Mississippi State: By the Numbers

1.

Turnovers created! (Also the number of """"""turnovers"""""" given up but we won't get into that because it doesn't have to do with incredibly shitty officiating and replay officiating that caused a 14 point swing NOPE NOPE NOPE just part of the game, right SEC?).

Those were dramatic air quotes, by the way. On a serious note, good for De'Vante Harris for getting his first career pick.

2.

Hundred yard rushers. Johnny again (duh) and Ben Malena. We had 361 as a team rushing. CRUISIN'.

Hundred yard receivers. Evans and Swope again. That steady clicking noise you hear is just the offense; don't be alarmed.

EDIT: ESPN adjusted Swope's stats so that he officially only had 97 yards. /dismissive wanking

3.

Field goal attempts. We made one. This inconsistency is going to come back to haunt us soon if it's not resolved. It sort of threatened to raise its ugly head in the 3rd quarter when the score was 31-13 for a while. It's uncomfortable, like that uncle you have who interrupts every conversation to talk about his tennis game. Everything else is working so well, but you can't quite ignore it.

4.

Catches by Thomas Johnson. He's really coming on strong as a freshman. Add to that the 33 yards rushing he had on the lateral reception he caught early in the game, and he made a pretty big contribution today. Great to see this kind of output from a freshman. TJ. Evans. Manziel. Williams. Yeah, we're going to struggle in the SEC.

5.

Most catches by a Mississippi State receiver. I was worried about their offense today. Not because they are flashy or explosive, but because they had been plodding and methodical through most of the season. Snyder had our guys ready on defense, and it was a great show.

6.

Yards per rush, roughly. On 58 rushing attempts. Carry on, Kliff. Keep flustering the haterz with your off-color shirts, too.

7.

Points dropped by Sean Porter when that pass hit him in the chest. I love Porter. He's been a great performer over the past few seasons. But man, that one would have put them in a huge hole. If he keeps up the hard work, he'll get the next one, and maybe it will be more opportune than today's missed chance. HE SAID HE WAS PORTER.

8.

Number of tackles made by Dustin Harris. He led the team. That's all. Our secondary's tackling looked good.

9.

Receptions by Evans and Swope, each. Grind, grind, grind.

11.5.

Sacks by Damontre Moore so far this year. He got another one early, before they adjusted. He's one of the elite defensive players in college football right now, to go along with Johnny on the offensive side. This is great publicity for us, to go along with the way the team is performing.

20%

For the second week in a row, we held the opponent to 2/10 on third-down conversions. The difference Saturday was that Mississippi State actually has a capable offense and QB. This should be huge for our defense's confidence heading into Tuscaloosa next week.

693

Offensive yards. We surpassed last week's Auburn total. Both on the road. This time against a better team. I'm probably the most cautiously optimistic fan I know, but damn.