MSU v LA Tech

Monster Magnet - Spacelord

I left my throne a million miles away.
I drink from your tit,
I sing your blues every day.
Now give me the strength
To split the world in two, yeah.
I ate all the rest and now I've gotta eat you...

JUST A S.E.C. - Hey look!  More new stuff!  This week we kick off a new segment where we take a look around the conference and see how the other half lives. So please, give us Just a S.E.C....

R.E.M. calling it quits?
Say it ain't so!!

OM vs GA - Our neighbors to the north have a pivotal game on the slate for Saturday, facing the embattled Mark Richt and his Georgia Bulldogs.  I say pivotal because when the clock strikes zero on this game, one coach's arse will be squarely on the hot seat.  Look for that arse to belong to the Right and Honorable Reverend Houston Dale Nutt, Esquire.  However, if the odds-makers are wrong by giving 10.5 points in favor of the Bulldogs then look for Mark Richt to go all R.E.M.


Bama vs Ark - One of the highlights of the weekend will definitely be the match-up between the Hogs and the Tide.  It's the SEC's top offense squaring off against the SEC's top defense, and it's going to have league-wide implications.  The winner of this game puts themselves in position to win the West, and from there a win in the SEC championship game will likely put them in place to play for the national title.

Fla vs UK - While many MSU fans are upset about losing 12 straight to LSU, and rightly so, how about a little perspective?  Florida has won twentyfive straight games against Kentucky.  Twenty.  Five.  That pretty much tells you all you need to know about this match-up.  Sorry, Kats.

South Carolina vs Vandy - Two teams out of the East that don't typically spring to mind first when you think of undefeated after three weeks would be SC and Vandy, but entering this weekend they both sport a 3-0 record.  Marcus Lattimore is a legitimate rushing threat to compliment Stephen Garcia's passing game, but SC has yet to put together a solid performance for all 60 minutes yet.  Meanwhile, Vanderbilt is coming off a solid win against Ole Miss and James Franklin has the Commodores playing beyond themselves.  Don't be surprised to see Vandy give the Gamecocks all they can handle on Saturday.

Auburn vs FAU - The Tigers face Florida Atlantic this weekend, in what should be a rout.  Gus Malzhan will ensure that Auburn recovers from last weekend's loss to Clemson and gets back on the winning side of things.

Hey Coach Nutt, Coach Richt!
We got your seat right here!

LSU vs WVU - The other Tigers travel to Morgantown, WV to take on the Mountaineers Saturday in an SEC/Big East contest.  Both teams sit at 3-0, with LSU ranked #2 and WVU ranked #16, and QB Gino Smith figures to test the lightning fast LSU defense with his arm.  Smith is currently slinging around 70% of his passing successfully, so this will be a true test for the Tiger defense.

Peepin' Croom in all his glory...

PICK OF THE SIX - This week's Pick of the Six features a great weekly thread from Six Pack Speak, the Fark Off competition.  In this weekly competition, readers are given source pics and a few rules as guidance, and tasked to come up with some fun, funny and creative pics that involve MSU and/or the opponents.  A little creativity with Peepin' Croom, a Six Pack legacy, garnered this thread a spot in the Six Pack Remembers forum, where some of the greatest posts from the board's history are archived for posterity.  Grats to mechdawg for his creativity.

Can you feel the bro-mance?

LAST WEEK - Last week the LSU defense flew into Starkville below radar and proceeded to lay an embarrassing beat down on MSU's offense.  Tyrann Mathieu was Slider to Morris Claiborne's Iceman, with the pair netting 2 INT's (Claiborne) and 10 tackles (Matthieu) between them.  Now admittedly LSU will likely end up having a top 10 defense in the country when it's all said and done, but the Bulldog faithful still expected a little more from the offense.  The fact that there were no touchdowns by either team going into the fourth quarter is a testament to how hard the D work on both sides of the field Saturday.  LSU's offense is nothing to laugh at, and the MSU defense made some good adjustments after letting a close one slip away to Auburn the week before.  Frankly, as an MSU fan I am more upset about the Auburn loss than LSU, but Dan Mullen is reaping what he's sown by raising the fan base's expectations now.  Can he rally the troops and right the ship this week?

