Arizona State saw an advantage, capitalized on it, and defeated the Mississippi State football team.
The Bulldogs (1-1) were defeated away from home on Saturday night, losing 30-23 to Arizona State (2-0) at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe. They trailed by 27 points in the third quarter, narrowed the lead to seven points in the fourth quarter, but were unable to score another point.
It was the first loss for new Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby.
Here are three exaggerated reactions to Mississippi State’s loss.
Mississippi State’s biggest concern is the run defense
After MSU failed to convert a fourth down attempt in Arizona State territory late in the second quarter, the Sun Devils forced their way through the Bulldogs’ defense.
ASU managed an 11-play, 68-yard touchdown run to take a 27-3 halftime lead. Ten of the 11 plays were rushes, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Sam Leavitt.
By halftime, Arizona State had 208 rushing yards. Mississippi State had only 82 yards of offense at that point.
That was the theme of the entire game, as ASU scored on all five of its first drives. Mississippi State’s defense was simply uncompetitive. Arizona State totaled 346 rushing yards, with Cam Skattebo accounting for 262 of them.
Mississippi State’s offensive running game is equally worrying
According to the game report, Mississippi State played well in the season opener against Eastern Kentucky, but the film says otherwise. MSU could have been more successful, especially with an SEC offensive line going up against an FCS defensive line.
Against Arizona State, there were still no signs that MSU has a strong running game.
Keyvone Lee was the Bulldogs’ best runner, rushing for 35 yards and a touchdown on nine attempts. Davon Booth, meanwhile, had six carries for seven yards and Johnnie Daniels had three carries for one yard.
Booth scored MSU’s second touchdown on a 15-yard pass, meaning both touchdowns came from running backs. Mississippi State had 24 rushing yards, 41 after accounting for sacks.
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Mississippi State finally showed some skill in the third quarter instead of giving in.
It started with Mississippi State scoring its first touchdown of the game, a 6-yard run by Lee. Then the defense forced a three-and-out with a sack by Branden Jennings on third down – MSU’s first sack of the game. Mississippi State scored again on its next drive – Kyle Ferrie botched the extra point – to cut the lead to 30-16 with 13:09 left in the game. An 80-yard touchdown by Kevin Coleman made it 30-23 with 5:27 left.
The defense forced three straight punts in the second half, just not being able to get that very last stop to give the MSU offense another chance after the Coleman touchdown.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi state reporter for the Clarion Ledger. You can email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_..
