Mississippi State Three Keys: Arkansas

Three-keys-Mississippi State

Well, well, well. The Mississippi State Bulldogs might have been the biggest positive surprise of Week 4 of the college football season, and Week 1 of the SEC season. Was anyone expecting Mike Leach and his new quarterback, Stanford transfer K.J. Costello, to uncork over 620 passing yards against LSU in Tiger Stadium and defeat the defending national champions?

By Matt Zemek

The Bulldogs weren’t perfect, but they were explosive. Being potent overcomes being imperfect – making eight or nine huge plays alongside four turnovers means a team’s touchdowns outweigh its mistakes. Mississippi State did give LSU some points with its giveaways on Saturday, but being able to hit home-run pass plays enabled the Bulldogs to score more points than they gave away. Now let’s see if Mississippi State can keep the momentum going against Arkansas in its second game of the season.

1 – Turnovers

First things first: If Mississippi State scores 44 points and commits four turnovers in every game it plays, Mike Leach wouldn’t necessarily be elated, but his team would probably take the outcome and enjoy a very successful season. Scoring 44 points means that even with a large number of turnovers, the Bulldogs will have amassed enough points to defeat most teams – not Alabama (which could probably score in the 50s or low 60s if it takes away the ball four times), but certainly a majority of SEC opponents. That needs to be stated and put in context.

However: MSU isn’t going to score 44 every week. The Bulldogs are going to have days in which they struggle more than they did at LSU, which was playing without elite cornerback Derek Stingley. On the days when everything doesn’t click for Leach’s offense, four turnovers will lose games. The Bulldogs have to get into the habit of being less sloppy while remaining aggressive. That’s priority number one for Costello against Arkansas.

2 – Maintain Third-Down Dominance

Mississippi State owned high-leverage situations against LSU, so that is obviously a core need against Arkansas and every other remaining opponent this season. MSU was 8 of 16 on third downs while limiting LSU to 5 of 17 on third downs. That will get the job done on a regular basis. MSU limited LSU on the ground – 80 rushing yards on 38 carries – which put Tiger quarterback Myles Brennan in a lot of predictable passing situations. That’s how the Bulldogs put themselves in position to succeed on third downs. The third downs LSU faced were third and long or third and medium, not third and short. That is a winning template against Arkansas and other SEC foes.

3 – Contain Feleipe Franks as a runner

Arkansas quarterback Feleipe Franks faced a very strong Georgia defense in the Hogs’ first game. Georgia smothered Franks when he was a Florida Gator in 2018, so it is not a surprise Franks struggled against an elite defense. MSU does not have an elite defense, so it needs to be very vigilant in monitoring Franks as a running threat. Franks is not a gifted passer, but this game can become thorny for the Bulldogs if they fail to account for Franks’ scrambling. That is how Arkansas can gain big yards on broken or improvisational plays. If Mississippi State shuts that down, it should be fine.

Saturday‘s game kicks off at 6:30 PM CT (7:30 PM ET). Watch on the SEC Alternate Network.

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