Mississippi State will look for significant improvement on defense as it attempts to end a seven-game losing streak when Massachusetts visits Starkville, Miss., for a non-conference game on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs (1-7, 0-5 Southeastern Conference) rank last in the 16-team SEC in both yards allowed per game (477.7) and points allowed per game (36.4). No other team in the conference has allowed an average of more than 23.6 points per contest.
Mississippi State surrendered 673 yards of offense — 359 on the ground — in a 58-25 loss to Arkansas last Saturday. Quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. completed 22 of 31 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns in the loss, but he was intercepted twice and also fumbled the ball away twice. The Bulldogs turned the ball over five times.
“We had shown great improvement in the three weeks before Saturday,” Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby said. “Saturday we did not play the way we needed to play on the defensive side of the ball. Getting back to playing with really clean eyes and having incredible communication will get us back to the way we played in the three weeks prior, and that is something we need to do.”
Quarterback Taisun Phommachanh turned in a strong performance to help Massachusetts (2-6) defeat Wagner, an FCS program, 35-7 last Saturday. Phommachanh passed for a touchdown and ran for two scores in the win.
Phommachanh has completed 126 of 221 passes for 1,541 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions this season. He’s also the team’s No. 2 rusher with 282 yards and three touchdowns on 101 carries.
“Taisun got his legs going a little bit,” Massachusetts coach Don Brown said. “That’s the best running day we’ve had. That was good to see. What we have to do is keep fighting, keep fighting, and we’ll worry about the scoreboard at the end of the day.”
This will be the second time Massachusetts has faced an SEC opponent this season. The Minutemen, who will join the Mid-American Conference next season, lost at then-No. 21 Missouri 45-3 on Oct. 12.
Mississippi State is seeking its first victory since it opened the season with a 56-7 win against Eastern Kentucky.
