For the third straight week, Mississippi State lost another football game. Much like the first loss against LSU three weeks ago, Mississippi State got blown out on Saturday night at Davis Wade Stadium. Saturday night was over before the visiting Alabama Crimson Tide got off the bus in Starkville, Mississippi. Despite a sold-out crowd at Davis Wade Stadium, the cowbells silenced early as the ghost of Mississippi State Football failures reared her ugly head as the Bulldogs fell behind 14-0 before the end of the first quarter. At that moment, it appeared that Mississippi State had no sense of urgency or fight. For the first time since 2011, Mississippi State Football is 0-3 in Southeastern Conference play and is limping into a cupcake game against Western Michigan on Saturday.

So, let’s look back on the Alabama loss and figure out what happens next for Coach Arnett and his Mississippi State Bulldogs.

It feels like a broken record, but the Mississippi State offense was terrible. After a better offensive game against South Carolina last week, Saturday night was a disaster for the Bulldogs. It was almost like Kevin Barbay went back into a time machine and kept going with what didn’t work for Mississippi State. Mississippi State had 261 yards of total production against Alabama on Saturday. Sure, the Bulldogs scored 17 points against the Crimson Tide defense, but it came with three turnovers on fourteen points for Alabama. With the bye week looming, using the Western Michigan game as an offensive springboard into the second half of the 2023 Mississippi State Football season is the only thing that can stop this train from a lethal fate on the road at Arkansas on the 14th.

Second, people can blame the Mississippi State defense for giving up forty points to Jalen Milroe and the Alabama offense. However, those people don’t understand that without an extended time to rest from the last possession, you can’t expect them to perform at the highest levels to give Mississippi State the best position to win games in the Southeastern Conference. Western Michigan gives them that chance to overpower a subpar MAC program to get back on the winning side of the column.

Lastly, and more on the positive side of things. Mississippi State has an entire season in front of them. With opponents like Western Michigan, Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Southern Miss, and Ole Miss remaining, the idea of postseason play is still very much in play for Coach Arnett and the Bulldogs. Until the wheels fall off, positives are all around Coach Arnett and the Bulldogs. Overpower Western Michigan on Saturday morning at Davis Wade Stadium, and the bye week could provide the coaching staff with the needed rest for the second half of the 2023 Mississippi State season. Mississippi State will likely be underdogs in some of the remaining games, but the potential for a rebound for Coach Arnett and his program is very attainable.