably Rankin, Gray, Myles, and Dez. We’re going to need all of them for this last crucial stretch of SEC games that starts with Bama in two weeks. I still want to see us start to pass the torch a little bit to Gibson & Hill, but I’m not holding my breath. This season should prove once and for all that you can never trust Mullen to play a young RB. I want us to continue trying to get the ball to Reggie Todd & Jamaal Couch. Those guys could be difference makers on the outside.

We should have an easy game against UMass on Saturday. I’d love for us to get up big early and turn it over to Key & the backups for a significant portion of the second half. I was a bit disappointed we didn’t put Key in the game on our next to last possession against aTm. It was a golden opportunity to get him road snaps in a good situation.

Hail State,

WMD

WMD’s Armchair QB: Cat Scratch Fever Edition

Peeps, that was a good, solid win over Kentucky. They came in riding high and thinking they would steal one. Instead, we absolutely mauled them. How did we do it? Here’s what I saw:

Defense:

1. Todd Grantham’s unit brought their A game. They held UK under 300 yards of total offense at a paltry 260. UK managed just 145 yards passing and 115 rushing. UK only averaged 4.0 yards per carry. And even those rushing numbers are a bit misleading. Most of their rush yards came on QB scrambles by Stephen Johnson.

2. The front seven did serious work. They were in the backfield all day pressuring the QB or stuffing the run. The Cats just had nowhere to go because they were being whipped up front. And were it not for some serious holding that went uncalled, the TFL numbers would have been even higher than they were.

3. Hats off to our DBs. They’ve made a huge improvement. I’m not a big fan of Tolando Cleveland, but he had a good day on Saturday. Our safeties are covering serious ground and are always around the ball making plays. It helps they aren’t being asked to cover forever with the pressure being generated by the front 7, but they have also gotten better. We’ve got some legit NFL talent in the secondary.

4. Jeffrey Simmons is a man. He was credited with just 3 tackles, but numbers don’t always tell the story with him. He constantly requires a double team, which frees up his teammates to make plays. The guy is as disruptive a player as I’ve seen up front in college football this season. And he’s scary fast for a guy his size. He’ll disrupt the play with his rush then shed his block and be the first guy to the numbers to make the tackle. Guys that big aren’t supposed to move like that. I repeat: enjoy him now, because he’s a First Round early entry talent.

5. Gerri Green made the big defensive play of the day with his pick 6. Glad to see him finally start making explosive plays. He’s had a really good season so far and taken to that 3-4 OLB/DE hybrid like a duck to water. And Green is another guy that’s scary fast for his size. Can you imagine that dude playing RB?

6. Mark McLaurin has quietly become one of our best defensive players. He’s always around the ball, whether it’s in run support or pass coverage. He racked up 11 tackles and a forced fumble against the Cats. He’s another guy that has NFL potential.

7. I’d be remiss not to mention Braxton Hoyett. The dude made a grown man play with his INT. UK tried to fool us with the slip screen that we always seem to fall for, but this time Hoyett recognized it. He stopped his rush and started playing pass. When Johnson let go of the ball, Hoyett was in the pass lane. He tips it up then made the grab. It was a huge play in the game.

8. Montez Sweat keeps getting better. He’s hell to deal with coming off the edge and UK had no answer for him, other than to hold him. He had 7 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 2.5 TFLs. He pitched a tent in the UK backfield. And the only reason he didn’t have more sacks and TFLs were the holds against him.

Special Teams:

1. Someone needs to hurt me for saying this, but our Special Teams have quietly become a strength this season. We’re doing everything right to give ourselves a chance to win, whether that’s kicking, punting, returning, or covering.

2. The emergence of Jace Christmann has been the biggest pleasant surprise of the season for WMD. He has solidified our previously shaky FG and PAT game. Plus he appears to have a fairly strong leg, giving us the option to kick a long FG if the need arises.

