Should we slow the hype train just a bit.

[BlackSailsDawg]

If you say aTm is no good, then we've only played one good team, lsu.

I am saying what is factual. Doesn't matter to me if they are good or not. They were the task at hand, and in looking at them, they had not faced a passing threat. I posted about this prior to the game. Per the stats, they were #10 in the nation allowing 102 yards passing per game. But again, look at who they played to gain those stats.

Just like in talking Ark coming to MSU with a mighty 21 sacks. Against whom? Mizzou st and South Carolina.... 14 of the 21 they have. Yes they made the plays and if our OL is as bad as those teams, then we have major concerns. I happen to think our OL is not as bad.

[WPS]

OL better come ready & Will better know where the vacancy is. I don't see big time pass rushers on Ark or OM. My guess is that they're getting those through mostly blitzing which opens up holes.

Drew Sanders is pretty big time. He's been a hybrid edge rusher/LB for Arkansas but Todd McShay has him as a first round pick in his latest mock. The rest have been mostly 2-3 different guys.

The secondary has been so bad it's hard to comprehend. It's not even when Arkansas is blitzing that much, they're even getting beat on 3rd and 20 type plays. Injuries haven't helped but they've been horrible regardless...mainly the safeties. Dwight McGlothern has been good at CB but no one else back there has been any good.

[Goldendawg]

Love "Dawgs Win Again" statement with a big smile at the end of this! (Hail State segment after game).

[Maverick91]

I am saying what is factual. Doesn't matter to me if they are good or not. They were the task at hand, and in looking at them, they had not faced a passing threat. I posted about this prior to the game. Per the stats, they were #10 in the nation allowing 102 yards passing per game. But again, look at who they played to gain those stats.

Just like in talking Ark coming to MSU with a mighty 21 sacks. Against whom? Mizzou st and South Carolina.... 14 of the 21 they have. Yes they made the plays and if our OL is as bad as those teams, then we have major concerns. I happen to think our OL is not as bad.

Solid post!

It?s weird usually 5 games into the season you can easily say that a team is who they are on paper. But this season you cannot, a$m was inflated due to their schedule. I am hoping for the same from arky.

I will say I think we beat a very talented team in a$m but well schemed not so much.

[Captain Falcon]

I mean let?s not pretend this is the first good win Leach has in three years. I also don?t think the hype is at some unreasonable level right now. We?re 4-1 and a home favorite against an unranked team this week. People are just excited about that game and want to see us continue to play well.

[Goldendawg]

Solid post!

It?s weird usually 5 games into the season you can easily say that a team is who they are on paper. But this season you cannot, a$m was inflated due to their schedule. I am hoping for the same from arky.

I will say I think we beat a very talented team in a$m but well schemed not so much.

Agree 100%. I don't think KY & OM have played a schedule deserving of their rankings, and playing each other didn't show a lot to date, First things first, one game at a time and beat Arkansas! Hail State!

[TheLostDawg]

I think we're a good team and only getting better. We aren't even playing our best ball yet and here is why:

1. Our OL is still figuring things out. Yes the OL was awesome on Saturday but there's no way that their best game is the first one with the new alignment. Also, when Dollar comes back, does he fill in a weakness and makes the line even better?

2. Our WRs are getting better. RaRa continues to assert himself more and more, we're getting the ball to Tulu more, and Will is looking down field more and more. However, on top of all that, it's not rocket science to see that Justin Robinson has an enormous ceiling. Saturday was basically his first game and surely he's going to continue to improve. It's not hard to forsee the combo of Rara, Tulu, Ducking, Walley, Robinson, Rufus, etc being one of the best WR corps in the country.

3. Crumedy isn't back yet. Our best DL hasn't even played yet this year and will be back down the stretch run.

All this to say, get excited. This team is only scratching the surface.

1 we hustled every play on defense. Every tackle has a host of bulldogs around it
2 our wr are making plays. They are winning 50/50 balls. Getting yards after play. This should only build their confidence and add to what we have
3 go dawgs

[msstatelp1]

Just enjoy it as it comes.

[Todd4State]

This is exactly what they've been doing because they can't cover. Lot of man coverage which can mean big plays for this offense.

Will be curious to see what happens as Barry Odom "invented" rush 3 and drop 8.

[TrapGame]

Will be curious to see what happens as Barry Odom "invented" rush 3 and drop 8.

We have a running game now. Johnson and Marks don't go down easy either. And most of those older players disciplined enough to run a 3-8 are gone at Arkansas.

[PGHBulldogBG]

Barry Odom is a very good DC, but losing a lot of veterans on defense will hurt any team in the country not named Bama or UGA. Ohio State, Clemson, LSU, Oklahoma etc all have experienced it this year or in years past. I still think Ark wins 7 or 8 games. I think we beat them, LSU beats them, but they should beat BYU, Auburn, Missouri and Liberty. Ole Miss is a toss up. They will still have a solid year and I’m sure Odom will have their defense back on track soon. Hopefully it’s just after this weekend

[ImissCityBagel]

I feel like with Leach every week is an adventure.

Pretty much this. I am learning not to get too worked up in either direction. If we can make our defense elite, IMO, that will help lay down some consistency.

