Tonight, the Missouri Tigers get the opportunity to have a victorious send-off for it’s seniors, however first, it must go through the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Missouri stands at 6-3 and for the first time since week 4, the squad has fallen outside of the AP top 25. The Tigers are coming off of a dissapointing loss against the Texas A&M Aggies, losing in a non-competitive contest, 38-17.

True freshman quarterback Matt Zollers struggled greatly, going 7/22 for just a lowly 77 yards. Today, he gets the chance to right the ship. Although the Tigers’ playoff hopes may be over, it has the opportunity to bounce back and show resilience, something that the team did superbly last season. Before we break down the 3 keys to a Tigers victory, let’s learn about the Tigers’ opponent, the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Mississipi State’s season recap:

• Record: 5-5
• Last 5: 1-4
• Best win: Week 2, 24-20 VS Arizona State
• Worst loss: 45-38 VS #10 Texas
• Impact Players: QB Blake Shapen, QB Kamario Taylor, WR Brenen Thompson, CB Kelley Jones, LB Nic Mitchell, S Jahron Manning

Mississippi State has had a tremendous season thus far, considering that it lost players like now Tiger receiver, Kevin Coleman Jr, A&M receiver Mario Craver, and now LSU impromptu starter, QB Michael Van Buren. Did I mention yet that Mississippi State was 2-10 last season? Yes, they were an atrocious football team. Mississippi State came into this season, with many perceiving that the Bulldogs would finish in the 15-16 range; however, they have looked much improved, and tonight, have the opportunity to swipe a win away and in that result, would become bowl eligible. In just one season, the Bulldogs have been revived.

So what has been the catalyst to this surprising improvement? You have to start with QB Blake Shapen, who has been a steady presence. Shapen has completed 65% of his passes for 2,234 yards, 15 touchdowns, and just 6 interceptions. Sure, the numbers don’t scream a Heisman candidate, but it does signal a calm presence and a consistent contributor. Shapen has had plenty of weapons to work with, but none have been more impactful than wideout, Brenen Thompson.

Want to take a guess who is tied for 1st in receiving yards for the conference? Yup, Brenen Thompson. Straight up, he is a problem. Thompson may not wow you in terms of his physical stature, but he certainly will turn heads in the speed department. Thompson started his career at Texas, where he struggled to see the field, so the freshman transferred to archrival Oklahoma. After two seasons with the Sooners, Thompson thrust himself into the portal and Jeff Lebby was quick to prowl. Smart decision Jeff. Thompson has 808 yards and 6 touchdowns on the season, proving to be one of the nation’s best.

The Bulldogs defense certainly hasn’t been great, but it still features some key players nonetheless. Safety Jahron Manning leads the group with 70 tackles and has been an excellent run-stopper. Safety Brylan Lanier has also been impressive, as he leads the team with 3 interceptions, showing off an impressive safety duo.

Overall, the Bulldogs are a middling SEC team, but certainly no slouch. With two games left on the schedule, the fightin Jeff Lebby’s need to win just one more game to become bowl eligible. I fully expect the Bulldogs to be a hungry team tonight. Here are the 3 keys for Mizzou to prevent the upset:

1. Get Zollers in rhythm early: Let’s be frank here, Zollers was not impressive last weekend. I had to eat my words, as I predicted that the Tigers’ offense would look better under Zollers, after a stagnant offensive display in the prior weeks. To that point, I don’t think that this staff did a good job of honing the true freshman in and making him comfortable early.

Zollers was finding himself in 3rd and long often, having to force the ball down the field. It felt as if every pass attempt was a 40-yard bomb down the sidelines, and it was clear that Zollers never truly settled in. Obviously, the kid is talented, but you can’t expect a true freshman to play hero ball, as that is just not his job. So, how can Mizzou practically apply this?

Firstly, get some play action into the playbook. Missouri has a treasure at running back inm Ahmad Hardy, but opposing teams have found the map. Defenses understand that Missouri wants to run early and often, which leads to teams run committing. As previously noted, Missouri often found itself in 2nd and longs, something that a true freshman will struggle to overcome. I think Missouri would do itself a tremendous service if they incoorportated more play action concepts on early downs.

Lastly, Missouri must get the ball out quick. Do I think they should stop throwing 1 on 1 to their true freshman, ultra-talented receiver in Donovan Olugbode? No, just don’t do it every 1 in 3 plays. Zollers needs to get some early completions under his belt to develop confidence, just as a basketball player simply needs to see the ball go through the net.

2. Stop explosive plays: Remember how I told you that Brenen Thompson is an absolute dawg and that he’s a deep-threat? I am telling you again. To add to this, another layer of the pie. Blake Shapen is a very good quarterback and has a decent deep ball. However, true freshman Kamario Taylor might play, giving an added dimension of the run game, but also a cannon of an arm. Missouri’s defense has arguably been a championship-level defense, but at times it has struggled to prevent explosive plays.

I don’t think that Mississippi State’s offense will perform at a high level, but I don’t think that the explosive play potential is enough to strike a small dose of fear into the Tiger defense. Missouri must prevent the explosives if it doesn’t want to get into a shootout and force its true freshman QB to beat the Bulldogs.

3. Get the run game going early: If Mississippi State’s weakness is run defense, then that’ll bode well for an offense with Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts. Hardy and Roberts have been incredible this year, and for the past few weeks, have been given tough tasks, as they have played against some very formidable SEC-caliber defenses. This week, they go against the 110th-best rush defense in all of the land, an excellent opportunity to pound the rock and keep a solid Bulldog offense off the field.

For Missouri, when it does choose to run the ball on first down, it needs to average 3-4 yards per carry to be successful. That opens up more run opportunities on 2nd down, something it’s been lacking the last few weeks.

Prediction: 21-17 Missouri