Mississippi State football: Three alarming defensive stats

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football’s defense is bad, and there really isn’t much of an argument against it. 

The Bulldogs (1-6, 0-4 SEC) fell 34-24 to No. 14 Texas A&M (6-1, 4-0) on Saturday. It’s the sixth straight game they’ve allowed at least 30 points. Their 33.3 points per game allowed are third worst among power conference teams. 

“The toughness, the belief, the effort and the attitude that’s going on on that side of the ball, I’m proud of,” coach Jeff Lebby said after Saturday’s loss. “We’ve got to play better. I’ve got to coach better. That’s something that we will continue to do.”

Here are three alarming stats that help explain the root of Mississippi State’s defensive struggles.

Mississippi State tied for fewest sacks in the country

MSU didn’t record a sack on Saturday for the fourth game this season. The Bulldogs have five sacks on the season and just two in the last five games. The five sacks are tied with Oregon State and Air Force for the fewest in the country.

The sacks haven’t been big ones either. The five of them have accounted for 16 yards, the fewest in the country. New Mexico State is the next-best team, but has nearly double the sack yardage with 30.

Sacks can be misleading because they depend on how many dropbacks the opponent has. MSU’s sack rate of 1.64% against FBS opponents is last in the country, according to teamrankings.com. 

“Just play more physical and get back there,” safety Isaac Smith said. “Keep practicing and working hard every week. Just get to the quarterback and try to get some pressure on him so our DB’s won’t have to be in coverage as long and guys won’t just be running open down the field.”

Mississippi State football allowing highest completion percentage in country

It’s strange because this was an issue last season too, even with a different defensive coordinator. New coordinator Coleman Hutzler’s defense is allowing a 72.5% completion percentage, the highest in the country.

That still stands after Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman completed 60% of his throws on Saturday.

Part of that can be attributed to cornerbacks playing deep coverage instead of press. Teams are throwing many screen and swing passes because MSU has struggled to defend them. It also foils together in the defensive ecosystem of a bad pass rush combined with bad pass coverage.

Mississippi State defense isn’t getting off field on third down

Texas A&M converted 9-of-14 third downs against the Bulldogs, the most they’ve allowed all season.

The Bulldogs’ opponents are converting third downs at a 49.5% clip, the fourth worst in the country.

Defensive lineman Sulaiman Kpaka said improving on third down ties back to the pass rush.

“As a defensive line, our job is to get back (to the quarterback),” he said. “I feel like we need to continue to improve on that and we won’t have those issues.” 

MORE:De’Monte Russell injury update: Mississippi State football DL to locker room vs Texas A&M

Mississippi State is getting better in these areas

MSU has forced multiple turnovers in three consecutive games. It’s part of what’s kept the Bulldogs in the fight against top-15 teams Texas, Georgia and Texas A&M.

The Bulldogs also held Georgia and Texas A&M both to under 150 yards rushing. Their 192.3 rushing yards allowed per game are still the second most for power conference teams, but it could be a sign of improvement.

“I was incredibly proud and encouraged of how we defended the run (Saturday),” Lebby said. “These guys had been running the ball incredibly well. To me, that’s what gave us a chance.”

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.