Tigers, Bulldogs square off in SEC opener today in Tiger Stadium

Mississippi State’s football team has a unique identity and doesn’t try to hide it.

The Mike Leach-coach Bulldogs lean heavily on a passing offense of short, quick throws and a 3-3-5 base defense that shifts to various disguises.

LSU’s team of first-year coach Brian Kelly doesn’t yet have an identity. There’s still a learning process for the Tigers’ coaching staff deciphering strengths and weaknesses of personnel, how to use players and what they can mentally handle.

Because LSU (1-1) remains largely a question mark, it is a rare 2½-point underdog at home in Tiger Stadium in its SEC opener vs. Mississippi State (2-0) today at 5 p.m.

“There's no doubt there’s discovery each week, good and bad,” Kelly said. “I think it's going to be something that continues to evolve. We're still building trust. They need to trust us and we need to trust them when they tell us something as well."

Leach is 1-1 vs. LSU but that was against former Tigers’ head coach Ed Orgeron in his staff. This year’s team under Kelly has a new staff (except for one assistant) and a liberal sprinkling of transfers in its two-deep depth chart.

“LSU is a little bit tough to evaluate from the standpoint they’ve got a lot of new faces,” Leach said. “They were big into the transfer thing. So we'll see how all those guys turn out and I think it's still unfolding.”

Such as LSU junior starting quarterback Jayden Daniels. The transfer from Arizona State has led eight straight touchdown drives including five in the first quarter of last Saturday’s 65-17 blowout of Southern.

According to ESPN’s QBR which values the quarterback on all play types on a 0-100 scale adjusted for the strength of opposing defenses faced,” Daniels’ QBR is tops among SEC quarterbacks at 90.9.

But LSU coaches are still figuring out what works and doesn’t work for Daniels.

“We're still trying to have that feel for how we can rock and how we can roll,” said Daniels, who leads LSU in passing (35 of 45 for 346 yards, 5 TDs, 0 interceptions) and in rushing (132 yards and 1 TD on 19 carries). “The thing about our coaching staff has been if there is something (a play) we're not comfortable with, they're gonna take it out (of the game plan). Because at the end the day, they want us to go out there and just play free and not have to think about nothing.”

Two key threats in LSU’s offense – wide receiver Kayshon Boutte and suspended running back John Emery Jr. – are still working their way back into a rhythm.

For Boutte, two off-season ankle surgeries slowed him and he and Daniels seemingly don’t have the connection yet that Boutte enjoyed the past two seasons with QB Max Johnson who transferred to Texas A&M.

Today marks Emery's first game action since the end of the 2020 season. He has missed 15 games – all 13 last season and two so far this year – because of academically ineligibility. The former five-star recruit has yet to find his stride in his college career, but he said back in the spring he was priming for a big 2022 season.

“I honestly feel that I’m a better student of the game and becoming a power back,” said Emery, who has started in three of 19 career games and rushed for 566 yards and seven TDs. “I used to be a shifty back and avoided a lot of contact, but now I can do it all,”

Kelly is ready for Emery Jr. to join LSU’s running back rotation that so far has relied on Armoni Goodwin, Noah Cain and Josh Williams.

“He’s a big back, he’s explosive,” Kelly said. “He’s bigger than the backs that we have now. He’s got a little bit more speed. I think he’s going to complement what we have already.

"You can’t play him a whole game because he hasn’t played the year. This is going to be his first game in a long time and we’re not going to ask him to do too much. But we’re going to give him the opportunity to insert himself into the game and see what he can do to get our running game moving.”

For LSU to win, long-sustained scoring drives will be a key, especially to lessen Mississippi State’s time of possession. The Bulldogs are averaging 39 minutes in possession, second nationally in the FBS. Leach is doing his best to establish a semblance of a rushing attack as 58 of State’s 157 plays so far have been rushing attempts.

Yet, it’s the arm and the experience of junior starting QB Will Rogers that has the Bulldogs averaging 44 points (the same as LSU) and 486.5 yards after wins over 49-23 on Sept. 3 and 39-17 at Arizona last Saturday.

Rogers leads the SEC in passing yards per game (381.5), total passing yards (763), passing touchdowns (9), completion percentage (78.6) and completions for first downs (39).

State’s offensive line, aided by Rogers’ quick release, has allowed just three sacks. It’s imperative that LSU’s secondary, which features transfers as its top four cornerbacks and two of its best four safeties, has flawless communication and coverage.

“This game right here is definitely another way for us to just to show our skills off and show we are who we are,” said LSU junior cornerback Mehki Garner, a transfer from Louisiana-Lafayette who had 7 tackles and a team-best 3 pass breakups. “And that is wanting to be the best secondary in the nation.”