Despite the valiant effort, Mississippi State fell short Saturday night at Williams Brice Stadium against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Mississippi State fought hard, yet a few missed opportunities short of victory on Saturday. However, not all negatives came from the loss for Coach Arnett and his Mississippi State Bulldogs. Coming into the matchup with South Carolina, Mississippi State needed to show signs of life after the debacle against LSU in week four.

Early in the South Carolina game on Saturday night, it appeared that Mississippi State had no signs of life, falling behind 14-0 early on. At that moment, offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay opened the playbook for Will Rogers and the Bulldogs’ offense and let them play wide-open Mississippi State Football. It helped so much that Mississippi State pulled within a field goal of South Carolina at the intermission. Mississippi State would battle back to tie the game before losing steam and falling to South Carolina on Saturday night.

Before talking about the positives on the offensive side of the ball, one must digest the less-than-ideal performance from the defense that eventually cost the Bulldogs the game on Saturday night against South Carolina. Despite strong showings in the first two games, the Mississippi State defense has been nonexistent through the first two weeks of Southeastern Conference play. In two weeks, the Mississippi State defensive unit has given up 78 combined points in the two losses. Mind you, the LSU loss was not solely on the defense but a joint effort from both sides of the ball. However, Saturday night’s 37-30 loss fell on the shoulders of the Mississippi State defense. South Carolina rushed for 144 yards, controlling the tempo of the game behind the playmaking of Spencer Rattler at quarterback. Mississippi State had no answer for the second straight game with a dual-threat QB that could do it all. Unlucky for the Bulldogs, they’ll face the same threat on Saturday night as Jalen Milroe and the Crimson Tide travel to Davis Wade Stadium to play Mississippi State under the lights. Mississippi State will need the defense to hold the line on Saturday night against the Crimson Tide for a chance at victory.

On a brighter note, Mississippi State has a kicker that has the potential to be one of the best kickers in the history of Mississippi State Football. Kyle Ferrie went three for three for the Bulldogs, giving Mississippi State nine points on the scoreboard. His longest came with 49 seconds remaining in the half from 49 yards to pull the Bulldogs within three of South Carolina.

Elsewhere, the most positive from the night came from the Mississippi State offense. It wasn’t an air raid, yet they looked like the offense that Mississippi State fans expected to see from the 2023 Bulldogs. Coach Kevin Barbay let his playmakers make plays. Will Rogers threw for 487 yards, leading the Bulldogs to 519 yards. Rogers was hitting Mississippi State receivers in stride, even breaking a few records. For the first time all season, Mississippi State played an incredible offensive game and left it all out of the field. Other than Alabama, not many teams in the SEC will be able to slow down the offense if they stick to what worked in the South Carolina game on Saturday.

Sure, it was another Southeastern Conference loss for Coach Arnett and his Mississippi State Bulldogs, but the positive takeaways from the game are building blocks for the rest of the season for the Bulldogs. Sooner or later, Mississippi State will put a complete game together, giving the Bulldog faithful victories leading to another postseason trip for the program.

Mississippi State will return to Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday night as they welcome the Crimson Tide of Alabama to town. Not an easy task, but the potential is there for Mississippi State to play Alabama close, giving an opportunity to knock off the Crimson Tide.