(Photo by Hallie Walker | Mississippi State Athletics)
- New Mississippi State Head Coach Jeff Lebby took the hope that already comes from a honeymoon period and cranked it up.
Across the nation curtains rose.
The secrecy of August practice withered away, and, because coaches can’t mandate that the games be played in private, fans saw their college football teams.
They processed the good and bad and formed opinions.
Hope sells
In Oxford, it was, “They are who we thought they were.”
In Starkville, it was, “They are who we hoped they were.”
These opinions should be accepted in moderation because the Rebels and Bulldogs defeated FCS opponents by a combined count of 132-7.
But what blowout wins do show is focus, and in both places there was execution and attention to detail.
Four penalties for State, a team in a new offensive system, all of them minor. No taunting, targeting or late hits.
Three penalties for 35 yards for Ole Miss.
State fumbled three times but didn’t lose one.
Ole Miss had no turnovers. That could have changed had a Furman defender been a little more sure-handed.
Things were far less rosy for Southern Miss which opened with a legitimate opponent, Kentucky, and was dealt a legitimate defeat to kick off Will Hall’s fourth season as coach. By his own admission it’s a big one for his future.
The game was plagued by weather throughout and was canceled by mutual consent minutes into the third quarter with the Golden Eagles trailing 31-0.
The Golden Eagles had just 5 yards rushing, and quarterback Tate Rodemaker, the Florida State transfer, was picked off twice.
Kentucky was on a 500-yard pace at halftime.
The Rebels are unlikely to be tested this week at home against Middle Tennessee State, but the Bulldogs go on the road to Big 12 country at Arizona State.
The Sun Devils were picked last in the new 16-team conference but opened with a convincing 48-7 win over Wyoming. Arizona State had no turnovers and outgained Wyoming 499-118.
In college football, hope sells. That’s why fans flock to recruiting media coverage.
New State coach Jeff Lebby took the hope that already comes from a honeymoon period and cranked it up.
Smart start for Shapen
Baylor transfer quarterback Blake Shapen looked like a good fit in Lebby’s tempo offense, quickly moving the chains with intermediate passes and showing he could stretch the field too.
It was only State’s third offensive play when Shapen found Jordan Mosley to his left and threw 60 yards downfield. Mosley caught the ball at the Eastern Kentucky 30 and raced to the end zone.
“A lot of us right now are going, what just happened? What is this?” MSU broadcast analyst Matt Wyatt told listeners.
The play before the money throw Shapen had thrown underneath against the cornerback who was covering Mosley. On the touchdown, he pump-faked. The corner bit, rushing up for a short throw, and Mosley was wide open.
“That was really smart football and a perfect throw from the quarterback,” said Wyatt, a former MSU quarterback. “That was like a wide-open layup. Shapen put it where Mosley would catch it running.”
It may not be as easy to fool a Power Four cornerback, but Shapen demonstrated solid situational awareness and comfort in a new system.
He went on to finish 15-for-20 passing for 247 yards and two other touchdowns. He rushed for 44 yards and scored on a 4-yard run in which he read the field and saw most of the Eastern Kentucky defense to his left. He broke right and had one man to beat.
Overall, the Bulldogs could have run the ball better. That will come.
It’s more important on Opening Day to have belief that your new coach made the right call on his new quarterback.
That answer is not available after a blowout win against an FCS team, but hope is available.
State averaged 9.9 yards per play in the first half and had 412 yards through the third quarter after which Shapen did not play.
There were some timing issues, some plays where the ball didn’t snap as quickly as Lebby would like because the offensive line was getting settled.
Shapen’s touchdown run wasn’t perfect execution from State’s perspective, but Shapen adjusted.
Mission(s) accomplished for the Bulldogs
“That was a little bit of snap confusion, and it almost hit the motion man,” Wyatt said. “Talk about cool-headed. Run the play, cut back, touchdown.”
Defensively, the Bulldogs gave up only seven points but weren’t as dominant as you often see in the SEC-FCS matchup.
Eastern Kentucky finished with 295 yards and at times found rhythm in the passing game.
But after securing the win, the biggest thing Lebby and Shapen needed to provide fans was hope, a belief that, “Hey, this can work.”
Mission accomplished.
Parrish Alford
