{"id":66688,"date":"2024-10-20T17:00:35","date_gmt":"2024-10-20T21:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=66688"},"modified":"2024-10-20T14:54:33","modified_gmt":"2024-10-20T18:54:33","slug":"bulldogs-improve-in-loss-to-aggies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2024\/10\/20\/bulldogs-improve-in-loss-to-aggies\/","title":{"rendered":"Bulldogs Improve in Loss to Aggies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once again, Mississippi State lost to a top 15 team, this time to No. 15 Texas A&M 34-24. This is the third week in a row that State has faced a team in the top 15. Last week, it was No. 5 Georgia,<\/a> a 34-point favorite that also disappointed oddsmakers in the 41-31 victory. \u00a0Before the Athens game, State was in Austin, TX against No. 1 Texas<\/a> where the Bulldogs lost 35-13. \u00a0That\u2019s a tough schedule, even for great teams. But, in all three games, they continue to improve. Even in this loss to the Aggies.<\/p>\n

In the Texas A&M game, there were several occasions that State could have walked away with a victory. But those are the occasions on which experienced, winning teams usually take advantage. Saturday the Bulldogs showed signs that they can eventually become such a team.<\/p>\n

In his postgame press conference, head coach Jeff Lebby seemed to think they\u2019re getting there. \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten better,\u201d Lebby said. \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any doubt about that. I think we\u2019re starting to find a little bit of an identity at times. We\u2019ve got to create more consistency. We\u2019ve got to be able to go sustain. We\u2019ve got to make the play that has the ability to change the outcome of the game. That\u2019s the stress.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier Impressions<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Texas game was the first career start for true freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren<\/a>. He replaced the injured senior Blake Shapen<\/a>, who was sidelined for the season with a shoulder injury.<\/p>\n

Think about the fact that this time last year, Van Buren was playing in high school, now thrust into one of the most hostile environments a visiting team could face. But, at Texas, and Georgia, he showed poise and confidence running Lebby\u2019s offense like a veteran. The only problem in both games was they didn\u2019t show a spark until the second half. Van Buren vowed to change that in the Texas A&M game, wanting to get started earlier.<\/p>\n

That is exactly what happened as the Bulldogs took the opening kickoff. The young quarterback marched his offense down the field 92 yards in 12 plays for the first score of the game. Granted, the Aggies answered with two straight touchdown drives, but the offense was making its mark. He would end up passing for 242 yards and three touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Of course, Van Buren had help from receivers Kevin Coleman Jr<\/a>.<\/strong>, Kelly Akharaiyi<\/a>, and Mario Craver. Coleman and Craver each had a touchdown reception. The running game also showed improvement. Running back Davon Booth<\/a> had an impressive 40-yard run that helped break open that first drive. He also sealed the deal in the same series, scoring the touchdown after a 14-yard pass from Van Buren.<\/p>\n

In his win over Texas Saturday night, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart handed out a compliment for State\u2019s offense. In praising his defense against the Longhorns, Smart said, \u201cOur defense was embarrassed the week before.\u201d Surely, Lebby appreciated that Smart paid attention.<\/p>\n

Bulldogs\u2019 Confusing Defense<\/strong><\/h3>\n

State\u2019s defense against A&M was sometimes good in the secondary, but other times they were almost non-existent. For example, Aggies\u2019 quarterback Conner Weigman<\/a> hit on six of seven throws, in the drive following Van Buren\u2019s beginning score. After that, he threw up two passes right in the hands of safety Corey Ellington<\/a>\u00a0and another to linebacker Nic Mitchell<\/a>. The only problem was, that both defenders dropped them. Both could have been game-changers and potential scores for the Dawgs.<\/p>\n

There were two interceptions by Bulldog linebacker Zakari Tillman<\/a> and safety Hunter Washington<\/a>. The most consequential was Tillman\u2019s at the start of the fourth quarter which led to State\u2019s touchdown bringing it to a one-score game.<\/p>\n

The allowance of third-down conversions was the worst showing for the defense. Weigman converted nine-of-14 third downs, the most the Dawgs have allowed all season. On top of that, there were no sacks and only one tackle for a loss. Imagine the outcome of the game if those interceptions had been made and they were more aggressive on defense.<\/p>\n

He Did What?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One of the most puzzling aspects of the game was in the third quarter when State had the ball on its own 30-yard line. It was fourth down and eight to go and the Dawgs were down by seven. For some reason, Lebby thought it would be a good idea to fake the punt.\u00a0 The result was freshman running back Xavier Zaylen, taking the snap for two yards, and turning it over on downs. The resulting Aggie drive took only four plays and the score became 31-17.<\/p>\n

There is no doubt that Lebby would love to have that decision back, but it turns out he thought about it a lot in game prep. \u201cI felt great about the fake all week long,\u201d Lebby said. \u201cWe loved the looks that we had gotten. We thought 10 (yards) or less, regardless of where it was as long as we weren\u2019t inside our own 20-yard line or it was truly egregious, we were going to give it a chance to go. Again, I felt good about it. Looking back, obviously I\u2019ll Monday morning quarterback myself for a long time and won\u2019t get over that for a long time because of the way it worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Win in Their Future?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This game marked the sixth win in a row for Texas A&M. They are positioned at the top of the SEC at 6-1, 4-0 in the conference. On the other hand, this game marked the sixth loss in a row for the Bulldogs, as they are 1-6, 0-4 in the SEC. \u00a0Somehow, the fans have accepted their fate and are taking each week as proof there are better seasons to come.<\/p>\n

Arkansas comes to Starkville next week with the potential of perhaps Mississippi State’s first conference win. After that, the Dawgs travel to Tennessee, then Missouri at home, and the day after Thanksgiving, it’s off to Oxford and Lebby\u2019s first Egg Bowl. At least the players are still optimistic, which is the bulk of the battle. Following the game, leading tackler, and safety Isaac Smith<\/a> still has hope. \u201cLosing will either break or make a team. I feel like it\u2019s teaching us a lesson on adversity and how we should stick together as brothers,\u201d Smith\u00a0said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to come a point in time where we\u2019re going to start winning. We know what we\u2019ve got to do to get it fix and we\u2019ve got to just pull together and win.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy: Matt Bush-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Once again, Mississippi State lost to a top 15 team, this time to No. 15 Texas A&M 34-24. This is the third week in a row that State has faced a team in the top 15. Last week, it was No. 5 Georgia, a 34-point favorite that also disappointed oddsmakers in the 41-31 victory. \u00a0Before […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4559,"featured_media":66700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[33096,33097,8272,106,32957,64,34276],"class_list":["post-66688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-sec","tag-2024-mississippi-state-football","tag-2024-sec-football","tag-jeff-lebby","tag-kirby-smart","tag-mario-craver","tag-texas-am-aggies","tag-xavier-zaylen"],"modified_by":"Maggie Yarnell, Senior Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}