3. Logan Cooke is going to play in the NFL. It’s just that simple. The punter at Bama gets all the hype, but Cooke is every bit as good. He just totally eliminates the opponent’s return game, whether he’s punting or kicking off. But his punting is unreal. I’ve said it to a few buddies recently and I’ll say it here: Cooke is the best punter I’ve seen us have in the last 25 years. And we’ve had some good ones in that time, including Jeff Walker. We’re going to miss Cooke badly next year.

4. Donald Gray is a very good return guy for us. He makes smart decisions when to return and when to fair catch/take a knee. He can get a little bit casual making the catch, but other than the one mistake against BYU, he’s been surehanded. Even the best put one on the ground occasionally. Nature of the beast.

Offense:

1. Offense had a really good day with 441 total yards. They had 282 rushing and 159 passing. State averaged essentially 6.0 YPR for the day and had the ball almost 35 minutes. UK’s D was absolutely gassed by the 4th quarter.

2. I thought Nick Fitzgerald had a good day overall, but you can still see he needs to improve throwing. The numbers are very good for him: 18/26, 155 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT. And he added another 115 yards and 2 TD on 12 carries. He generally made good decisions with the ball and kept it out of harm’s way.

Now let’s talk about his accuracy. Nice to see him go 18/26 and complete 69.2% of his throws. But numbers don’t always tell the story with a QB. Ball location matters and that is where Fitz needs to improve. Let’s look at the very first play of the game:

Fitz takes the ball out of the gun. The good news is he makes the correct read and finds Gabe Myles breaking open in the middle of the field. He releases the ball, firing a dart that Myles hauls in for a big play and a first down. Everyone is happy with the result. However, despite the completion, it wasn’t a good throw from Fitz. The throw was behind Myles, which forced him to reach back to make the catch. Once he slowed down and adjusted his body to make the catch, the UK DBs were able to catch up and tackle him. If Fitz leads him, which he had plenty of room to do, Myles grabs the pass in stride and maybe takes it to the house. He was that open on the play. It’s small, it’s fairly nitpicky, but I guarantee Mullen will be telling Fitz the same thing when they watch the film. It’s a difference of maybe 8 inches, but that 8 inches was the difference in potentially 6 points. Ball location matters.

3. Aeris Williams is solid, but he’s our 2nd or 3rd best RB toting the rock. And I say that as a fan of the guy. He does all the little things right and busts his tail on every play. But with his 20 carries against UK he only managed 71 yards, 3.5 YPC, and a long rush of 8. He really should be getting some explosive runs against a defense like UK.

4. Donald Gray and Gabe Myles had good days. We really need them to play well moving forward for us to have a chance at beating A&M.

5. Nice to see us finally getting Jordan Thomas and Jesse Jackson involved in the offense. They provide some bigger bodies we desperately need.

6. OL had a great day. They’ve been good minus the UGA & Auburn games this season. They’re near the top of the nation in fewest sacks allowed. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Greg Eiland. He’s going to be a good one for us when Rankin leaves. He was overmatched against Auburn, but that shouldn’t be a surprise. He was downright dominant against BYU & UK. I actually saw him up close after the BYU game. Believe me when I say, he is a naturally LARGE dude. I was surprised at his lack of a gut. I’m excited about his future moving forward.

7. Keytaon Thompson is going to be special. Watching him on Saturday, it’s hard to believe he’s a true freshman that was playing against high school defenses this time last year. And man, that kid is FAST.

Coaching/Intangibles:

1. Really well coached game from both Mullen and Grantham. I love how we slowed down the game on offense, ran the ball, and dominated TOP. It worked to perfection, allowing us to wear down UK and keep our D fresh.

2. As I harp on every year, our offense works best when we commit to a run first, run heavy approach. It opens up everything we want to do. We had 48 rushes to 27 passes, just how WMD likes it.

3. Love the way this team feeds off each other. D gets the ball back for the offense consistently and the offense has solid drives to score. It makes it really hard on the other team.

4. I thought the key to the game was our first possession in the second half. We’re up 17-7 and had scored on our last possession of the half. We get the ball to start the second half. You felt like if we could score a TD and go up 17, it might be game over. And that’s exactly what happened. But HOW we did it is what I enjoyed. We maintained a 13 play drive and ate essentially 8 minutes off the clock. And most of that damage was done on the ground. It was an absolutely demoralizing, will breaking drive.

