Scary. Just Scary.
I think I've had nightmares before about Starkville being destroyed by natural disaster and having to play all our home games in Death Valley. Whew. GL BOL Gamecocks. Thoughts and prayers to your home state. And a great reminder to Never Take The Junction For Granted this weekend.
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/13828320/south-carolina-gamecocks-move-game-vs-lsu-tigers-baton-rouge
2. PRED WED by the one and only Austin Golding. Don't miss DO NOT MISS the correct perspective Austin gives in his point #5 this week. Don't take this run we are on for granted.
*Prediction Wednesday*
In our last 7 SEC games Mississippi State has scored 17, 17, 19, 17, 51 (Vandy), 20 and 17 points. Throw the 51 point game against Vandy out and that's averaging just under 18 points a conference contest. That is just not good enough. Over that same 7 game span the Bulldogs have gone 3-4. We have to find a way to have more offensive production if we even want to pretend to scare the top tier of the SEC.
Texas A&M took some of the weaknesses we looked at last week and turned them into strengths. The Aggies converted half of their third downs and Kyle Allen was only sacked once. If we had any chance to win we had to get A&M off the field and Kyle Allen on his back and neither came close to happening.
The positives to come out of the game were few and far between for me. Malik Dear obviously was a bright spot as well as Jamal Peters on defense. I believe now more than ever that the best talent on this team is still waiting it's collective turn to take the show over. I hated to see Aries Williams fumble like he did because that usually means we never see that person again under Dan Mullen. I hope that isn't the case here but I also hope the A-Train will learn to carry the ball in his outside hand from here on out.
Troy comes into this game 1-3 on the year having lost to NC State, Wisconsin and South Alabama. They will be up against a banged up Bulldog team but that could makes things even worse for the Trojans. Elgton Jenkins will be playing for Rufus Warren and may be the future of the Miss State offensive line. Jamal Peters will be playing more now that Kendrick Market is done for the year. Gabe Myles will also be out for the Bulldogs but we get to now watch Donald Gray hopefully get another chance to show why he is one of our most explosive playmakers. Will Redmond may also be out and that will hurt.
Mississippi State - 40 Troy - 20
I don't think this will be much of a contest. With that said I think the combination of a big loss hangover and the adjustments we will have to grow into because of who is out will allow Troy to score some points. There isn't much to look for on the Troy side of the ball so I have picked 5 specific things to pay attention to during this scrimmage that counts.
1. How many touches does Malik Dear get and what kind of touches are they? Dear is clearly a RB long term. We should let him get plenty of work this game to prepare him for a bigger role down the stretch.
2. What is the run/ pass ratio? The play calling at College Station felt confused and out of rhythm. We need to try and develop a comfort zone and some go to plays or we will still look like we are picking plays out of a hat the rest of the year.
3. Will Dontavian Lee finally get a chance to shine? Please can we give this man a shot? He looked great in the spring. Every touch he has gotten he has run hard and looked decisive. That's what we need more of in the run game.
4. Does Manny Diaz continue to play soft at first and then try to adjust? It would be nice to have the right gameplan in place to start the game and not have to figure it out midway through the second half.
5. What is the crowd like? Will Bulldog fans show up to support a team that looks to be middle of the pack? I hope so. We are currently living in the golden era of Bulldog football. It's easy to get greedy at this point but if you have been cheering the Dawgs on for a long time you know how rare this sustained success is. Be a part of it and show up to Starkville.
I have been incorrect in my predictions 5 times going back to the start of last season. Four of those I have picked us to win and we have lost and one I picked us to lose and we won (LSU last year). Clearly I have high hopes for my Dawgs but if there isn't much improvement the next few weeks we will lose to Alabama for sure. By the same token conference road games against Missouri and Arkansas will be toss ups in my mind.
We don't want the team to quit so don't lay down as a fan either. We can still have a great season. We are building a program that has sustained success in the most difficult conference in the country. That's something to be excited about.
#HailState
3. Game Week Depth Charts Released: http://www.hailstate.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=1158174 . And no, you didn't really miss anything because Malik Dear is still listed on the 3-deep as WR. Maybe that will change this week. Can't wait to see!
HAIL STATE
TEETH,
KHH
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