An interesting game this week as Mississippi State (1-0) travels west (very west) to take on Arizona (1-0).
By Steve Wright
Here are the three keys to a Mississippi State win over the Arizona Wildcats:
Be Physical
Georgia showed in their 49-3 week one beatdown of Oregon that the size difference between the SEC and the Pac-12 is still a real thing. It was that level of physicality – along with smart recruiting to find players of that size and strength – that allowed Stanford to be a force in the conference for years. Mississippi State is simply more physical and bigger than an Arizona team that plays in a conference that stresses finesse over force.
Be Great on Third Down
The win against Memphis could be the start of a new chapter in the Mike Leach offense. This is an offense that always gets yards – and often in bulk – but that hasn’t been as efficient as it needs to be at Mississippi State.
Against Memphis, however, the efficiency was on show from the start. The Bulldogs were 11-of-13 on third down, grinding the clock at times and hitting big plays at others. The offense was able to do all this without ever stretching out of its comfort zone, with Will Rogers going for over 450 yards without ever looking off his groove. Staying this good on third down will result in Mississippi State crushing the Wildcats.
Be Ready
This is a 10:00 pm kickoff time in Starkville. It will be played in cooler weather than anything Mississippi has seen (or been close to) in six months. Arizona also has upgrades all over the field from the train wreck in 2021, including a UTEP transfer at wide receiver in Jacob Cowing who went off last week against San Diego State for 152 yards on eight catches for three touchdowns.
The Bulldogs are the better team here, but they better be ready to play in unfamiliar circumstances.
Saturday‘s game kicks off at 10:00 PM CT (11:00 PM ET). You can watch this SEC football game on the FOX Sports 1 Network.
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