LSU Football: How Mississippi State offense poses a mismatch in Week 3

LSU Football travels to Starkville needing a big win over an SEC foe on Saturday. The Mississippi State Bulldogs offense potentially stands in the way.

LSU Football will experience a different offensive approach from Mississippi State on Saturday. Zach Arnett superseded the late Mike Leach as Bulldogs head coach this offseason. As such, Arnett moved away from the Air Raid by hiring offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay away from Appalachian State.

Barbay employs a pro-style offensive scheme that has relied heavily on the outside zone running game through Mississippi State’s first pair of games. It’s a scheme that could give LSU Football a hard time on Saturday, considering where their defense has struggled this season.

Grambling ran for 163 yards against the Tigers last week, including Chance Williams’ 106 yards on seven carries. Indeed, LSU has struggled to defend the run this season, especially off-tackle. Such is a paradigm that must shift against Mississippi State.

Thus far, the Bulldogs have thrived at running the ball to areas that LSU struggles to defend. Mississippi State will frequently line up in two running back sets and power the football.

The Bulldogs exercise their running back depth chart the same as LSU Football. Thus, Tigers fans can count on seeing Jo’Quavious Marks earning the most snaps with support from Seth Davis and Simeon Price. Last week, Marks ran for 123 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries against Arizona.

We think Mississippi State will try to get their ground game going early to open up the play-action pass. In such a scenario, the size of the Bulldogs’ receivers can pose a significant matchup problem for LSU Football.

Tigers fans know how much the LSU secondary has struggled to defend the bigger and more physical receivers in 2023. Such is a task that doesn’t get easier on Saturday. Mississippi State’s best receiver is Justin Robinson, a Georgia transfer who stands at 6’4 and 220-pounds.

Robinson could pose a problem against smaller LSU Football cornerbacks that looked junior varsity against Florida State and Grambling.

Conversely, the Mississippi State offensive line and quarterback situation are potential areas of opportunity for LSU.

Our Maroon and White Nation colleagues recently admitted their concerns that Mississippi State’s offensive line is vulnerable. Moreover, the indication from Bulldogs fans is that quarterback Will Rogers is struggling to run an offense that requires more time than the OL can afford.