An outsider might look at Mississippi State’s offensive statistics and think the Bulldogs’ offense depends heavily on the passing game.
The Bulldogs average 297 yards passing and 153.7 yards rushing per game, but quarterback Kevin Fant said the reason MSU is leaning so heavily toward the passing game is because they have had to come from behind in nearly every contest. He has completed 63-of-114 passes in three games this season for 891 yards, eight touchdowns and six interceptions.
“Being behind 20 points early in ball games has forced us to throw the ball more,” Fant said in a phone interview.
The Bulldogs (0-3) host No. 7 LSU (4-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) in an 8 p.m. game in Starkville to be televised by ESPN2 and have trailed their opponents for the entirety of two out of their first three games.
MSU fell behind Oregon 28-0 in the first quarter and mounted a near comeback before losing 42-34 in Starkville. Fant completed 23-of-40 passes in the game for 285 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
Houston also jumped on MSU early last weekend with a 21-point first quarter. Fant passed for 360 yards, three touchdowns and five interceptions, completing 24-of-42 passes in another comeback attempt that fell short in a 42-35 defeat.
Fant said being behind so often makes him want to make plays and make decisions that result in interceptions. He said most of the interceptions he threw against Houston were his fault.
“There were a few of them [passes that got tipped],” Fant said. “You’ve got to get started early because when you get behind you try to force and you’re trying to cut that deficit. It’s hard to look at it one play at a time but that’s what we’ve got to do.”
LSU quarterback Matt Mauck said the quarterback position comes with many risks and rewards. He said Fant needs to shake off the bad performance.
“A lot of times it’s tough with an interception because the quarterback gets a lot of the blame, but you never know exactly what happened,” Mauck said. “You get a lot of blame but then a lot of times you get credit for a touchdown pass that wasn’t really all your doing either. I think he needs to just realize that he needs to go out and try to make plays.”
Fant and the Bulldogs took a 10-7 lead against the Tigers in last year’s contest before LSU outscored MSU 24-3 in a 31-13 victory. Fant completed 15-of-39 passes for 122 yards, including two interceptions.
Defensive tackle Chad Lavalais said the Tigers’ defense affected Fant last year and forced him to make mistakes.
“Last year, early on he was doing a pretty good job,” Lavalais said. “But as the game went on, we kind of got after him and kind of slowed him down.”
Fant completed 163-of-311 passes for 1,918 yards in 2002 with eight touchdowns and nine interceptions. It seemed that Fant might not see the playing field this season after missing the last two weeks of spring practice and being listed second on the depth chart at quarterback to begin the fall. But he overcame the odds and reclaimed the status of starting quarterback.
Lavalais said Fant has made vast improvements from last season and might be one of the better quarterbacks in the SEC.
“From last year to this year he’s improved a lot,” Lavalais said. “He’s a real good pocket passer, another good quarterback we’re going up against in the SEC.”
Hopefully the Tigers’ defensive line can pressure the quarterback again this week and force Fant to make bad decisions, said Tigers strong safety Jack Hunt.
“If he’s getting pressure, then he’s trying to get rid of the ball quick,” Hunt said. “As long as we’re affecting him and hitting him, he’ll get out of his rhythm and he’ll throw the ball away if he has to.”
Fant has other ideas for this weekend. He said the Bulldogs’ offense needs to make smart decisions and to get off to a good start. He hopes to get the Bulldogs on the right track on Saturday by leading MSU to its first victory of the season in its SEC opener.
“You’ve got to look at it one game at a time and keep fighting on,” Fant said. “We need to just try to get started earlier, especially on offense to keep our defense off the field.”