WMD’s Final Thoughts:

We played as well as we’ve played all season on Saturday. It was very clean and efficient. What stood out to me was how we got the Bonecrusher and Jesse Jackson involved. We really need those guys and Jamal Couch to replicate their performances if we want to beat aTm. They give Fitz some big targets that we lack and take some of the pressure of Gray and Myles. We really need A-Train to have some big runs and not be a 3 yard RB. If he isn’t getting it done, we need to go to Hill & Gibson. They’re ready, so take off the leash.

That’s what I saw. Let me know what you saw on Saturday.

Hail State!

WMD

WMD’s Armchair QB: Mauling Tigers Edition

Peeps, Saturday night’s win over LSU was epic. It was the biggest margin of victory for State in the series. The Dogs absolute mauled the Bengal Tigers and made an emphatic statement about their intentions in the SEC. Now it’s time to ask what we learned. Here’s what I saw:

Defense

1. State’s D put in another absolutely dominant performance against LSU. The numbers alone are impressive. The Dogs held LSU to just 270 yards of total offense with 133 rushing and 137 passing. State amassed 4 TFLs, 2 sacks, and 6 QB hurries.

2. The Dogs’ front seven absolutely dominated the line of scrimmage. LSU RB Derrius Guice was held to just 76 yards on 15 carries. The reason is he had nowhere to run. State was constantly knocking the LSU OL backward and blowing up his run lanes. Then when LSU was in predictable passing situations, they turned up the jets and raced to QB Danny Etling. He was harassed all night long.

3. There’s a reason State’s secondary looks so much better this year and it starts on the DL. With the way they’re getting to the QB, our DBs aren’t being asked to cover forever. It makes a huge difference. But I don’t want to slight our DBs, they’ve made a big improvement themselves this season. Lashard Durr is a legit SEC CB. And I really like the potential of Cam Dantzler. Jamal Peters is starting to come on, too.

4. We are scary deep, especially up front. Corey Thomas was out with injury and we didn’t miss him a bit. Braxton Hoyette stepped up and had a huge game. “Next man up” is alive and well on D. We’re rotating almost an entire two deep with no dropoff in performance. SEC offenses can officially start having nightmares about our D.

5. Jeffery Simmons is a grown man. He might be the best DL in college football bar none. His motor is incredible, especially for a guy that big. We haven’t heard HC Dan Mullen use the term “relentless effort” in a while, but Simmons is the personification of that mantra. He just never quits or runs out of gas. He’ll blow up the OL, then chase down the RB from behind. And when it’s 3rd and long…well, let’s just say I feel sorry for the guys trying to block him.

6. Mark McLaurin has become the stud we all thought he could be. He led the team in tackles and was all over the field.

7. Brandon Bryant has rediscovered the form he showed two seasons ago. He once again looks incredibly fast and flies to the ball. I can’t wait until he finally picks one off.

8. Honestly, I could spend the rest of the column talking about individual performances. Suffice to say, this unit’s turnaround is nothing short of miraculous. They embody the mantra of DC Todd Grantham: Fast, Physical, Aggressive.

Special Teams:

1. Special teams was a huge reason for the W. They did everything right, zero mistakes. Nice to see.

2. Logan Cooke is as good as they come. He only punted 3 times, but he averaged 46.0 YPP. And his kickoffs were absolute boomers. All but two were touchbacks and both of those had so much hang time the LSU returner didn’t even sniff the 25. Poor decision by their guy to attempt to try a return, but that’s what a lead and Cooke do to teams. They make them press and try to make something happen, which plays right into our hands.

3. I can’t say enough about Jace Christmann on Saturday night. He was spectacular. He nailed all 4 of his PAT attempts and was 3/3 in the FG department. But most importantly, he hit the long 45 yard attempt. I was in the stadium, and believe me when I say, that was arguably the loudest cheer of the night. DWS went nuts. It completely shifted the momentum of the game. Here was my text message to a few of my buddies, verbatim: “WE MADE A LONG FG? WE MADE A LONG FG!!!!”

