Mississippi State Football 3 Keys: NC State

Three-keys-Mississippi State

Mike Leach begins his second year in the SEC with a program that isn’t known for tremendous success. The Mississippi State Bulldogs are one of the SEC’s weaker teams and are trying to build their brand with Leach’s Air Raid offense and football acumen.

After barely getting past Louisiana Tech in Week 1, they welcome ACC opponent North Carolina State in Week 2. The Wolfpack are coming off a drubbing of South Florida in their season opener. This contest will be played in Starkville and will occur the week before N.C. State plays an FCS opponent, so the Wolfpack aren’t going to be looking past MSU. That makes this game tougher for Mississippi State. Let’s take a look at the keys to this game for the Bulldogs.

1 – Yards after the catch

The Bulldog fan base is realizing that the key to any Mike Leach system is yards after the catch by wide receivers. The Air Raid only works if the receivers function as an addition to the run game. Simple bubble screens have to go for five yards if the Bulldogs are going to be effective within the system their head coach uses. Quarterback Will Rogers did a remarkable job in Week 1, throwing for 370 yards on 39 attempts, including three touchdowns. He will need his receivers to keep doing work. Jamire Calvin is a perfect example of this, catching only three balls but turning them into 67 yards and a touchdown.

2 – Rushing attack

Getting 65 total yards and 3.5 yards per carry will simply not be enough in the SEC. That’s what Mississippi State did on the ground versus Louisiana Tech. Yes, the receivers gaining yards after the catch is a way for Leach to generate rushing yards out of a primary passing attack, but the SEC is still going to require teams to run the ball and run it well when they need to do so. SEC teams have quality cornerbacks and nickel defenders. They’re stronger and will be able to pull down receivers with greater frequency than the Pac-12 teams Leach faced at Washington State. Leach will have to find a way to create a rushing attack if he wants to find success in this game and in the upcoming SEC season.

3 – Defensive adjustments

Asking your defense to play a 3-3-5 in the SEC is quite a big ask. Unlike the spread offenses in the Pac-12 and the Big 12, SEC teams are lining up with extremely powerful backs capable of rattling off over 100 yards a game. N.C. State had two 100-yard rushers last week alone. The Bulldogs will need to stack the box if they’re going to stop the Wolfpack from rushing all over them. A 3-3-5 isn’t going to cut it against teams that can run the ball with bigger offensive lines.

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