Every successful offense has an identity.

Oregon finds production through speed in the backfield with the No. 2 rushing offense in the nation. Texas A&M has found its identity in one player, Johnny “Football” Manziel, as he has made the Aggies the fifth most productive offensive unit in college football.

The same cannot be said for No. 21 Mississippi State (7-2), but No. 7 LSU (7-2) doesn’t plan to overlook MSU’s offense.

“They’ve got talent across the board,” said LSU junior linebacker Kevin Minter. “This isn’t a one-person team. All 11 of them are pretty damn decent. Everyone is going to have to do their assignments and execute well, and hopefully we’ll come out with the W.”

Ranking 73rd in the country with 387.1 yards per game and 48th in points per game with an average of 30.8, the Bulldogs have struggled to find an efficient balance under offensive coordinator Les Koenning.

Junior quarterback Tyler Russell has had individual success in 2012, as his 139.5 pass rating and 16 touchdowns have kept the Bulldogs’                                                       offense moving.  

Russell has made the occasional play with his feet, scoring twice on the ground this season.

“They’ve got a good QB,” said junior linebacker Lamin Barrow. “Their QB can move. [Russell] has grown so much from last year, and he’s just making a lot of plays with his feet, so we’re going to have to key in on everybody.”

Junior Bulldogs running back LaDarius Perkins’ 804 yards, eight scores and 5.25 average yards per carry have him striking fear into opposing                             defensive coordinators. 

“We have to respect their run game and how physical they are with down blocks and the stuff that they do,” said junior defensive end Sam Montgomery. “I know this is a very strong run team.”

The MSU receiving corps is led by seniors Chad Bumphis and Chris Smith, who have combined for 962 yards and nine scores. Senior tight end Marcus Green has also been a favorite target for Russell. His five receiving touchdowns rank him second on the squad.

So one question now remains: If the Bulldogs have so many producers on offense, then why is their offense ranked so poorly?

Outside of Perkins, no other runner is averaging more than 22 yards per game, leaving the workload on the team’s select group of offensive stars.

Another factor could be the play selection.

Although the Bulldogs’ passing stats make up nearly 60 percent of their total offensive production, only 48 percent of the plays called are through the air.  

The other 52 percent of play calls involve the run game, making the MSU offense a balanced but inefficient unit as a whole.

The Tigers plan to get into the film room this week to further evaluate the Bulldogs’ offensive attack.

“We’re going to use film study, and we’re going to break them down,” said junior defensive end Barkevious Mingo. “The coaches do a great job upstairs with all that stuff. We put our faith in them to get us ready, and we’ll be ready.”

‘We have to respect their run game and how physical they are…’