Cowbell Corner

Mississippi State Shocked By Toledo: What Went Wrong For the Bulldogs?

Bulldogs’ self-inflicted mistakes prove costly as Toledo dominates in Starkville

Taylor Hodges

Toledo Rockets tight end Anthony Torres (88) makes a reception as he is hit by Mississippi State Bulldogs safety Isaac Smith (2) during the second quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field.
Toledo Rockets tight end Anthony Torres (88) makes a reception as he is hit by Mississippi State Bulldogs safety Isaac Smith (2) during the second quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. / Matt Bush-Imagn Images
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STARKVILLE, Miss. – Many of the reasons why Mississippi State lost to Toledo on Saturday night were the same reasons why Arizona State won the previous week. Somehow, though, the Rockets put on a more dominating performance.

Toledo is a good team with an experienced roster, but not even Nick Saban could’ve predicted the Rockets winning by 24 points. Toledo’s offense gained 454 yards of total offense, averaging 6.2 yards per play, including 169 rushing yards and 285 passing yards.

This column won’t list everything that went wrong for the Bulldogs, but here are some of the biggest things that went wrong Saturday night in Starkville:

Mississippi State’s Offense

What went wrong?

Negative plays. No kidding, right? But it’s not that there were negative plays; it’s when the negative plays happened. And a lot of them were self-inflicted. A holding penalty on the first play of the game. A false start penalty on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line. A seven-yard loss on a first-down sack. The list goes on, but it’s full of moments like that.

"Being behind the chains, having issues on first and second down, putting us in bad third down situations," Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby said after the game. "That's going to be a huge emphasis for us this week."

Mississippi State’s Defense

What went wrong?

Tackling. One of the first things Bulldogs' coach Lebby talked about after last week’s loss to Arizona State was the 25 missed tackles and nearly 250 yards rushing yards after contact. Not much changed in the seven days since then. This is something that can be fixed and it’s a little surprising there was little-to-no improvement shown by the defense.

Mississippi State’s Special Teams

What went wrong?

Nothing. But, like, in a good way. Kyle Ferrie made both of his PATs and a 23-yard field goal. Nick Barr-Mira had four punts that averaged 49.5 yards. The Bulldogs did get lucky in the first half when a Toledo running-into-the-kicker penalty was called negating a big return inside the redzone.

Read More:

Mississippi State Stunned by Toledo: Bulldogs Stumble Ahead of SEC Play

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Taylor Hodges

TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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