Baton Rouge- Mississippi State had an opportunity to make a statement in front of a national audience, but they came up short falling to LSU 31-16.
It was a combination of the special teams making mistakes and the offensive line being overmatched that contributed to the loss in the SEC opener.
1) Special Teams continue to be an issue
Brutal special teams were the story of last season, and it appears to have not gone away as some crucial special teams mistakes may have cost the Bulldogs a victory tonight. The Bulldogs appeared to be off to a hot start as Jo'quavious Marks burst through the line for a 37-yard TD on the first drive, but a missed extra point by Ben Raybon killed the momentum. Mississippi State has now missed three extra points in its first three games after Massimo Biscardi missed two in last week's matchup with Arizona.
LSU knows how it feels to lose because of special teams after their game-tying extra point was blocked by Florida State two weeks ago, but they were on the flip side tonight. Mississippi State got an important stop with a 16-10 lead at the end of the third quarter, but graduate receiver Austin Williams muffed the punt, giving LSU only 9-yards in order to score the go-ahead touchdown.
Tulu Griffin broke off what looked to be an 88-yard kick return after the Tigers went ahead 24-16 later in the 4th quarter. It would have given the Bulldogs a chance to get back in the game, but it was called back for a holding by Corey Ellington. After that, the Tigers had all the momentum and cruised to the first SEC victory of the Brian Kelly era.
2) The O-Line was outmatched
Mississippi State's offensive line had their first real test of the season, and a talented LSU front outmatched them. Will Rogers had a very uncharacteristic game with a 57% completion percentage, and that was largely due to the pass rush the Tigers provided. Matt House's defense provided four sacks on Will Rogers, including 1.5 each from veteran B.J. Ojulari and five-star freshman Harold Perkins.
The Bulldogs also had a very tough time converting in short-yardage situations as they failed on three different fourth and one tries. The first two were due to the LSU defensive line winning at the line of scrimmage and tackling the Bulldog running back in the backfield, and the third was a rushed throw by Will Rogers to Austin Williams. The Bulldogs ended up going 3-14 on third down and 1-4 on fourth down.
3) Defensive Line a Bright Spot
There aren't a lot of positives to take away from tonight's game, but the Bulldog defensive line really had a solid day. Despite being without Jaden Crumedy and Jordan Davis, the Mississippi State defensive line was able to generate a ton of pressure on Jayden Daniels and came away with three sacks.
The run defense seems to be the best aspect of that group, and they were able to hold LSU running backs to under three yards per carry until Armoni Goodwin broke off a 47-yard run late in the fourth quarter. The problem was that they struggled to contain Jayden Daniels when he took off to scramble. The Arizona State transfer rushed 17 times for 100 yards, and a majority of those yards came via improvisation when the pocket broke down.
