In his previous season as offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, current Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby, averaged 500 total yards per game. Last week against FCS Eastern Kentucky, they got 450 yards. In Lebby’s own words, it was “not good enough.” This week the Bulldogs travel out west to the home of Arizona State, not an FCS opponent who went 5-6 last year like EKU. They’re a D1 school, recently moving from the PAC 12 to the Big 12, but don’t let the transition fool you. They can be the same team they always have been, with a storied past and NFL stars to prove it.
Actually, the two teams couldn’t be more evenly matched. State went 5-7 in 2023, while ASU went 3-9, considerably worse than the Dawgs, but more to prove. Both teams have been picked by preseason polls to only win 4-5 games, thus chips on both of their shoulders. Considering the total revamping of both programs, this could be a slugfest not to be missed.
Bulldogs Travel Out West to Arizona State
Uncanny Similarities
There were a lot of highlights to show from Arizona State’s 48-7 win over Wyoming last weekend in Tempe. Most came from the offense, showcasing a well-balanced run/pass attack. They had 258 yards passing, and 241 rushing for a total of 499 total yards. That’s close to where Lebby would like to go.
The Dawgs had a similar outcome in their 56-7 win over Eastern Kentucky. Lebby’s offense ran for 203 yards and passed for 247. Both defenses held their opponents to a single touchdown, and each had a pick-six.
For State, it’s a big leap from playing a weaker FCS team, to now meeting a match close to looking in the mirror. Don’t think this isn’t lost on Lebby. “For us, it’s a great measuring stick to see where we are at,” Lebby said in his Monday presser. “You look at Arizona State, the way they played in all three phases on Saturday night, really just an incredibly dominant performance over a well-coached, tough Wyoming football team. They are a completely different football team than they were a year ago.”
Considering the complete upheaval in the coaching staff, roster, and offense, the same is probably being said about the Bulldogs by ASU’s head coach Kenny Dillingham.
Sun Devils to Watch
On offense, Arizona State’s quarterback Sam Leavitt is similar to MSU’s Blake Shapen. Both can pass and make plays with their legs too. In the game with Wyoming, Leavitt completed 14 of his 22 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, he didn’t score but ran eight times for 47 yards. The numbers are very close to Shapen’s.
On the ground, Cam Skattebo got the most carries and proved to be a threat with passes in the flats, and yards after the catch. He will definitely be one on which to key for the Bulldog defense. He and DeCarlos Brooks accounted for two TDs on the ground.
The passing game for ASU accounted for two of their touchdowns at the hands of Kyson Brown and Chamon Metayer. Brown is the one to watch for the long ball since he led in receiving with 73 yards on two receptions. The Dawgs’ health in the secondary is unknown at this point, but the Sun Devils are a contender in that area.
On defense, ASU held the Cowboys to 118 yards with two interceptions. However, those turnovers were clear miscues by Wyoming’s quarterback, uncharacteristic of Shapen, at least at this point. In other words, they were thrown directly to the defenders.
What’s a Bulldog to Do?
State had an impressive debut to the 2024 season, but it was against an inferior FCS opponent. Will a similar performance be good enough to take down Arizona State? As outlined earlier, the Sun Devils had an impressive start to their season as well, and compared closely to the weapons of the Dawgs. MSU will need to shore up some areas that might not pass a formidable foe.
Last Saturday, the majority of the offense was built on the arm of Shapen. The running game, however, was built on three running backs, scoring one touchdown. Keyvone Lee, Davon Booth, and Johnnie Daniels had 100 yards on the ground on 22 carries. The remainder of the 203 rushing yards came from wide receivers. Against an FCS team, the running game should have been more dominant. Also, the fumbles came at the hands of two of the backs.
“We left a lot out there,” Lebby said. “Whether it was not leveraging a block correctly, not having one more press in our rotation at running back, it was something different every time. You look at the stat line, our yards per rush was really good. It was only because of a couple explosives. We were streaky, and we need to have more consistency inside the run game.”
On defense, the same can be said. It was not intense enough, again, against an FCS opponent. There should have been more than two sacks or four tackles for a loss. “For us, it’s making sure that we’re learning lessons through the victory,” Lebby said. “I think with the guys as they showed up back in the building this morning, as they were around yesterday for treatment and to get a meal, our guys got great intent inside these walls right now.”
Standoff in the Desert
This could be the game of the weekend, given how evenly matched the are. Both hope to exceed last year’s mark and reach a bowl game. Winning on Saturday could be crucial to accomplishing that. For Mississippi State, even if it loses, a lot can be learned, even more than from its week-one drubbing of an FCS opponent. But Lebby surely doesn’t want to go there.
Arizona State opened as a 1.5-point favorite against the Bulldogs; as of Monday afternoon, the line already moved to 6.5.
The game is a late one on the East Coast, 10:30 pm EST on ESPN.
