It’s been one extreme to the other for Mississippi State University in Starkville. Under the regime of the late Mike Leach, head pirate and coach, the Bulldogs passed the ball with near exclusivity while running the Air Raid offense that Leach pioneered.

Last Saturday in 31-24 overtime win against the University of Arizona, Bulldog fans around the state were pleading for new offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay to put the ball into the air as the run game slowed down late.

Quarterback Will Rogers, the all-time SEC leader in completions, went 13-of-17 for 162 yards. Three of those completions went for scores which is a pretty good return on investment.

It felt like the game was a learning moment for first year head coach Zach Arnett. A defensive coach, he’d said that he wouldn’t give too much input to his offensive staff ahead of the season. 

After the game, Arnett admitted that the offense got conservative when he told Barbay to slow things down, which was something he regretted.

Another learning experience for Arnett was to remember that what you say off-camera isn’t always what you should say on-camera. Caught up in the emotions of a close win, Arnett blurted out the mother of all curse words in an interview with ESPN sideline reporter Cole Cubelic and gasped when he realized what he’d said.

SEC play opens this week for MSU as the Louisiana State University Tigers come to town. LSU lost its opener to Florida State and then took a week’s worth of frustrations out on the Grambling State Tigers, who they beat 72-10 last weekend.

This game will be a measuring stick for both teams. LSU has won two straight over Mississippi State. They won 28-25 in Starkville in 2021 and 31-16 last year in Baton Rouge. The Tigers scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take the win last season.

Nobody who’s ever been to a game in Death Valley is going to clutch their pearls about hearing a four-letter word, but Arnett and Barbay might do well to listen to those screaming for the Dogs to throw the dang ball against LSU.

Kickoff is at 11 a.m. and the game will be on ESPN.