STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State football team is looking to avoid back-to-back regular-season losses for the first time since 2013.
In November of that year, MSU lost to South Carolina (34-16), Texas A&M (51-41), and to Alabama (20-7). MSU won its final two games to become bowl eligible, and then beat Rice 44-7 in the Liberty Bowl.
MSU (2-3), which is coming off a 38-14 loss to Auburn in Starkville, will have to find a way to win away from Davis Wade Stadium if it is going to avoid back-to-back losses. It will try to do that at 9:15 tonight when it plays BYU (3-3) at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah.
The last time the MSU played on a Friday it lost its coach the next day. In 2008, MSU lost to Ole Miss 45-0 in the Battle for the Golden Egg in Oxford. MSU fired football coach Sylvester Croom the next day. Dan Mullen has led the Bulldogs to a school record six-straight bowl games.
BYU is coming of a 31-14 win at Michigan State. It beat Toledo 55-53 on Friday, Sept. 30, in Provo, and enters tonight’s game on a two-game winning streak.
MSU hasn’t played BYU since a 41-38 home loss in 2001. MSU’s only trip to Provo was a 44-28 win in 2000.
Here are five things to watch:
1. How will the short week and long trip affect MSU?
Mullen called this game a “different style of challenge” with all the obstacles his team will have to overcome.
MSU is preparing on a short week, it is playing 1,752 miles away from home at a place that is 4,551 feet above sea level. The start time also makes it a late game for a team in the Central time zone.
Mullen doesn’t believe the altitude will be a problem. He said the Bulldogs’ kickers are more than happy to attempt kicks where the air is thinner. But the late kick and short week have affected his practice plan.
“You kind of lose a day,” Mullen said. “We practiced (Sunday night), kind of our Sunday wrap-up practice. Monday’s Tuesday, so Monday disappeared on us. There’s no Monday this week. Then we’re practicing at night, just with the game time. We gain a little bit more time, preparation, during the day.”
MSU has practiced from 8-10 each night. Players have arrived at the football office around 4 p.m. for meetings and film sessions.
MSU beat UMass 47-35 Saturday, Sept. 24, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Sophomore starting quarterback Nick Fitzgerald said that trip gives the Bulldogs a point of reference for this trip.
“Going to a new place so far away before this one definitely gave us a little bit experience,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s going to be really cold, so that’s something we haven’t seen this season.”
2. Can MSU put the Auburn loss behind it?
With a short week, the loss to Auburn still could be on the minds of MSU.
After the game, which MSU trailed 35-0 at halftime, Fitzgerald said he and his teammates could have their pity party for one night. But they had to put it behind them and get back to work.
Mullen has described the 2016 squad as a “young” team. Overcoming adversity can be tough for players with little experience.
“It depends on them and the attitude and the leadership of our older guys (and) how they handle it and facing adversity,” Mullen said. “The best way I know how to deal with adversity is to get back to work. Since I’ve been here, that’s always been our kind of deal. We’ve faced all kind of highs and lows the eight years I’ve been here.”
After a 21-20 loss at to South Alabama in the opener, MSU beat South Carolina 27-14 the next week. MSU went to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and lost 23-20 to LSU. MSU bounced back with a victory against Massachusetts, a game in which it had to overcome a one-point halftime deficit.
“You deal with the high, you get back to work,” Mullen said. “You deal with the lows, you get back to work. That’s the mind-set we’ve had with the guys on the team.”
3. Will MSU wide receivers get back on track?
Fred Ross was surprised by his play when he went back and watched the Auburn game.
Ross had four catches for 29 yards and a touchdown, but he had two dropped passes and he muffed two punts. MSU recovered both punts, but Ross said it was the worst game he has played.
He said the drops were physical and mental.
“I was just frustrated,” Ross said. “Things weren’t going my way and I learned a lot from that game. I have to learn how to keep my composure when things aren’t going my way. I kind of lost my composure and I played bad. If I want us to win, I can’t play like that anymore.”
Fitzgerald was 17 of 34 for 181 yards and hit nine receivers. He threw two touchdowns and one interception.
Junior Donald Gray didn’t have a catch. He is the second-leading receiver with 18 catches for 258 yards and one touchdown.
Mullen said he saw Ross get frustrated because he’s a perfectionist.
“Like a lot of guys, I think when you get frustrated with things, you go harder, get back to work,” Mullen said. “Catching the ball’s a skill, so you’re not going to go harder catching the ball, you’re just going to do your skill. I think sometimes dropping a ball can get you frustrated because you want to work so hard and it can hurt you.”
Ross leads the team with 29 catches for 317 yards and five touchdowns.
4. Can MSU stop BYU?
MSU first-year defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon has seen BYU’s offense improve.
The Cougars are led by fifth-year senior quarterback Taysom Hill. He suffered a season-ending leg fracture during his junior season in 2014 and suffered a season-ending Lisfranc injury last year. A Lisfranc injury is an injury of the foot in which one or more of the metatarsal bones are displaced from the tarsus. As a result, Hill was granted a medical redshirt.
Hill is 120 of 198 for 1,255 yards. He has thrown six touchdowns and six interceptions. He is second on the team with 275 yards rushing on 63 carries. He has three touchdowns.
“He’s very resilient young man coming back from a few injuries throughout his career,” Sirmon said. “He’s one of those gamers. He’s going to show up, he’s going to run the ball well, and he throws the ball affectively. I think they do a nice job in the pass game, getting the ball to some of their bigger wide receivers.”
Mullen compared Hill to former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow because of his ability to be physical running the ball. Mullen said he isn’t going to make dynamic plays but will be a problem on third-and-shorts.
Running back Jamaal Williams has 866 yards on 139 carries and 10 touchdowns.
“The running back obviously complements the whole thing,” Sirmon said. “We’ve got to do a great job of defending the run and the pass.”
The Cougars are averaging 28.2 points and 420.7 yards per game, while the Bulldogs are allowing 26.2 points and 371.4 yards.
5. Will BYU start fast?
Although leading 10-7 heading into the fourth quarter, BYU football coach Kalani Sitake said he wasn’t comfortable until midway through the fourth quarter last week at Michigan State.
BYU scored two-straight touchdowns to begin the final period and build a 24-7 lead. The Spartans scored a touchdown to pull within 10, but a late touchdown by Williams put the game out of reach.
“It’d be nice to be comfortable earlier than that,” Sitake said. “I hate to be picky, but I’m going to do that and keep demanding our guys to do it just to help my heart out. We’ll take it any way we can.”
After beating Arizona to begin the season, BYU lost to Utah (20-19), UCLA (17-14), and West Virginia (35-32).
BYU then defeated Toledo before beating Michigan State.
“The more we can remind these guys to have fun with what they do the easier it’ll be,” Sitake said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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