Mississippi State used its bye week to reset after the loss to Alabama, and now the Bulldogs are heading into a tough early kickoff Saturday at LSU with a chance to get right.
Jeff Lebby said Monday that the time off gave his team a needed chance to recover and get a head start on the Tigers. The Bulldogs had a few players dealing with knocks before the break, but Lebby said the group made good use of the downtime.
"They were great mental days for us and being able to get a great jump against LSU and have the ability to get some of the game plan in which was great," Lebby said on Monday. "[LSU] is a really talented football team.
They got great players, all three levels, both sides of the football. I mean you can see it all over the tape, the length, the speed, and incredibly well coached both sides of the ball.
"So, [this is] an incredible challenge for us. Our guys are gonna be really excited about it. Again, being able to reset, get fresh and fast, and put our best foot forward Saturday morning at 11."
The Bulldogs will face an LSU offense built around Arizona State transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt, who has put up 1,755 yards of total offense to rank No. 2 in the SEC, trailing only Alabama’s Keelon Russell. Leavitt has also run for 259 yards, which places him No. 3 in the league.
Lebby knows exactly how much the Tigers can lean on their quarterback.
"Everything's gonna run through Sam," Lebby said. "That's the system part of it.
But again, like you look at it just yesterday or on Saturday, I think he had 15, maybe 16 rushes. He still put the ball in the air 35 or 36 times.
He's gonna be the focal point for them."
LSU has also been piling up points in Baton Rouge, averaging almost 49 points per game at Tiger Stadium during Lane Kiffin’s first season leading the program. Mississippi State’s defense will have its hands full trying to slow that down, especially with the Bulldogs having allowed 119 yards or more on the ground in four of their first five games.
"Offensively, they're scoring at a really high clip," Lebby said. "They're running the football really well.
They've been explosive. So, it's about doing a great job of tackling Sam when we get the opportunity to, and then we've got to be able to create some turnovers."
No. 16 Mississippi State and No.
22 LSU will kick at 11 a.m. CT Saturday in Baton Rouge.
The game will air nationally on ESPN, and fans can also hear it on the statewide MSU Sports Radio Network.
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