-Are we pretty yet?!
-No.
-DRINK MOAR!

THIS WEEK - In a word, yes.  This weeks patsy opponent is LA Tech out of the WAC, and if you don't think Dan Mullen, Les Koenning and the rest of the MSU offense is not only relieved but licking their collective chops at the prospect of throwing down an epic beatdown on the lil' bulldogs from Louisiana you're fooling yourself.  Mississippi State apparently drew the ire of the scheduling gods the last few seasons, having to face off against the likes of LSU and Auburn in the first 3-4 games of the season.  Admittedly the road is never easy in the SEC, but what I wouldn't give to trade Auburn or LSU out for an earlier meeting with Ole Miss, or better yet an out-of-conference foe?  Speaking of Ole Miss, have you heard?  The wheels are coming off faster than a sorostitutes clothes after five apple-tinis.  There's this, and this, and even this.  Oh, and this, too.  Not.  Good. 


KEYS TO THE GAME - No secrets here, just make sure we minimize mistakes and focus on fundamentals.  Say, that was kinda catchy, wasn't it?  "Minimize mistakes, focus on fundamentals."(TM) Boom, now you gotta pay me to use that, coach...

You keep using that word...

Anyway, MSU can, should and will win by at least 2 touchdowns.  Anything less and the Bulldogs will still have much of the fanbase questioning how much progress they're making.  This is not meant as a slight to LA Tech, but let's pull out a couple of analogies here.  1) Big brother, little brother.  Big bro's got 3-4 years on ya, there, little fellah.  You're not gonna be dunking on him anytime soon.  2) Pack dynamics.  We're the full-grown bulldog, you're the pup.  You're not gonna be the alpha anytime soon, either.  This isn't the same team that lost to Maine.  Losing to LA Tech is simply inconceivable.  INCONCEIVABLE!!!



OFFENSE - It's hard to say that MSU's offense made any progress from weeks 2 to 3, but squaring off against one of the top defenses in the country can have that effect.  That being said, I personally think Chris Relf and the WR corps are largely responsible.  Connect on a few of those passes and we continue to move the chains.  Continue to move the chains and we are in a position to score, and also give LSU a much longer field to work with.  Just as a few missed/dropped passes cost us the games against Auburn in 2010 and 2011, it also cost us against LSU.  Chris Relf must return to the form he was in at the end of last season, and during the Gator Bowl blowout of Michigan, if opposing defenses are going to take him seriously as a passing threat.  Otherwise it's stack the box and stuff the run.


DEFENSE - MSU's defense should finally be able to showcase some progress this weekend, which is definitely going to be a weight off Chris Wilson's shoulders.  LA Tech's offense was able to keep pace with Case Keenum and Houston last weekend, although they ended up on the losing side of that contest.  You can expect the combo of Banks and Broomfield to take at least one pick to the house this weekend, and unless the D line falls asleep on their feet there's not much of a rushing threat to be seen.  Look for lots of rotation throughout the defensive side of the ball as MSU gets more reps for their backups at every position.


BOTTOM LINE - The SEC Dawgs walk away victorious, and honestly, was there ever really a doubt?  Dan Mullen has changed expectations for the Bulldogs, and his next step is to win those 'close call' games with SEC-caliber opponents.  Looking ahead to another dogfight next weekend between the Hedges, the maroon-clad Bulldogs must tighten up to prepare for Georgia, and Dan will use this game as a teaching experience.


FINAL SCORE -


WILD AND WOOLLY PREDICTION -
MSU 47 LA Tech 0


REALISTIC PREDICTION -
MSU 41 LA Tech 10

Where's my rubber ducky?

For all the LA Tech fans experiencing a fit of rage after reading this (yes, all three of you) all I can tell you is it's not going to be pretty.  Terry Bradshaw would be well advised to go have a beer with Frank Caliendo's John Madden and talk about Sunday's NFL matchups, because any way you slice it this will be a slaughter.  If you disagree then click the link at the top and shoot me an email... I'll be sure to take the craziest rants and post them here for all to see.  Cheers!