Mississippi State football faces an early September nonconference test this week.
The Bulldogs (1-0) travel to Arizona State (1-0) for a late Saturday (9:30 p.m., ESPN) kickoff. The Sun Devils, who are in their first season in the Big 12, smashed Wyoming 48-7 in their season opener. They are coached by Kenny Dillingham in his second season.
“What I see is a group at Arizona State that played with a ton of confidence and a ton of energy,” new Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby said. “There was great excitement inside their stadium, and we’ve got a great challenge on our hands.”
Here’s a look inside the matchup.
Can Blake Shapen carry momentum into Arizona State?
It’s difficult to analyze Arizona State’s emphatic win and come away with a glaring weakness.
But Mississippi State’s 56-7 win against Eastern Kentucky in the season opener does the same.
If MSU wins, it would likely be from a strong offensive performance led by quarterback Blake Shapen, a former Arizona State commit in football and baseball before flipping to Baylor. Shapen impressed in his first game as a Bulldog, completing 15 of 20 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns while adding 44 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.
Shapen appeared to have a nice rhythm with his receivers, even with Kelly Akharaiyi not playing due to an injury. Lebby said on Monday that he’s, “not ready to say (Akharaiyi’s) going to be available yet.”
Arizona State has found a quarterback in Sam Leavitt
Arizona State was a disaster at quarterback last season with four starters who combined for seven touchdown passes. Now, it seems to have found an answer in redshirt freshman Sam Leavitt, one of 30 transfers on the team.
A former four-star recruit, Leavitt made his first career start against Wyoming and looked very poised. He completed 14 of 22 passes for 258 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He’s a capable runner, too.
“They like to stretch it out, throw the ball on the perimeter,” linebacker Nic Mitchell said. “They got some speed out there, so our hands are definitely full this week.”
The Sun Devils rushed for 241 yards against Wyoming, even though none of their players topped 49 yards. Cam Skattebo is considered the lead tailback.
Arizona State defense dominated Wyoming
The Arizona State defense held Wyoming to 118 total yards of offense. Seventy-four of those yards, and the Cowboys touchdown, came on the final drive with the starters already pulled. ASU forced two interceptions and had one fumble recovery for two defensive touchdowns.
Linebacker Keyshaun Elliott led ASU in tackles and had an interception against Wyoming as a New Mexico State transfer after an All-Conference USA 2023 season.
“Those guys played with incredible energy and excitement,” Lebby said of the Arizona State defense. “They ran to the football in a really good, impressive way. They got those guys playing with confidence, with energy and it’s all over the tape.”
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Mississippi State score prediction vs. Arizona State
Arizona State 30, Mississippi State 27: The energy and confidence the Sun Devils played with against Wyoming is noticeable from watching the highlights. They should be even more fired up with a chance to beat an SEC team. Whether or not ASU can harness that into a strength or weakness could be key. I’m concerned about Mississippi State’s defense in this matchup after it was hardly tested against EKU.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
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Publish date : 2024-09-05 06:06:00
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