Offense:

1. Offense continued to churn out yards and points. The Dogs tallied 465 total yards, 180 in the air and 285 on the ground. State averaged 5.9 yards per rush and had the ball a whopping 35:55. The really incredible part is the Dogs had 7 straight scoring possessions.

2. State ran 71 offensive plays on Saturday night, rushing the ball 48 times and throwing it 23 times. That works out to a 68/32 run/pass ratio. Exactly how WMD likes it!

3. The Dogs’ OL dominated the vaunted LSU DL and repeatedly won the line of scrimmage. We were knocking them off the ball and creating big holes all night. It was a beautiful sight. If we can stay healthy up front, we’re going to be a hard offense to stop.

4. QB Nick Fitzgerald continued to play really well. He completed 15/23 passes for 180 yards and 2 TDs. He had a completion percentage of 65.2% and a QBR of 81.9. Fitz added another 88 yards and 2 TDs on 14 carries. Just another 4 TD night for Fitz. Even Dak didn’t make 4 TD games look so easy.

5. RB Aeris Williams has turned it up a notch and completely transformed our offense. We’ve been almost unstoppable ever since he took over as the feature back midway through last season. I have no idea why Mullen thought Brandon Holloway should be carrying the ball 15 times a game over the A-Train. But I won’t get into that rant.

The A-Train shouldered the load against LSU with 23 carries for 146 yards. He averaged 5.3 yards per rush. It’s a shame we never got him into the endzone.

6. Let me talk about the TD to Keith Mixon in the 3rd quarter. Not long into our first possession of the half I noticed that all 11 of LSU’s players on D were within 10 yards of the LOS. They were cheating up hard to stop the run. Around the 10-12 minute mark of the quarter I turned to my dad and the people sitting around me and said: “We’re going to burn them deep at some point. Look at their D. All 11 guys are within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. They’re selling out to stop the run.”

Five minutes later, Fitz play fake, Mixon WIDE OPEN…TOUCHDOWN!!!! Our run game created a huge play in the passing game. We had hurt them so badly on the ground they were totally focused on stopping the run and completely lost focus on the passing game. Cue Fitz’s big arm, a great play fake, and Mixon’s crazy speed.

7. WRs get a special mention. They weren’t super involved in the passing game with us throwing it just 23 times and several of those going to our RBs and TEs. But believe me, they were critical on Saturday night. They blocked their butts off in the run game. You don’t rush for 285 yards and average nearly 6 YPR if you’re WRs aren’t doing their jobs blocking downfield. It’s not glamorous, but it’s crucial. Most WRs hate blocking and just don’t do it or do it half-heartedly. Our guys went at it hard for a full 4 quarters. Hats off to them. That kind of unselfish play really helps define a team.

8. Just like on D, so many offensive players I could single out, but I’ll refrain. Love seeing such a total team effort.

Coaching/Intangibles:

1. MSU HC Dan Mullen had his best game maybe ever at State on Saturday night. The game plan was lights out. His playcalling was on point. We managed our personnel and the clock well. If he keeps coaching like this, I’m expecting big things from the team this season.

2. Defensive Coordinator Todd Grantham is the SEC Coach of the Year. Hands down, not even close. This D looks as dominant as I’ve ever seen us have. It’s big, fast, physical and scary deep. The mentality has done a complete 180 in just one offseason. The way the guys have bought in is a testament to Grantham’s coaching.

LSU tried using lots of motion on Saturday night to confuse our D. Outside of a couple of plays, notably in the first half on the TD run, we had no missed assignments. These guys were incredibly well prepared and knew exactly what LSU was doing.

3. We’ve got some real leaders emerging on this team. And best of all, most of them are our best players. Jeffery Simmons, Fitz, Donald Gray, and Dez Harris immediately spring to mind. When you get that, you have a chance to be a really good team.

