Muschamp expects 'different' Miss. State team, pleased with ground game
Most analysts did not anticipate Mississippi State carrying an 0-1 record into Saturday night’s SEC battle with South Carolina at Davis Wade Stadium (7 p.m., ESPN2) in Starkville, but Saturday’s stunning 21-20 home loss to South Alabama in which the Bulldogs blew a 17-0 halftime lead assured MSU would be eyeing its first win of the campaign.
Will Muschamp believes Mississippi State learned its lesson as the Gamecocks prepare for their third trip to Starkville in 11 seasons. USC has won seven straight games over the Bulldogs, last falling in 1999.
“That’s last week. Any Given Saturday, anyone can beat anyone,” Muschamp said Sunday during his weekly teleconference. “You see the parity in college football right now. South Alabama has some good players and their coaching staff does a very good job. We’ll face a different (Miss. State) football team on Saturday night in Starkville. We know that. We just need to worry about South Carolina and take care of our preparation. That’s all I worry about.”
Vanderbilt ran the ball 42 times compared to 23 throws and showed scant proficiency in the passing game. However, Mississippi State runs a more balanced offense, attempting 31 passes against South Alabama. The Bulldogs feature Fred Ross, who had six receptions on Saturday against South Alabama and led the SEC in receptions per game (6.77) in 2015.
The Gamecocks struggled stopping the bubble screen at Vanderbilt, concerning Muschamp. But the Commodores attempted few throws down the field.
“I don’t know if we were tested (in pass defense), but we were certainly not very good on the perimeter with some of the bubbles,” Muschamp said. “We let two of them come out on us. So, we need to get that cleaned up. But I don’t know if we were tested like we will be tested moving forward.”
When you play on the road in the SEC, the performance of your quarterback is paramount. Gamecock QB Perry Orth outperformed Vanderbilt’s signal caller in the second half as the Gamecocks rallied from a 10-0 halftime deficit.
Orth led three scoring drives, two in the fourth quarter, completing 10-of-15 passes for 140 yards over the final 30 minutes and essentially ended the debate over who should be USC’s starting quarterback, even though freshman Brandon McIlwain will play some.
The same thing could be said of the running back spot. Redshirt freshman A.J. Turner tightened his grip on the starting job by gaining 70 yards on 13 carries, averaging 5.4 yards per carry, and catching three passes for 27 yards out of the backfield. David Williams carried five times for nine yards (1.4 yards per carry).
Last Thursday marked Turner’s first action in almost two years as he missed most of his high school senior season in Clifton, Va., with a wrist injury.
“A.J. played really well,” Muschamp said. “He runs through contact and he catches the ball extremely well. David had his opportunities and did a nice job. In the first half, as far as the game is concerned, we had a lot of miscommunication. We just had some mental errors that really hurt us. We got those cleaned up in the second half. That’s why we were much more effective running the football.”
The Gamecocks averaged 3.15 yards per carry in the first half, 4.21 yards in the second half. The second half numbers could have been even better, but Turner’s long run up the middle in the third quarter was negated by a holding penalty.
His 20-yard run on first down to the VU 8-yard line midway through the fourth quarter was some of the Gamecocks’ biggest offensive plays of the night. The run helped set up USC’s game-tying touchdown on a jet sweep by Deebo Samuel.
Defensively, Muschamp was pleased with how the Gamecocks tackled against Vanderbilt. Missed tackles were a major problem in 2014-15, but USC appears vastly improved in that area based on the first game.
“We are pretty hard judges on that kind of stuff, but we tackled pretty well,” Muschamp said. “As we did in our three live situations during fall camp as well. We talk all the time about proper tackling technique and the different things you’ve got to do. Certainly, our guys carried that through pretty well. For a first ballgame, I was very pleased.”
Vanderbilt’s running back duo of Ralph Webb and Khari Blasingam combined for 165 rushing yards on 35 carries, averaging 4.71 yards per attempt. So, they had some success on the ground, but the Gamecocks made stops when they had to and didn’t give up any long runs. Vanderbilt’s longest rush from scrimmage was 13 yards.
“We got bounced around in the run game by the power a couple of times and got displaced up front, but our run fits were very good and we tackled decently well,” Muschamp said. “We didn’t have a lot of runs come out on us. They had a couple of 10, 12, 13-yarders.
“Against a team like that which is so committed to running the ball, you’re going to have some of those. It’s no different than when you play a passing team. They’re going to hit some balls on you. We needed to limit the long run and we needed to limit Ralph Webb in the run game and we were able to do so.”
NOTES:
-- Sean Kelly downed three punts inside the 10-yard line at Vanderbilt, a key in the Gamecocks winning the crucial field position battle. Vanderbilt’s average starting position was its 25-yard line.
-- Muschamp said the three players serving one-game suspensions in the opener will return for the Mississippi State game – OL Alan Knott, DB Toure Boyd and OL Christian Pellage.
-- Muschamp on why sophomore WR/QB Lorenzo Nunez did not make the trip to Vanderbilt: “I only travel the guys we know are going to contribute to the game. Lorenzo is still going through the process of learning the (WR) position. That is something he will continue to go through. He has a great attitude and we’re excited about him in our program and his future with our program.”
-- Muschamp said RSo. tight end K.C. Crosby should have his role expanded within the Gamecock offense. Hayden Hurst caught two passes for 17 yards, numbers that need to increase, he added.
