It’s probably no surprise that Mississippi State lost to No.5 Georgia. What’s surprising is the positive takeaways in the way they did it. After all, it’s hard to find hope in a five-game losing streak, but somehow that’s what happened in Athens yesterday. Mississippi State was definitely impressive, even in defeat. It didn’t start that way as the Bulldogs from Mississippi were sporadic at best. UGA’s halftime lead of 27-10 had most believing it was going to be the blowout oddsmakers led them to believe. But in the end, the Bulldogs from Georgia couldn’t cover the 34-point spread and ended up with a 41-31 victory instead.
It came down to the tenacity of a true freshman quarterback, his receivers, a much-improved defensive backfield, and a Dawg bite that wouldn’t let go. If that sounds like an odd observation for a defeat, maybe so.
After the defeat at the hands of Toledo 41-17, and their first SEC loss to Florida 45-28, the season seemed all but gone. Those were games that were sure to be won, according to the preseason analysis. After going 1-4, It was thought, at best, there might be only one more win possible this year. That would mean a 2-10 season, disgraceful even for a rebuilding team.
Now, after the second half at Georgia, and the way they played at Texas, some think there might actually be two SEC wins possible.
MVB: Not a Happy First Half
Remember, that new head coach Jeff Lebby has a pedigree as offensive coordinator for two top-10 offenses at Ole Miss and Oklahoma. The offense he brought to both schools is still in use there. That included coaching quarterbacks like McKenzie Milton at UCF and Matt Corral at Ole Miss. True freshman Michael Van Buren is just the clay Lebby needs to turn into a top-caliber QB for State.
MVB, as he is known after Texas, struggled early on against Georgia. In the first half, he was sporadic, missing clearly-open receivers on several plays, but making brilliant ones the next. Except for one drive that led to a field goal set up by an interception, Van Buren went three and out until last in the first half.
In the second quarter, he hit Mario Craver for a 72-yard gain. That set up a 24-yard touchdown pass to Kelly Akharaiyi getting them to 10 points.
Second Half, Different Story
In the second half, Van Buren became more consistent. On one drive, he connected on nine consecutive passes, one of them a 42-yarder to Kevin Coleman Jr. Later in that drive, he cut Georgia’s lead to 10 points with a 2-yarder to running back Davon Booth going into the fourth quarter. MVB ended the game 20 for 37, 306 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.
In his postgame press conference, Lebby equated Van Buren’s early missteps to youth and being at Sanford Stadium in front of a hostile crowd. “Early on, again, I think it’s just a young kid in an unbelievable environment where we had an opportunity to do some things,” Lebby said. “We don’t hit on them. I got to continue to coach him to put him better and put him in positions of success. But, I’m proud of him for getting himself out of that hole and then answering to be able to go play the way we needed him to play.”
The young quarterback was also upbeat, despite the loss. “It’s just telling me we’ve got a lot more work to do,” Van Buren said. “But we’re going in the right direction. I’m proud of all my guys, they fought their tails off. We’ve got to build on that.”
Defensive Improvement?
Yes, Georgia piled up 605 yards of total offense, 459 of them from the arm of quarterback Carson Beck. One of the missing parts was any pass rush from State. The defensive line did get five tackles for loss, but zero sacks. Some of the blame could go to the defensive backfield, but when there is that amount of time to throw, someone’s going to get open.
Perhaps some of the optimism coming out of this loss is due to some hot moments from that defensive backfield. They provided some signs of improvement with key turnovers. Memphis transfer, cornerback DeAgo Brumfield was back from injury and playing in his first game for MSU. He provided a pivotal moment in the third quarter when he intercepted Beck in the end zone, thwarting a Georgia score. The ensuing drive by State ended in the score that brought it to 34-24.
Cornerback Brice Pollock provided the interception that led to the first points of the game, taking the Starkville Dawgs to 3-0. By the way, that was the first time State had taken a lead this season. Pollock also punched the ball for a fumble, which unfortunately went out of bounds, and he tipped the ball away in the end zone averting a score.
It’s Good to Leave an Impression
The Mississippi State effort appeared to frustrate Georgia at times. There was even a viral moment when head coach Kirby Smart seemed to violently shove Van Buren after a play on their sideline. When asked about the incident, Smart said he really didn’t remember. “We were trying to change personnel. I think it’s the play they came over to our sideline and I’m trying to get Schumann’s (defensive coordinator) attention. But no, I don’t really remember it.”
Whether State played well, or Georgia was looking past them to Texas next week, Lebby was still pleased with the effort. “Our guys responded. Man, they did, they answered the challenge, they answered the bell.” Lebby said. “I hate that we’re sitting here disappointed, frustrated, that we’re not on the right side of it. But our guys are continuing to fight like heck for each other. And I’m proud of them for that.”
State is home for three weekends in a row, against Texas A&M, Arkansas, and UMass. Regardless of being 1-5 (0-3 SEC), there is optimism in how these Dawgs are playing right now, with the potential to take maybe two of the three. Lebby wants to stay the course and thinks eventually it will pay off.
“And for us, just every single day, our process, waking up with both feet on the floor and being the best I can possibly be, at some point that’s going to pay off for us — hopefully sooner than later,” Lebby said.
