Mississippi State’s offense came out of the Alabama game with a number that jumped off the page: 18 rushing yards. It’s the kind of total that invites instant judgment, but the box score shows there’s more to unpack than a single ugly stat line.
Alabama’s 56-23 win included a 179-18 edge on the ground, and Mississippi State’s offense ended up leaning heavily on the passing game just to stay afloat. That created a real disadvantage, but the raw total alone does not explain how the Bulldogs got there.
The box score shows Mississippi State ran the ball 30 times for those 18 yards. Taylor was charged with six carries for minus-26 yards, Wilson had 27 yards on 10 attempts, Gayten finished with 10 yards on 10 carries, J.J.
Hill added six yards on three rushes and Bothwell had one yard on one carry. Those are the details that matter if the goal is to understand the problem instead of just pointing fingers.
Taken together, the backs accounted for 44 yards on 24 carries. That still wasn’t effective, but it does show the entire rushing total cannot be pinned on the running backs alone. Taylor’s negative production dragged the number down, while the backs themselves also failed to create much of anything consistently.
Alabama’s defense was disruptive everywhere. The Tide recorded five sacks and nine tackles for loss, and that pressure reached beyond ordinary handoffs. Mississippi State was being knocked backward in ways that affected possessions, the structure of Taylor’s opportunities and the offense’s ability to present more than one threat.
At the same time, the box score only goes so far. It does not tell you every blocking assignment, why Bothwell got only one carry, or the specific reasons each failed run happened. Those are details that require verified information and clear footage, not guesswork about effort or confidence.
The week before, Mississippi State had a very different rushing story against Missouri. Bothwell ran for 122 yards and a touchdown, then added six catches for 55 yards and another score. The Bulldogs finished with 139 rushing yards and 499 total yards in a 31-24 victory, with a back providing real production as both a runner and a receiver.
That performance didn’t guarantee anything against Alabama, and it shouldn’t be treated that way. Different defenses create different problems. Still, it did show that Mississippi State had recently found a more complete contribution from its ground game.
Against Alabama, the passing attack did almost all of the heavy lifting. Mississippi State picked up 284 of its 302 total yards through the air.
Anthony Evans III finished with 166 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and Taylor threw three touchdown passes. Those numbers kept the Bulldogs moving, but they also made the offense feel sharply concentrated in one area.
That’s the real issue. When the run game disappears and the negative plays pile up, passing production can only carry so much.
Mississippi State doesn’t need a pretty balance sheet for the sake of appearances. It needs rushing plays that create yards, keep drives alive and give the offense another option when the defense takes away the first one.
The Alabama game did not prove the Bulldogs should abandon their passing identity. It showed that the identity needs more help if it’s going to survive against a defense that brings that kind of disruption.
Bothwell’s production against Missouri is a useful reminder that helping the offense doesn’t have to mean only traditional rushing yards. He made an impact as a receiver there, too. The larger point is that the backs need to contribute in ways that actually move the offense forward.
“Establish the run” sounds simple enough until you ask what that actually looks like in practice. Mississippi State doesn’t need balance just to make the numbers look cleaner. It needs run-game answers that generate positive yardage, preserve options and support productive possessions.
The fix could come from execution, personnel usage, situational choices or some mix of all three. The public evidence here does not say which one the staff will lean on.
What it does say is that the Bulldogs have an open date to sort through the issue before LSU. That break gives everyone a chance to separate what the box score proves from what it only suggests.
The questions now are straightforward. Can Mississippi State get useful gains early in possessions?
Can it avoid the repeated losses that wreck drives? Can the backs do enough that Taylor doesn’t have to create nearly every meaningful yard himself?
Those questions matter more than the raw number alone. Eighteen rushing yards is the headline, but understanding why it happened is the only way Mississippi State gets closer to fixing it.
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Mississippi State Has Bigger Problems Than KaMario Taylors Health
Mississippi State left the Alabama loss with plenty to sort through, and the biggest issues had less to do with KaMario Taylors health than with the offense around him. Taylor put together a productive passing day with 258 yards and three touchdowns, but the Bulldogs also took their lumps in the form of turnovers and five sacks, a reminder that the quarterback can only carry so much if the protection and execution keep breaking down.
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Mississippi States Third Down Problem Started Long Before Third Down
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The ground attack managed just 18 rushing yards, and the key backs never gave the Bulldogs the kind of efficiency that can stay ahead of the sticks. Once that happens, third down stops being a clean test of execution and starts becoming a reflection of everything that came before it, which is why evaluating Mississippi States offense in this game takes a little more digging than the conversion rate alone. [Read more 🡒]
Mississippi State's Bye Week Comes With Bigger Stakes Than Usual
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