After falling to Texas A&M 38-17 Nov. 8, the Missouri Tigers have to regather the pieces of a broken season. College Football Playoff hopes are diminished, as the Tigers were subsequently knocked out of the AP Top 25 Poll with back-to-back losses. Even so, head coach Eliah Drinkwitz and the Tigers can end this season on a high note.
The first chance to right the ship comes this Saturday, as the Mississippi State Bulldogs return to Memorial Stadium for the first time since 2015.
Although the Bulldogs are 5-5 overall on the season and 1-5 in the Southeastern Conference, it won’t be a cakewalk for Mizzou. Mississippi State has one ranked win this season against Arizona State and played ranked conference foes in Tennessee and Texas within seven points.
Scouting the Bulldogs
Mississippi State has a competent offense — the ninth-best scoring unit in the SEC — but its defense has struggled to stop opponents, allowing the third-most points per game.
Graduate quarterback Blake Shapen leads the offense, but the system is balanced between rushing and passing. The Bulldogs have a top-10 rushing and passing attack in the SEC.
Looking further into the man under center, Shapen exited Mississippi State’s game against Georgia Nov. 8 early in the second half but will start against the Tigers if healthy.
The former Baylor Bear has thrown for 2,232 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions this season with a 64.94% completion rate. Short and intermediate throws are Shapen’s bread and butter, as he hasn’t had a completion over 26 yards this season.
Manning the rushing attack is a thunder-and-lightning-esque pairing. Sophomore running back Fluff Bothwell stands at 5-foot-10 and 230 pounds, while graduate running back Davon Booth is the same height but a speedy 205 pounds.
The duo has combined for 1,046 rushing yards this season, with both having over 500 rushing yards, making it a true running back room by committee.
The Bulldogs aren’t particularly strong in any area on defense, but their rushing defense is their downfall. The unit is allowing over 176 rushing yards per game. In their past two games, they have combined to allow 542 rushing yards.
While the defense as a whole isn’t strong, the Bulldogs still have some high-quality individual pieces. Mississippi State’s cornerback tandem of redshirt senior Brylan Lanier and redshirt sophomore Kelley Jones has stunted passing games throughout this season.
Lanier has intercepted three passes this season, tied for the most in the conference, and Jones has the most passes defended in the SEC with 13.
The Bulldog offense will be hard to stop because they can beat teams in so many different ways, but there should be more opportunities for Mizzou’s offense to succeed.
Mizzou’s outlook
Weight will once again be on true freshman quarterback Matt Zollers shoulders going into his second career start. However, that pressure may be lighter now that the Tigers are no longer fighting to make the playoffs.
The rushing attack looked back to form against the Aggies, as both sophomore running back Ahmad Hardy and redshirt sophomore running back Jamal Roberts eclipsed 100 rushing yards in the loss.
Pride is a real thing in sports, and although Mizzou had higher hopes for this season, it won’t simply keel over because of a couple of setbacks. The final three games of the season are a chance for the underclassmen of the program to step up and for veterans to end their careers on high notes.
The final home game of the year kicks off from Memorial Stadium at 6:45 p.m., Nov. 15.
