MSU Defense shows up, offense not so much

Defense wins championships. Well, most of the time. Just ask Auburn defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads. His Tigers held Mississippi State scoreless. Enter first year defensive coordinator at MSU, Charlie Harbison. While yielding only a 35-yard field goal by Auburn’s Wes Byrum, the Bulldog defense scored two points of its own when Auburn was tagged for holding in its own end zone. Not one offensive touchdown. In fact, neither offense was close.

Inside Scott Field last Saturday night, frustrations were reverberating from the seats housed by the maroon and white fan base. Right behind them, the same reactions were being yelped by the orange and blue Tiger faithful. Let’s just lay it on the line. When both teams combine to successfully convert 3-for-30 on third down tries, there is a problem. Now, one might say you should credit the defense and rightfully so. What does it say about the offense? Fill in the blank. Somewhere former Auburn offensive coordinator Al Borges must be shaking his head in disbelief. He was shown the door for this? The Tigers are under the direction of first year coach Tony Franklin, who previously served as OC at Troy University and many wonder if he was in attendance among the fifth largest crowd of 52,911 at Scott Field.

Unless you were around on Oct. 16, 1965, you were apart of college football history. The significance of the date? The last time a game ended by the score of 3-2, as Clemson beat Duke on that fall Saturday. Many cliché’s will be coined to describe the rare game in Starkville, such as a pitcher’s duel in reference to baseball. The underlying factor was the inability to make adjustments at halftime by both coaches. Absent from the game was Auburn quarterback Kodi Burns, the player responsible for Auburn mounting a comeback in last season’s MSU win at Auburn. If this offense is indicative of what’s to come, the Tigers have quite the season in front of them. As for MSU, one would have to wonder what superb athletes such as Derek Pegues and Keith Fitzhugh could do under center. At this point, you have to be open to any ideas.

This past summer, it was said the MSU offense was set up for returning quarterback Wesley Carroll. A solid scheme to make it apparently clear for Carroll to manage the offense, while being efficient enough to not lose the game. As we reach the fourth game of the season, it appears that philosophy is not producing a positive outcome. While Carroll did nothing to lose the game, he certainly did nothing to win it. All is not lost. The Dogs will not face a defense as solid as Auburn for the remainder of the season. That, alone, should ease the burden of the offensive woes

I’m reminded of the late 1990’s while Jackie Sherrill was pacing the sidelines. Many week’s, the Bulldogs found a way to win with stingy defenses. This past Saturday, the defense did all they could but no to avail. Coach Harbison should be proud. His defense did all they could by muzzling the Tigers. Unfortunately, the State offense did not return the favor. They say defense wins championships 99.9-percent of the time. For the Bulldogs, that stat couldn’t be more further from the truth.