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ASU vs. Mississippi State Football Predictions Scouting Report
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ASU vs. Mississippi State Football Predictions Scouting Report

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The revamped Arizona State Sun Devils passed their first test with flying colors. That’s good because the next one will be much tougher.

The next team to call will be Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are coming off a 5-7 showing in 2023, but had a coaching change. The SEC is still the SEC, so the Sun Devils will have to step up their game to get to 2-0 on the season, and they have never beaten an SEC program.

Both teams were victorious in their first games: ASU over Wyoming 48-7 and Mississippi State over Eastern Kentucky 56-7.

Coach Kenny Dillingham hopes his program can do something for the first time.

“We’ve never beaten an SEC school. We’ve never won an SEC game,” Dillingham said. “We have a chance to do something that school has never done. Secondly, regardless of the people, the same people who talk about how well we played are the same people who picked us last. Thirdly, you’re never as good as you think you are and you’re never as bad as you think you are. So, get off your pedestal. Success in our program is being the best at whatever you’re doing at the time. We’re going to be successful again this week. And that’s the message, that’s the vision and this is a very good football team.”

Mississippi State (1-0) at Arizona State (1-0)

Time/Place:7:30 pm Saturday, Mountain America Stadium

TV:ESPN (Mark Jones, Roddy Jones). Radio:ESPN 620 AM.

The last time they played:This will be the first meeting between the schools.

Coaches showdown

Arizona State University:Kenny Dillingham (sophomore, 4-9).

State of Mississippi: Jeff Lebby (first year, 1-0). Lebby previously served as offensive coordinator at Oklahoma (2022-2023), Mississippi (2020-2021) and Central Florida (2019-2020). He spent his playing days at Oklahoma and is known for being an innovative offensive mind. Not surprisingly, he calls the plays himself.

Synopsis

ASU has never beaten an SEC school, though it’s not like it plays one often. It’s 0-5. “We were picked last in the Big 12” was a rallying point over the past two months, but that’s been replaced by “we’ve never beaten an SEC school. Let’s do something that’s never been done.”

Baylor transfer Blake Shapen is Mississippi State’s starting quarterback. He committed to ASU in June 2019 with the plan to play both football and baseball. He decommitted six months later and ended up at Baylor, where he spent three seasons before reaching the portal.

Injury Report

Arizona State University: Offensive linemen Jalen Klemm and Sean Na’a, linebacker Tate Romney (broken arm), defensive end Prince Dorbah (knee) and defensive lineman Anthonie Cooper (knee) are out. Running back Raleek Brown (hamstring) should return.

State of Mississippi:DL Kavin Dinkins, WR Kelly Akharaiya and S Corey Ellington are questionable.

The state of Arizona will win if…

1. He can hold his own physically against an SEC team.The SEC is different. It just is. So while the win over Wyoming was convincing, the Sun Devils now have to face a tougher, more physical opponent, because that’s football in that conference. It will be interesting to see if ASU can win that battle in the trenches.

2. You can return to earth: Dillingham wasn’t pleased with his team’s practice on Tuesday, saying his team was too proud of itself after Saturday’s impressive win. He was more pleased with what he saw from his team the next day and was confident that he had put that win behind him. There’s a difference between a Power Four school and a Group of Four school.

3. Can maintain balance on offense.Last week, the Sun Devils totaled 241 rushing yards and 258 passing yards. That kind of balance can be difficult to defend. Not only was there a balance between the run and the pass, but there was a balance in the players who contributed to the numbers in each category. Cam Skattebo was the leading rusher with 49 yards, while Kyson Brown’s 73 yards led the receivers. Dillingham hopes that depth will mean his players will be stronger late in games.

Mississippi State will win if…

1. The offensive line controls the line of scrimmage.:The Bulldogs lost every player on a decent front a year ago and had to retool, adding four starters through the transfer portal. They have a mammoth figure at right tackle, 6-foot-8, 325-pound Leon Bell. Other key players include North Texas transfer Ethan Miner at center and Memphis transfer Makylan Pounders at the other tackle spot. The unit allowed just one sack last week.

2. High-powered passing offense is productiveShapen was efficient in completing 15 of 20 passes for 247 yards last week in a blowout win. Those numbers could have been flashier, but the Bulldogs had the game under control and didn’t have to go through their entire playbook. Mississippi State will push the pace, something ASU’s defense must be prepared for.

3. Win the rotation battle:It’s one of those things that stands out in every game.

They said it

Arizona State University running back DeCarlos Brooks:

“Everyone wants to be a part of history, right? That’s something you should tell your kids and grandkids. For example, we’re the first ASU team to beat an SEC team. So that should be really high on those challenge lists.”

ASU Offensive Coordinator Marcus Arroyo:

“They are a very talented football team. They are tough and well-coached. With the new coaching staff, they have a new energy and a new drive. I think both teams are going to give us everything they have… I can’t dictate to them what they are going to do. I can only dictate to them what we are going to do. I am excited to play against them.”

ASU defensive coordinator Brian Ward:

“(Blake) Shapen is an experienced quarterback. He’s had a lot of success as a Division I quarterback. He’s elusive. He’s an athletic quarterback. He’s going to be a little different than what we saw last week.”

In numbers

2 — Missed tackles for ASU in the season opener, ranking behind only Oregon (0) and Colorado (2) for the fewest in the country in Week 1. The Sun Devils were in the top 40 in the country last season, and were credited with only 129 missed tackles on defense in 12 games.

6 — Number of Mississippi State players who scored an offensive touchdown last week against Eastern Kentucky. That tied the most individual offensive scores in a single game since Nov. 19, 2022, against East Tennessee State. The scorers at the receiver position were Jordan Mosley, Kevin Coleman Jr. and Mario Craver, while the rushing touchdowns were scored by Blake Shapen, Creed Whittemore and Davon Booth.

53 — Newcomers to the Bulldogs roster, 16th most in the FBS and most in the SEC. Of those 53 newcomers, 28 were transfers (FBS/JUCO/D2), which ranks 12th most in the country.

156 — Combined starts by ASU offensive linemen entering the 2024 season, fifth-most in the country.

2.712 — Number of snaps played by ASU center Leif Fautanu, third-most among active players entering this season. That trails only New Mexico State’s Canaan Yarro (2,888) and Texas’ Jake Majors (2,755). Fautanu started all 12 of the Sun Devils’ games, playing all but one game this season (helmet removed) for the team at center (850). He finished with the fifth-best pass-blocking grade among Pac-12 centers (78.7), a total that ranks 29th in the country among all centers (minimum 500 snaps). Fautanu has started 44 career games, all consecutive, in his career.

Who will win and why?

ASU 28, Mississippi State 24:This is another one of those games where everything can go wrong. Both teams won easily last week, but ASU played an opponent that looked a little better, though the picture of that could change by the end of the season. ASU’s depth is paying off and may be a reason the Sun Devils have more staying power than in years past, both in a game and over the entire season.

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