4. Special shoutout to our Strength & Conditioning coach. We haven’t had a single cramp through three games. But what impressed me is the way we physically pounded and wore down an LSU team that is renowned for their physicality and ability to wear down other teams. We were the biggest bully (pun intended) on the field Saturday night. We pass the eye test when compared to an elite SEC team like LSU.

WMD’s Final Thoughts:

I’m still a little surprised at how easily we demolished LSU. I thought we could win, probably even would win. But I always figured it for a close game that went down to the wire. Of all the possible outcomes, I’d have never bet on us completely thrashing LSU. It was so much fun to watch, though. Especially as their fans began to clear out midway through the 3rd quarter and early 4th.

We’ve got a shot to have a special season. The next big test is this coming Saturday between the hedges at UGA. If we come out of Athens with a win, get ready for a monster season. There isn’t a team outside of Alabama I don’t like our chances of beating. We’ve got all the ingredients, especially if a big WR like Jesse Jackson, Jamal Couch, or Reggie Todd step up and become a weapon for us. Get ready for a wild ride, peeps.

In Mullen We Trust and Hail State,

WMD

WMD’s Armchair QB: Real Mean Dogs Edition

Welcome, peeps! What an absolute beatdown of Louisiana Tech. The real Bulldogs showed they have quite the bite in a 57-21 rout. Now it’s time to ask “What did we learn?” Here’s what I saw:

Defense:

1. I said it after last week: This defense is vastly improved and for real. They displayed it with another dominant outing against a good CUSA team in LA Tech. They held Tech to 315 total yards, 163 passing and 152 rushing. Tech averaged just 3.0 yards per rush.

Most importantly, State’s D generated 3 turnovers. And they converted two of those turnovers into TDs. For those keeping score at home, that’s 2 safeties and 2 TDs for the D so far this season.

2. 3rd and 93. We have officially replaced 3rd and 57. Talk about epic. Granted, part of me wishes someone had just fallen on the ball. But it was late and our subs were on the field. I have no problem with one of them trying to make a big play.

3. Jeffery Simmons is a monster. Enjoy him this year and next, because he’s gone after that. He had a ridiculous game, especially for a nose tackle. He finished with 5 tackles, a punt block, and 2 TDs. He showed ridiculous speed for a NT when he scooped and scored for a 90+ yard TD following a FG block.

4. Mark McLaurin has really taken a huge step forward. He led the team with 10 tackles, 6 solo, 1 pass defensed, and 1 INT. He was all over the field all night. I really think this guy can become an elite safety in the SEC.

5. Gerri Green is finally starting to put it all together. He had 7 total tackles on Saturday with 2 sacks. He’s a terror off the edge as a pass rusher with his combination of size and speed. The OLB/DE position really suits him. He’s a huge beneficiary of our switch to a 3-4 system.

6. I can’t say enough good things about Dez Harris. Dude has suffered 3 ATL tears and has still found a way to be a productive member of our D. By all rights his career should be over, but instead he’s out there racking up tackles and getting sacks. He’s all heart and all Bulldog.

Special Teams:

1. Special teams continued to be very up and down. We had the punt block and FG block I already mentioned, but we also allowed a couple of blocks and a return for a safety.

2. Logan Cooke is just amazing. His leg strength is ridiculous. He wasn’t very busy punting on a night we scored 57, with just 3 punts. But he punted for 143 yards and averaged 47.7 yards per punt. His kickoff duties continued to be impressive, too.

3. Return game was solid, not spectacular.

Offense:

1. Offense got off to a slow start but finished strong. It was another solid performance for these guys. A quick look at the numbers: State had just 459 total yards on Saturday night, partially because we only ran 60 offensive plays. The good news is that 327 were rushing yards. The Dogs absolutely dominated LA Tech on the ground. State had 21 first downs and was 5/10 on 3rd down. Overall a good performance, just not the 500+ yard machine like effort we’re used to seeing from a Mullen offense.

