STARKVILLE — Manny Diaz feels good about his defense in the fourth quarter.
The first-year Mississippi State defensive coordinator has seen his defense step up to the challenge of the final 15 minutes of games this season. Against Missouri last week, the Bulldogs led 14-13 at halftime. In the locker room, Diaz and the other defensive coaches harped on finishing the game strong. The Tigers didn’t score in third or fourth quarter and the Bulldogs closed out the 31-13 victory.
“We know if we can get it to the fourth quarter, we feel really good about our chances,” Diaz said. “We know we can close. That kind of stems from our program, that stems from our guys being taught every day on how to finish. I think we’re good at finishing drives and games.”
The Bulldogs have yet to allow a touchdown in the fourth quarter this season, but that will be tested this weekend. The 20th-ranked Bulldogs (7-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) plays host to No. 3 Alabama (8-1, 5-1) 2:30 p.m. (WCBI/CBS) Saturday afternoon at Davis Wade Stadium.
MSU has only allowed 12 points in the final 15 minutes this season. Southern Mississippi, Auburn, Texas A&M, and Troy are the only teams to score in the fourth quarter against the Bulldogs, and each only managed one field goal apiece.
It’s been a point of emphasis this year.
“It’s real big,” senior cornerback Taveze Calhoun said. “You never want to give up touchdowns throughout the whole game, but in the fourth quarter, we take pride in not letting anybody cross our goal line. It just helps us finish our games well.”
Calhoun has 26 tackles (4.5 for loss), two interceptions, and five pass breakups this season.
The play of the defense in the fourth quarter has been the difference in a couple of games for MSU this season. Against Southern Miss in the opener, the Bulldogs led 27-13 entering the final 15 minutes. MSU only allowed three points and the offense scored a touchdown to pull away. Against Auburn, MSU protected an 11 point led in the fourth quarter and only allowed a field goal.
Junior middle linebacker Richie Brown says the defense has bought into the mentality of being tough in the final frame.
“We’ll bend some times and get knocked down, but we’re not going to break,” Brown said. “We don’t really focus where we’re at on the field and start panicking and doing something different, we just kind of lock down and say, ‘Alright, it’s another set of downs. We’ve been here a lot of times, we’re used to this, let’s buckle down, and hold it to as little points as possible.'”
Brown leads the Bulldogs with 73 tackles this season. He has eight tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, and one interception.
MSU’s biggest struggles on defense have come in the early part of games. The Bulldogs are allowing 65 points in the first quarter, 32 in the second quarter, and 46 in the third quarter.
MSU coach Dan Mullen says the early struggles have really motivated the defense in the final quarter this year.
“We have guys who are disappointed because we have given up some drives,” Mullen said. “I think the guys get on the sideline and use that as a motivating factor to make sure that we don’t let people in the end zone after we give up a score.”
Alabama has scored 76 points in the fourth quarter this season, so the game will be won or lost in the final 15 minutes. The Bulldogs know that.
“You’ve got to play those guys for four quarters anyway,” Calhoun said. “You can’t get tired of tackling. The fourth quarter’s going to be key. We’re banking on it probably being a close game. If it’s a close game in the fourth quarter, not letting them score a touchdown will be a huge thing.”
The LSU Tigers scored all 21 of their points against the Bulldogs in the first half. Sophomore running back Leonard Fournette rushed for 159 yards and three touchdowns against MSU.
Alabama has its own threat at running back. Junior Derrick Henry as rushed for 1,287 yards (sixth in the country and second in the SEC) on 218 carries for 17 touchdowns (tied for the national lead). MSU held Fournette to nearly 15 yards below his national average. Brown sees a lot of similarities between the two tailbacks.
“They both run hard, they’re both great running backs, they both have really good teams backing them up, and really good offensive lineman,” Brown said. “We’re going to prepare for him (Henry) just like we did for Fournette.”
The Tide’s offensive identity is based around Henry, but they have other weapons on that side of the ball. Senior quarterback Jake Coker has passed for 1,807 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He has rushed for 138 yards and two more touchdowns.
Coker’s top target is freshman wide receiver Calvin Ridley. He has 52 catches for 576 yards and three touchdowns. Diaz compared Ridley to former Tide wideout and current Oakland Raider Amari Cooper.
“They’ve found the playmaker in Ridley, a guy that they can get the ball to in a bunch of different ways,” Diaz said. “They do a good job like they did last year with Cooper of moving him to different parts of the field, so he’s a hard guy to get a bead on.”
The Crimson Tide have relied on Henry a lot this season and he wears defenses down. Henry gets stronger as the game goes on, but MSU’s defense gets better as the game goes on.
Henry has been a hard guy to tackle this season, but MSU has gotten better at tackling as the season has gone on. Calhoun gave Henry a lot of respect, but he feels confident in their gameplan against him, especially late in the game.
“You just have to trust your technique and try to wrap and squeeze,” Calhoun said. “When you’re playing a great running back like him, you have to make sure your tackling’s on point because he can break so many tackles and he’s so good in the open field. You have to gang tackle him.”
n MSU moved from No. 20 to No. 17 in Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings.
MSU was one of four SEC teams ranked. Alabama is No. 2, LSU No. 9, and Florida No. 11. Along with Alabama being No. 2, Clemson is No. 1, Ohio State No. 3, and Notre Dame No. 4.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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