Georgia Football: Should We Fear Mississippi State?

Georgia Football fans have likely been hearing a lot about this Mississippi State football team. How good are they really and should Georgia fans be afraid?

Related Story: Is this a must-win game for UGA?

37-7. I have seen that score more times than I care to count this week. It has temporarily taken the place of another dreaded score that I despise, 28-3 (Falcons, sigh). This is, of course, the score that Georgia’s opponents this week, the Mississippi State Bulldogs, beat the LSU Tigers by last Saturday in Starkville. It was an impressive win by a team that I thought would be pretty good before the season, but a lot of people weren’t paying much attention to.

Well, they’re paying attention now, aren’t they?

After the 30 point smackdown of preseason media darling LSU, the Bizarro Bulldogs have all of a sudden became the flavor of the week. They’re unstoppable, they’re incredible, they’re invincible! Sports fans across the Southeast, including some of our own, have crowned Mississippi State the latest team that others should take notice of. They beat a team that has Arden Key, one of the best defensive players in the nation, and Derrius Guice, one of the best offensive players/running backs in the nation. LSU ‘s defense was thought to be one of the best in the SEC and Mississippi State pretty much had their way with them.

A lot of us already knew that quarterback Nick Fitzgerald was legit. After last Saturday, he’s being talked about across the nation. He can be a nightmare for opposing defenses as a passer and a runner.  Against a big time division rival, they caught lightning in a bottle. They dismantled Ed Oregon’s Bayou Bengals and gained a lot of respect in the process. They have managed to do something that is actually quite impressive. With a great performance in a single game, they have all of a sudden became a team that many teams and their fan bases fear.

That’s right. Some fans are acting like they fear Mississippi State. You know the kind of fear I’m talking about, too. It’s that feeling that no one wants to talk about when a team like Alabama is coming to town. The feeling of dread you get when you want your team to win SO bad, but you know they’re outmatched and about to be blown out. That’s the way a lot of people seem to be feeling about MSU after their impressive victory this past Saturday.

So now the big, bad “other Dawgs” are rolling into Athens.

Chests all swole up, backs sore from being patted all week. Former Georgia player and current MSU safety Jonathan Abram has even gone as far as to talk about coming to Athens and wanting to “beat the brakes” off of his former team. Some are acting like it’s a foregone conclusion. Mississippi State is coming to Sanford Stadium this Saturday night and they’re about to take us to the woodshed. We should tuck our tails between our legs and just take our beating. Accept it. Many are acting as if we should FEAR Mississippi State.

So should we? Do we need to fear the team that I have seen some Auburn fans refer to this past week as the “best team in the West (and yes, they were including Bama)? Will this be a repeat of the trip to Ole Miss last season or the disaster that was the 2008 blackout against Alabama? Of course not. Give me a break. Is Mississippi State good?

Yes. I said this before the season. I even mentioned this game a time or two before the season as a potential surprise loss before to the dismay and disgust of some of my fellow Dawg fans. This team has playmakers on defense. They also have a great running game that includes 2 of the top 10 rushing yardage leaders in the SEC in Fitzgerald and running back Aeris Williams. It took Saturday’s curb stomping of LSU for many people to actually consider them beating us a possibility.

Now that they have shown what they are truly capable of, folks are acting like Mississippi State is an elite team…..a team that should be feared. Because of one game, people are acting like they’re Bama now. News flash, sports fans……they’re not Bama. They’re good. But let’s pump the brakes a little bit. They’re not great. This is a team that will finish 2nd or 3rd in the SEC West and goes to a decent bowl game. They’re ranked #17 in the latest AP poll. That seems about right to me.

The latest line has Georgia a 5 point favorite in this game.

That isn’t a fluke. We are the favorites for a reason. This game will be a low-scoring affair, and whichever team can come up with some ways to score besides offensively will probably win. A special team’s score and maybe a pick 6 will more than likely do the trick. Both teams have good defenses. Ours has more future NFL players on it and they are playing lights out through the first 3 games. Both teams have good running games. Once again, I feel we have more weapons in that area. Chubb, Michel, Herrien, Swift, Holyfield and the occasional use of speedsters like Mecole Hardman makes our offense just as dangerous as theirs if it’s clicking.

The only place they have a distinct advantage on us is at quarterback. That’s simply due to the inexperience of Fromm vs. the experience of Fitzgerald. 2 extremely talented QBs from the state of Georgia……one a seasoned veteran signal caller who is a dynamic dual-threat QB and the other a freshman who is making only his 3rd start and his first in the SEC. This is a team we have historically been better than, especially in Athens. We hold a lead in the series, winning 17 out of only 23 meetings. This is a team we can and should beat if we want to be taken seriously this season.

Next: Breaking down this weekends game.

So I’ll ask it one more time. Should we fear Mississippi State? No. We should respect them. The number one strength of this UGA team is it’s run defense. That could be kryptonite for a team that depends on the run as much as MSU does. Saturday night will be a test for both teams. But anyone, including their fans, our fans, or any other rival’s fans, who thinks that the Maroons are coming in here and rolling over us like they did LSU this past Saturday has a rude awakening coming. In the words of College Gameday’s Lee Corso, not so fast my friend.