2. I mentioned State ran just 60 snaps against LA Tech. Of those 60, the Dogs rushed 40 times and threw just 20. That’s 67/33 run/pass split. Just how WMD likes it. #RunTheDamnFootball

3. QB Nick Fitzgerald got off to another slow start but battled through it to have a productive night passing. He wound up going 12/18 for 124 yards, 3 TD, and 1 INT. Fitz added another 111 yards and 2 TDs on 10 carries. For those of you in Rio Linda, that means Fitz had a 5 TD night.

4. Aeris Williams had a good night. He rushed the ball 9 times for 107 yards, ripping off a long rush of 59 and averaged a gaudy 11.9 YPR. A-Train also had 1 catch for 28 yards.

5. Young Pup Kylin Hill continues to impress me. He had 10 carries for 62 yards and a TD, averaging 6.2 YPR.

6. Jordan Thomas had 2 receptions for 25 yards and a TD. But my memory of him on Saturday will be his drop of a pass that hit him right in the numbers. Gotta have that one, big fella.

7. It’s nice to see Gabe Myles healthy again. He’s been really good through these first two games. He made his lone catch of the night count, taking it 21 yards for a TD.

8. OL was good for the most part. Fitz had time to throw and they opened up big holes for the RBs. You don’t rush for 327 as a team if your OL isn’t doing work. That said, Stewart Reese needs to pick it up. I noticed several instances of him missing blocks or watching a guy run by him. He looked really slow. Might be time to explore another option at RT.

On a positive note, we got the snap issues fixed this week. I don’t recall seeing a single low snap from Jenkins to Fitz on the night.

Coaching/Intangibles:

1. Dan Mullen & Co had a good gameplan and executed it well. We used our size and depth to pound LA Tech into submission with the run game on offense and smothered them on D. Now the real challenge begins.

2. I continue to be amazed at the turnaround Todd Grantham has inspired in the D. They’re living up to his “Fast. Physical. Aggressive.” mantra. They absolutely dominated another offense that has been very good the last decade or so.

3. We continue to fight through adversity. It would’ve been easy to pack it in down 14-0 early, but these guys looked each other in the eye and dominated the rest of the game. We’ve got some real leaders on this team, it appears.

WMD’s Final Thoughts:

State hammered another outmatched opponent. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was effective. That’s really all you can ask when you’re playing these early OOC games.

Now the real season begins with LSU this Saturday night. We can’t afford for Fitz and the offense to get off to another slow start or to fall behind 14-0. If we do, it’s game over early. They’ve got to come out with some serious intensity and razor sharp. I really like the matchup of our D versus their O. On paper, this one looks like one hell of a game. I’m fired up just thinking about it.

See you in Starkville on Saturday!

WMD

WMD’s Armchair QB: Buc U Edition

Welcome back, peeps! College football has returned and I’m thrilled to be back talking about Mississippi State. The Dogs got 2017 off to a strong start with an emphatic 49-0 beating of Charleston Southern.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know how this works by now. If you haven’t, it’s like this: I break down each game from a fan’s perspective. This column attempts to cover the good, the bad, and the ugly. Everything is fair game and no one is exempt from criticism or praise.  With the ground rules established, here’s what I saw and learned from our game against the Buccaneers:

Defense:

1. In a word: Dominant. I don’t have enough superlatives to say how good these guys were on Saturday. The numbers tell us a lot: 33 yards of Total Offense allowed, 15 passing and 18 rushing. Only 2 first downs allowed. Twelve possessions ended in a 3 and out. 9 tackles for loss (TFLs). Two safeties. And CSU never crossed midfield. The closest they came was their own 46 on their final possession against our 3rd string.

2. I can’t get over the difference in the defense from last year to this year. For the first time in ages we looked fast and well coached. Everyone clearly knew their assignments and were where they were supposed to be. I can’t recall a single busted assignment. That’s especially impressive considering we were facing a triple option offense.

3. Our tackling was much improved. We were a bunch of matadors olé-ing opponents left and right. Saturday we were fundamentally sound. We didn’t just limit Yards After Contact (YAC), we  were forcing them backwards. I can’t recall a single missed tackle all game.