[Todd4State]

I think we're a good team and only getting better. We aren't even playing our best ball yet and here is why:

1. Our OL is still figuring things out. Yes the OL was awesome on Saturday but there's no way that their best game is the first one with the new alignment. Also, when Dollar comes back, does he fill in a weakness and makes the line even better?

2. Our WRs are getting better. RaRa continues to assert himself more and more, we're getting the ball to Tulu more, and Will is looking down field more and more. However, on top of all that, it's not rocket science to see that Justin Robinson has an enormous ceiling. Saturday was basically his first game and surely he's going to continue to improve. It's not hard to forsee the combo of Rara, Tulu, Ducking, Walley, Robinson, Rufus, etc being one of the best WR corps in the country.

3. Crumedy isn't back yet. Our best DL hasn't even played yet this year and will be back down the stretch run.

All this to say, get excited. This team is only scratching the surface.

1. Getting Dollar Bill back May mean Lasoya sits. Maybe. Not sure how we're going to handle it.

2. We have veteran and talented wide receivers. Same at running back.

3. Getting Crumedy back will help the defense immensely against the run. And give us more depth on the line. Anyone know when he will be back? He could be a major factor against Georgia and in the Egg Bowl.

[WhiskeyPirate]

Barry Odom is a very good DC, but losing a lot of veterans on defense will hurt any team in the country not named Bama or UGA. Ohio State, Clemson, LSU, Oklahoma etc all have experienced it this year or in years past. I still think Ark wins 7 or 8 games. I think we beat them, LSU beats them, but they should beat BYU, Auburn, Missouri and Liberty. Ole Miss is a toss up. They will still have a solid year and I’m sure Odom will have their defense back on track soon. Hopefully it’s just after this weekend

When they have KJ they are a good team. They are physical on the O line and a bad match up for ole miss.

Odom dropping eight worked when we really didn’t have the offense installed and we were a bunch of freshman. It didn’t work so great last year and I think it will work even less this year. He’s probably going to mix his defensive fronts up. He’s a good DC, they just have some personnel issues. Word from Arkansas fans is Pittman did well with Chads players and hasn’t recruited well enough. I think that’s true.

[WhiskeyPirate]

1. Getting Dollar Bill back May mean Lasoya sits. Maybe. Not sure how we're going to handle it.

2. We have veteran and talented wide receivers. Same at running back.

3. Getting Crumedy back will help the defense immensely against the run. And give us more depth on the line. Anyone know when he will be back? He could be a major factor against Georgia and in the Egg Bowl.

I don’t like the idea of shuffling the line again. If Losoya and Jones graded out well, leave them in place.

[EdwardDrayton]

Saturday was awesome! We made adjustments and ran the ball at will. We have three really quality backs and an oline that is finally putting it together. Finally played a game well in all three phases.

I've still got concerns though. For some reason I have feelings of that auburn game of the Moorhead era where he took his coaching pills and then forgot them every week after that.

Are we going to continue to run the ball like that? Was A&M way overrated to begin the season (yes)? Because they looked bad Saturday. Im just pumping the breaks a little. We beat a better Aggie team in college station and then still crapped the bed later in the season. I am cautiously optimistic though. Does anybody else share the same feelings?

Yes, optimistic but we need to repeat the A&M performance against Arkansas. Haven't had a chance to re-watch the game but a few things that come to mind:

(1) excellent OL play including pass protection
(2) physical play on both sides of the ball
(3) 6.0 yards per carry rushing total 144 yards and 7.3 yards per completion passing; we did not seem nearly as predictable because of it
(4) swarming to the ball on defense
(5) Will looked like an SEC QB; he was sharp. A few completed throws that were slightly off the mark and may have had some more YAC if more accurate but not a huge deal. Just want him at times to get the ball out quicker in preparation for better upfront and edge defenses
(6) We looked faster on defense versus games early on. I can't explain that off the cuff
(7) We took the ball away but think two or three were in the red zone
(8) Some missed tackles that allowed drives to extend

[schddog72]

This. I hate it when people say "we beat team x, but they're not very good this year"! EVERY SEC win is tough and EVERY SEC win is earned, especially road games. There's no gimmes in the SEC and even Vandy can be a tough out on occasion. You'll never hear me say we beat any sec team because they weren't very good this year. The SEC is a grind every single week.

THIS!!

[IMissJack]

No, let's speed up the hype train and take some pride in ourselves as a fanbase for once!

Absolutely, we MSU fans are slow to hype our team because we have been burned before, too many times. But, so has every fan base except Bama. Still, if we don?t promote our own team, no one else will.

[R2Dawg]

I feel way better with Leach coaching this team than Moorhead. Moorhead teams were just depressing. Shades of Croom. Just look at Akron this year.

Agree with that. Of course only 2 worst coaches in MSU history

[Todd4State]

I don’t like the idea of shuffling the line again. If Losoya and Jones graded out well, leave them in place.

I hear you but at the same time Dollar Bill is one of our best five and the only reason he is out is because of injury.

I would definitely keep Jones where he is at LT. Kam Jones looked good at left guard last year. Sharp is good at center. We could rotate Cole Smith and Lasoya at RG and then use Dollar Bill at RT. That's what I would look at if I were in Leach's shoes. Or flip flops.