Reversal

 REVERSAL

In the sport of wrestling [or as we who grew up in the Free State in the 50's and 60's called it, "real 'rasslin'"] an important scoring move, called a reversal, occurs when the opponent has a wrestler down on the mat and the downed wrestler comes from underneath to gain control of his opponent. That is precisely what happened to Miss. State's offense -- and to the season -- Saturday night at Kyle Field. Up until Saturday evening the MSU offense looked dangerous and the season unexpectedly bright. Those trends seemed set to continue early on against aTM. On an early drive the Bulldogs took a 3 - 0 lead, which only MSU errors kept from having been 7 - 0, and maintained the lead through nearly half the game. The #6 Aggies took the lead with 1:51 to play in the 1st half, but the 'Dogs stayed in the fight for much of the game despite an impotent offense. Unfortunately aTm reversed the flow of the game and outscored State 24 - 6 in the 4th quarter. After starting the season 4 - 0, then playing a "knock down, drag out" OT game with 15th ranked UT-E last weekend, the A&M reversal Saturday night turned a season of promise around. The Bulldogs' 4 - 0 start with a win over a Top 12 team, and actual votes for the Top 20 themselves was suddenly down -- and apparently out -- following a 2nd straight SEC loss this season and 14th straight conference loss stretching back midway through the 2023 season. The line play (or lack thereof), 4th quarter collapse and final score against the Aggies left fans with the spectre of 2024 SOS.

My hopes for the season suffered a reversal too. If you've followed The Way It Was, the Way It Is all season, you know that after 68 years I seemed to have cast off my maroon-tinted glasses and though harboring hope, had low expectations for Dear Ole State this season. However, after an eventually comfortable road win at USM, a thrilling upset of Arizona State, walkovers against 2 lesser teams, and a 4 - 0 record that led to some deserved conference and even national recognition for improvement, I was edging perilously close to apologizing and reaching for those maroon glasses again. Oh, I didn't really think we would beat either UT-E or aTm, but I thought perhaps we could. I was, to borrow the title of country & western artist David Houston in his 1966 ballad [click here Almost Persuaded ]. And for over 60 minutes of the TN game and over half of the A&M game, I continued to edge toward turning my hopes into expectations. We were actually ... well ... pretty good; weren't we? But, alas, the Aggies handed us a reality check. The disparity in quality on both lines of scrimmage and the limited depth, magnified by the critical injuries to key players, were just too much to overcome. We're not the Same Old State, but we're not where we have to be to beat quality SEC teams either. Perhaps we can be competitive, as we were for over 60 minutes against UT-E and for about 48 minutes against aTm Saturday night. We'll certainly have the opportunity to find out between now and Black Friday. For now we're still 0 - 14 in SEC games and have an increasingly depleted roster.

What Happened?

Neither you nor I want to spend much time reliving the game. Let's just say that it was a game that began as a rock fight. Eventually State wore down, and A&M did what good teams do against less talented teams and put us away. 

The Bulldog bright spots were few, but let's acknowledge them:

• Once again Ethan Pulliam looked like a punter any NFL team would love to have, punting 7 times for a 45.6 yd. avg. with 4 kicks over 50 yds. He kept flipping the field, giving A&M a long field to have have to drive much of the night.
• Once again Brenen Thompson proved uncoverable deep, even by an elite team as he raced by yet another secondary on his way to a 44 yd. TD reception.
• The defense, a natural disaster last season, fought courageously for over 3 quarters before finally wearing down. The highlight was a goal line stand about half way through the 2nd quarter.
• Determined running in the first half by Fluff Bothwell (4.3 yds./carry) and Davion Booth (7.3 ypc) behind a patchwork offensive line was a rare highlight offensively for State. 

  

  Fluff romping ... for possibly last time in 2025?

  
  

On the other hand, in the end there were far too many failings for the 'Dogs to have had a fighting chance. Examples are as follows:

• The offensive line was repeatedly overwhelmed by aTm, who might as well have been lined up in the MSU backfield. Shapen was sacked 4 times, and MSU suffered 9 tackles for loss for 49 yds.  

  

  The story of Blake's night

  
  
• The Aggie defense dealt equal opportunity misery that yielded a pitiful 1 out of 10 third down conversions, not surprising since the average yardage State faced on 3rd downs was 11+ yds. That, of course, was because we were routinely moonwalking on 1st and 2nd downs.
• A&M controlled the ball, running 77 plays to MSU's 51, and keeping the ball for 38 minutes compared to our 22. That not only gave them more chances and us fewer on offense, but inevitably served to wear down our defense.
• The placekicking, which had been perfect for the first few games, reached a new low with a botched PAT when the snap was errant. 
• The dreaded snakes, kept at bay for most of the first 4-5 games, rose up to strike State on the first scoring drive when first Booth tripped over the 50 yd. line as he broke a long run and headed to the goal, then with 3rd and about a foot for a TD, a lineman moved moved early and set the offense back 5 yds. Call the herpetologist! 
• Even the good news turned bad, as the 'Dogs had a season low of only 3 penalties ... but the first was the one that cost us the early TD, and the other two were 15 yd. penalties on a drive which set aTm up deep in Bulldog territory.
• And hope for the future took an enormous hit when the voracious injury bug continued to feast on MSU's best players. Fluff was hurt on a meaningless swing pass with 4 mins. left in an already 31 - 9 game and had to be carted off with a yet-to-be-determined injury to his leg that looked quite ominous.
• For the first time as a Bulldog I thought Shapen appeared to have lost his cool. And who could blame him since I'm not sure he dropped back for a single pass for which he didn't end up in a heap?! He had to have felt like one of these ...
  
  
  
  
• For the game Blake completed an impressive 75% of his passes, but for only 142 yds. (44 of those on one play) and turned it over on both an interception and a lost fumble ... thanks to that withering Aggie pass rush. 

In the words of the DC5: "Here they come agaiiinn!"

And now ...

As the 'Dogs lick their wounds from consecutive losses to Top 15 teams, lying in wait is perennial rival Open Date. I'm confident that this meeting will be welcomed. Casualties have continued to pile up, including our best defensive and offensive linemen, defensive back, and running back. For our fans who were pitching hissy fits when Lebby kept saying we needed to recruit "depth pieces," this was why. We began the season as a competitive SEC team. Whether we are or can remain as one in the second half of the season will be determined by orthopedists, physical therapists, and the gridiron gods.

Let's wrap this one up. I'll work on a midterm report, so will put on my analytic glasses and try to see where we've been and break out the Ouija Board to help determine where we're going. 

I plan to also have bonus coverage of the Doak Campbell Stadium experience as we watch the FSU vs. Pitt game in person. Our oldest grandchild plays in the Fla. State band, the Marching Chiefs, and we're heading down for a visit. Meanwhile ...

Hail, State! [both the MS and FL versions]