But it was our work in the one on one, open field tackles that impressed me. The one play in particular that sticks out is an option pitch that saw Gerri Green get isolated in space on a Buc RB. Green stayed with him, squared up, broke down, wrapped up, and drove through him for an open field TFL. If he whiffs the tackle, the play probably goes for 10 yards or more.

4. We are really, really deep. There’s virtually no drop off from the 1s to the 2s. We were constantly rotating players in and out to the point where 1s & 2s probably played about the same number of snaps. And some of our 3s could step in if they absolutely had to, based on what I saw. It’s really encouraging and continues to prove what many of us have suspected for a while with the D: Lack of talent wasn’t the problem. Lack of good coaching was the major culprit.

5. I’d normally try to talk about each individual position group and/or single out some standout players from the game. But if I tried to do that this week, I’d be typing for days. Everyone was making plays.

Special Teams:

1. Logan Cooke continued doing what Logan Cooke does: Boom ridiculous punts and kickoffs to keep the opponent backed up deep on their end of the field. He doesn’t get the publicity of Scott at Bama, but he’s every bit as good.

2. Tucker Day had a true freshman day. 1/3 on FGs. Missed a chip shot, hit one from midrange, missed a long one. Hit all 5 PATs. I’m not going to rip on a true freshman kicking in his first game who was recruited as a punter. It’s on Mullen that we’re in that type of situation to begin.

3. Gabe Myles looked good returning punts. He generally made good decisions on when to try to return and when to call for a fair catch.

4. Donald Gray & Keith Mixon had a little miscommunication on their kickoff return, resulting in a touchback. Hopefully it was just a first game thing. Gray had a huge return later for 52 yards. I still have no idea how he didn’t break it for a TD.

Offense:

1. Offense had a solid, if relatively unspectacular, day. State rolled up 555 yards of total offense, 274 passing and 281 rushing. The Dogs amassed 29 first downs and were 6/15 on third down. Ideally I’d like to see a higher 3rd down conversion rate, but 6/15 isn’t awful. And it improved as the game went on, as State was just 2/8 at the half, meaning we converted 4/7 in the second half.

2. I thought Nick Fitzgerald had a good but not great day. He completed 16 of 29 passes for 239 yards and 2 TDs. He added another 41 yards and 1 TD on 7 rushing attempts. Most importantly, he managed the game, controlled the huddle and generally made good decisions with the ball.

I do agree with Mullen that his passing was slightly off on the day. But you can already see some areas where he’s improved from last year. His ceiling is ridiculous, he just has to continue working to become a finished product. On the days when he’s really “on”, he’s going to be absolute hell to stop for opposing defenses.

3. Aeris Williams had a very solid, workhorse type of day. He ran for 83 yards on 16 carries with a TD. A-Train averaged 5.2 Yards Per Carry (YPC) and had a long run of 15. It wasn’t spectacular, but he kept the chains moving and wore down the Bucs’ D with physical running between the tackles. Some early 1-2 yard runs turned into 6-7 yard runs by the time we pulled him in the 3rd quarter.

4. OL left me with plenty of unanswered questions. They were mostly solid, but I saw a few too many guys come through untouched for my liking. A couple were well executed blitzes, but it’s still concerning.

My biggest concern for this group is at Center (C). I’m a big fan of Elgton Jenkins, but he isn’t a C. He doesn’t have the quickness required to snap the ball and get out of his stance to block against SEC defensive lines, based on what I saw Saturday. And don’t even get me started on how many of his snaps were too low. Fitz was constantly having to bend down to grab a low snap and it throws off the timing of your plays. We have got to get that sorted ASAP or we’re going to have problems moving forward.

It’s an indictment of OL coach John Hevesy that we’re in the position of not having a C on the roster this year and trying to convert a T into one. I’ve said for years I think he’s a good developer of what he has, but his ability to recruit is absolutely terrible.

5. WRs were productive. 10 different WRs/TEs caught a pass on Saturday. Donald Gray, Reggie Todd, and Gabe Myles tied for the team lead with 3 apiece. If Todd continues to improve and becomes a reliable weapon, I’m going to really like this group. He adds some much needed size to a group full of slot guys.

