STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen knows the importance of conference openers.
In his previous seven seasons, Mullen is 2-5 in Southeastern Conference openers. The wins came in 2012 against Auburn and in 2014 against LSU. MSU finished 4-4 in 2012 and second in the SEC Western Division in 2014 with a 6-2 record.
Mullen hopes his Bulldogs can duplicate the results of 2012 and 2014 at 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2) when they play host to South Carolina (1-0, 1-0) in its SEC opener at Davis Wade Stadium. SEC Nation, SEC Network’s on-campus pre-game show, will be live from the Junction at 9 a.m.
Mullen is 0-2 against South Carolina. MSU (0-1) lost 14-12 at home in 2011 and 34-16 in Columbia, South Carolina, in 2013.
South Carolina beat Vanderbilt 13-10 last Thursday in Nashville, Tennessee.
After a loss at home to South Alabama last week, MSU has a lot of questions to answer. After a tough week of practice, Mullen hopes to answer many of them.
Here are five things to watch:
1. Can MSU’s offense get back on track and overcome a tough defense?
MSU’s offense had no problem scoring in the first half last week.
The Bulldogs led 17-0 at halftime, but the offense struggled in the second half. A Westin Graves field goal was the team’s only points. After moving up and down the field in the first half, drives didn’t go anywhere in the second half.
MSU has been working on executing better and avoiding critical errors that derailed a few drives last week. But MSU’s offense will face a very good defense.
First-year South Carolina coach Will Muschamp earned a reputation as a good defensive coordinator at LSU (2001-04), Auburn (2006-07, 2015), and Texas (2008-10).
“Being a defensive coach, Will’s always done a great job,” Mullen said. “Guys play hard, play with a lot of energy, and they’re very, very sound in what they do. We expect them to come after us. Being at Auburn last year, he came after us a lot when he was there. We expect them to probably bring a lot of energy.”
Led by quarterback Dak Prescott, MSU beat Auburn 17-9 last season. The Bulldog offense had 326 yards of offense against Muschamp’s defense.
But at a different school with a new staff, there is only one game to watch of his current defense.
Co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach John Hevesy was impressed with what he saw on film, especially at defensive line.
“They play about eight guys. They’ve all got different characteristics of what they do,” Hevesy said. “It’s a bunch of athletic guys on defense, which is what you expect in an SEC game.”
South Carolina gave up 242 yards of offense to Vanderbilt.
2. Who will quarterback the Bulldogs?
Many Bulldog fans believed they had found their quarterback after the first half.
Junior Damian Williams, who was backing up sophomore Nick Fitzgerald, came in on the third series and led two-straight touchdown drives. He also led a drive that resulted in a field goal. But Williams struggled in the second half.
Mullen said the position isn’t decided and that Williams and Fitzgerald would prepare to play this week.
Williams was 20 of 28 for 143 yards and one touchdown. He led the Bulldogs with 93 yards rushing on 12 carries.
“Damian played his heart out,” senior wide receiver Fred Ross said. “He put us in a great situation to win.”
Fitzgerald was 0 of 3 and had 11 yards rushing. He played the first two series, but back-to-back three-and-outs led Mullen to put in Williams. Fitzgerald played one more series in the first half, but it was to take a knee right before half. He didn’t play in the second half.
Williams likely will start, but expect Fitzgerald to play more this week. There’s even a chance redshirt freshman Nick Tiano will play.
3. How hungry will MSU’s defense be?
After the loss to South Alabama, senior linebacker Richie Brown said he had to take some personal time Sunday to go through his feelings.
It was disappointing and not the way he wanted to start his final season as a Bulldog. He said there is nothing he can do about the past, but he feels like he can correct the problems that plagued the defense in the second half.
“We want to get back on the field and we want to correct our mistakes on the field,” Brown said. “We felt like we’ve had a few really good days of practice. That kind of helped us relieve some stress, vent, and feel like we’re making progress.”
The Bulldogs allowed 148 yards in the first half. The Jaguars had 5 yards rushing. In the second half, the Jaguars had 231 yards passing and 89 rushing.
First-year defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Peter Sirmon said the play in the second half was below expectations and below what is defense is capable of.
Sirmon said a couple of big plays got away from the Bulldogs, but he feels like practice has helped fix the mistakes.
“We’ve been working at it this week in practice in terms of tackling, understand the technique, and understand the urgency in which we need to play every single snap,” Sirmon said.
4. Can MSU put last weekend behind it?
As the heavy favorite, it was shocking to most that the Bulldogs lost to the Jaguars.
The fashion that MSU lost was demoralizing. Blowing a 17-point halftime lead, giving up the go-ahead touchdown with less than a minute remaining, and missing a 28-yard field goal with seconds left could wear on the Bulldogs.
The feeling from Ross and senior defensive lineman A.J. Jefferson after the game was somber. But they said they can’t let the loss linger and they must move on.
Mullen said practice has been physical and has given him hope the Bulldogs can turn it around. He wants to see a different team take the field this week.
“(I want to see) a team that goes out and plays hard, plays with relentless effort, passion for the game, same thing I want to every single Saturday from our guys,” Mullen said. “I want to see 11 guys on the field going as hard as they can every single snap and supported by all the guys on the sideline waiting for their opportunity to get out there on the field.”
5. Will South Carolina be fresher than MSU?
Although it’s not a quick turnaround for MSU, the Bulldogs will be at a disadvantage.
The Gamecocks played last Thursday and watched the Bulldogs’ game against the Jaguars.
South Carolina has had two extra days to prepare for MSU and to rest for the game. That could play a factor.
“They have a big advantage of actually opening up on a Thursday night, which is a huge advantage for a lot of teams,” Mullen said. “They’ve had a little extra time to prepare for us, to get healthy and well after their first game, so that will be a challenge.”
Although it wasn’t a dominating win, it has given the South Carolina fanbase hope. Muschamp, who took over for Steve Spurrier after he coached the Gamecocks for nearly 11 seasons, said the win has taken some pressure off his shoulders.
It also has given the Gamecocks something to build on.
“Anytime you have positive results, it makes it much easier to believe, have some belief in what you’re trying to do,” Muschamp said. “You’ve got to have some positive feedback, regardless of whether it’s football, the business world or whatever you’re doing.
“In our profession, the result of winning is what we look for. You’ve got to be able to see the fruits of your labor.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.