PREVIEW: Reeling Bulldogs Limp Into Tiger Stadium

LSU set for 6:45 p.m. kickoff with Miss. State in SEC home opener

by Matt Deville
Tiger Rag Senior Editor

(At left) Sylvester Croom is back on the hot seat after a 1-3 start

After an 8-5 record and a Liberty Bowl championship, the Mississippi State Bulldogs expected 2008 to be a year of promise and the time for coach Sylvester Croom to take the next step.

So far, it has seemed like a bad dream.

Four games into the season, Miss. State (1-3, 0-1 SEC) has only a win over Southeastern Louisiana and a 3-2 loss to Auburn to hang its hat on.

The season got off to a rocky start when the Bulldogs blew a late lead and lost at Louisiana Tech 22-14. The one-point, 3-2, loss to Auburn must have worn down Croom’s gang because the Bulldogs looked helpless last Saturday when Georgia Tech throttled Miss. State 38-7 in Atlanta.

“We’ve got a lot of guys wounded right now,” Croom said last Saturday. “Just see how serious it is and we’re not going to know until tomorrow.”

The Bulldogs don’t have long to lick their wounds. Miss. State travels south to Baton Rouge for a prime time date with No. 5-ranked LSU in Tiger Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6:45 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

The LSU-Miss. State series has been quite one-sided, with the Tigers holding a decided 65-33-3 advantage in the all-time standings. LSU blasted the Bulldogs 45-0 in the season opener a year ago in Starkville and have won eight straight games over Miss. State dating back to the 2000 season.

The Bulldogs last beat LSU in 1999 by a 17-16 decision at Scott Field. Dating back to 1992, LSU has won 15 of the last 16 games versus Miss. State and 19 of 22 going all the way back to 1985.

In the Bulldogs’ most recent setback, Jonathan Dwyer set a school record with an 88-yard touchdown run, Georgia Tech’s defense shut out Mississippi State for three quarters, and the Yellow Jackets beat Mississippi State 38-7.

Georgia Tech ran for 438 yards, its most since 1978 and the fifth-highest total in school history; Dwyer had 141 yards rushing on nine carries.

Mississippi State committed four turnovers as its streak without offensive points was extended to eight quarters before a fourth-quarter touchdown.

“We’re doing too many things to beat ourselves, the penalties, the false starts, the blocked field goal,” Croom said afterward. “We’ve had one blocked field goal since we’ve been here. These are things we work on all the time. The only thing I can answer is it’s me. I don’t have any other way to figure it out. I’ve just got to look at everything I’m asking them to do.”

Mississippi State appeared to be on the verge of ending its scoring drought, which expanded to seven quarters before the Dawgs finally scored in the fourth. In the second quarter, Anthony Dixon took off from the Bulldogs’ 20 on a 71-yard run. A Georgia Tech defender made a diving grab for Dixon’s foot, slowing the running back so Morgan Burnett could make the tackle at the Georgia Tech 9.

Four plays later, Adam Carlson’s 18-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

A Wesley Carroll pass was intercepted at the Georgia Tech 2 to end a 15-play drive by the Bulldogs at the end of the first half.

Mississippi State had another scoring chance end when backup quarterback Tyson Lee was sacked by Johnson on a fourth-down play from the Georgia Tech 7 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Georgia Tech had backups on the field when the Bulldogs finally scored on a 6-yard run by Robert Elliott midway through the final quarter.

“I’m real disappointed in the way we performed today,” Croom said. “I’ll look at the film before I evaluate my players; but more than anything else right now, I’ll evaluate myself. I know we’re a better football team than that, but we’re not showing it on the field.”
Heading into the LSU game, Miss. State’s struggling offense is totaling just 318 yards per game. The Bulldogs have scored just nine points in the last two games and are averaging only 14 points per game, which ranks 112th in the nation.

Anthon Dixon is a quality back and has amassed 270 yards on 56 carries this season (67 yards per game). He rushed 13 times for 101 yards in the loss to Georgia Tech.

Inconsistencies at quarterback have been the Bulldogs’ undoing.

Wesley Carroll has taken the most snaps, completing 51 of 95 passes for 528 yards (132 ypg) and three touchdowns offset by six interceptions. Tyson Lee has come off the bench to spell Carroll and has hit 30 of 45 passes for 291 yards.

Brandon McCrae has been on the receiving end of most of the Miss. State pass attempts. Through four games, McCrae has 24 catches for 249 yards and two TDs.

Defense was the strength of this team heading into the season, and Miss. State showed it could compete against the SEC’s best team holding Auburn to three points.
However, 438 rushing yards later surrendered to Georgia Tech and the Bulldogs stoppers have been exposed.

Miss. State is 37th in the nation in total defense, but giving up 181 rushing yards per game (92nd in the nation) won’t get the job done.

Plus, the Bulldogs haven’t recorded a quarterback sack this season.

LSU vs. Mississippi State

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Times of Interest

Noon LSU Ticket Office opens

3:30 p.m. Club level and Suites open at Tiger Stadium

4 p.m. All gates open at Tiger Stadium

4:25 p.m. LSU walks down “Victory Hill”

4:30 p.m. LSU Gameday presented by CST on the air

4:45 p.m. Mike the Tiger comes down the hill

4:50 p.m LSU band marches down the hill

6:21:30 p.m. Golden Band from Tigerland takes the field for pregame performance

6:26 p.m. Alma Mater, National Anthem and flyover

6:32 p.m. LSU takes the field

6:32:45 p.m. Mississippi State takes the field

6:36 p.m. Kickoff: LSU vs. Mississippi State

Pre-Game Presentations

Miss LSU Presentation

McClendon Scholars Presentation

End of First Quarter

2008 LSU baseball team recognition – SEC Tournament Champions, College World Series participant

Halftime

LSU Golden Band from Tigerland performs

Spirit of Louisiana Presentation

Guest Captains

Corey Webster

Harold Bishop