Coaching/Intangibles:

1. Dan Mullen and Co had a solid, if predictably vanilla, game plan in place on Saturday. State ran 86 offensive plays, 50 rushing and 36 passing. State was just about a 60/40 rush/pass ratio on the day. Ideally I’d like to see us a little closer to a 65/35 split, but 55/45 – 60/40 is pretty typical for a Mullen offense.

When I say the offense was vanilla, I mean it was very clear we were limiting what we were running. Fitz only ran the read option a handful of times. We were mostly going with a pure handoff or QB run. For an offense predicated on the threat of the QB option game, that makes you somewhat predictable. But I agreed with the game plan. There’s no point in putting Fitz at risk against an FCS opponent.

2. My biggest praise goes to new Defensive Coordinator (DC) Todd Grantham. That guy has done one hell of a job this offseason. He has completely transformed a very soft, porous D into a unit that is physical and hard to move the ball against. As I noted above, it was easy to see how fast we played and how well coached we looked.

What impressed me was everyone’s knowledge of the system and their assignments. You could spot the confidence and belief our players had a mile away. They were reacting instead of thinking and that makes all the difference on D. The intensity and aggression were off the charts. This unit has done a complete 180 in just one offseason. At one point in the game I sent a text to my buddies that said: “We just blitzed on 3rd and long. You can do that? Fire Grantham!*****” (sarcasterisks to indicate sarcasm, for those not in the loop). It was refreshing to see us actually turn the D loose to get after the QB in a situation that called for it. We haven’t seen that in years from a State D.

Here is something that should be scary for opposing offensive coordinators this year: I thought we were pretty vanilla on D against the Bucs. We didn’t do a ton of things in terms of exotic formation looks or running stunts, etc. We just lined up and whipped the guy across from us, as you’d expect against an FCS team. But when we blitzed, we got home or created pressure. Once we start really breaking out the different looks, disguising coverages, etc., this defense could become scary good.

3. We’ll find out for sure over the next 3-4 games, but I think we’ve got some real leaders on this team. That’s a big difference from last year. There was a killer instinct from this group, especially on D. When the Bucs had just 9 total yards before their final possession, the D was challenging one other to finish with TFLs and hold CSU to 0 yards on the day. That’s the kind of attitude we’ve been missing on D.

4. Nice to see us not only use our depth, but play a bunch of freshmen on Saturday. Kylin Hill debuted early at RB and looks really good. I’m buying the hype on him. He’s rough, in a good way. Kobe Jones looked like he was worth every penny Northern Miss paid him. I loved the decision to put Keytaon Thompson on the field early Saturday. There’s a lot of talk he has early entry potential, so no point wasting a redshirt year on him. We don’t have another credible backup QB on the roster, so why risk his first snaps being against LSU, or worse, Alabama? Getting him live action snaps was the right call. And to his credit, he didn’t look overwhelmed and got better as he settled into the game.

One of the big criticisms I’ve had of Mullen is his reluctance to let freshmen play that are ready. He’s throwing them in the fire early this year, so hat’s off to him for making an adjustment that was long overdue. It shows real growth from him.

WMD’s Final Thoughts:

I know this game comes with all the caveats of “It was an FCS team, blah blah blah…” But let’s be really honest: We’ve played some teams and offenses just as bad or worse and not dominated them the way we did Saturday. The improvement in this team is there for all to see, and I for one, am really excited about what this group can do. We seem to have finally found a DC who has turned our physical freaks on that side of the ball loose to use their freakishness to go make plays. We had over 500 yards of offense on a day when Fitz wasn’t sharp passing or running the read option, which is what he does best.

We’ll get a lot of questions answered against Louisiana Tech this Saturday, especially about the OL. They’re a nice step up in competition and a team that traditionally plays us very tough, especially down there. I’m expecting a physical battle and a hard fought game that may go down to the wire. This will be La Tech’s Super Bowl and they’ll play like it at home.

Hail State, my friends!

WMD