In the first month of the season, Mississippi State seemed to have an answer for every defense. The Bulldogs averaged 43 points per game during their 4–0 start.
Now, the Bulldogs don’t even have a definitive answer at quarterback.
On Tuesday, Mississippi State announced that sophomore quarterback Kamario Taylor, largely responsible for its start, would miss the remainder of the season with a foot injury.
“Nobody wants to be on that field more than Kamario,” said Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State’s head coach, in a statement. “I know how much this team means to him, and how much he means to this team.”
Taylor had already missed the Bulldogs’ week seven matchup against LSU and was pulled early in last week’s matchup against Oklahoma after reaggravating his injury.
In those two games largely without Taylor, Mississippi State scored just 15 points total.
Now, Lebby must decide who will lead his struggling offense against a Texas defense that held an Ole Miss team averaging 37.5 points per game to just 20 offensive points.
It will be either redshirt freshman Parker Puckett or fifth-year AJ Swann, and while Puckett has gotten all but every snap in Taylor’s absence, Lebby has yet to name a starter.
During his time under center, Puckett has committed three turnovers, throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble. Swann brings considerably more experience, with 18 career starts at Vanderbilt and Appalachian State. And though he hasn’t appeared in a game for the Bulldogs this season, Lebby’s uncertainty suggests Swann may get his shot.
Regardless, Mississippi State has continued to find production on the ground, despite its passing struggles. The Bulldogs rushed for 170 yards against LSU and 166 against Oklahoma. But that rushing attack will face a Texas defense coming off one of its strongest performances against the run this season, having contained one of the Southeastern Conference’s most potent ground games in Ole Miss.
A week before the Rebels came down to Austin, they had rushed for 257 yards against Missouri. Against Texas, they managed just 113. Running back junior Kewan Lacy, who entered the game averaging 5.7 yards per carry, managed just 36 yards on 16 attempts.
The Longhorns also limited dual-threat fifth-year quarterback Trinidad Chambliss to seven rushing yards on five attempts, keeping him from extending plays with his legs.
“We just wanted him to play quarterback,” senior defensive back Jelani McDonald said. “We just knew that if we were able to contain him in the pocket, we were going to be able to match up very well.”
That approach paid off through the air, too. Chambliss entered the game completing 67.6% of passes but connected on just 48% against Texas while throwing three interceptions.
Senior linebacker Justin Cryer said he and senior linebacker Rasheem Biles had identified “certain concepts” that they thought they could jump during a game-planning meeting. Both came away with interceptions, while McDonald sealed the victory with a third in the end zone.
Against Mississippi State, Texas will look to replicate that defensive success.
If the Longhorns can do so this weekend, they’ll force Mississippi State to rely on a passing attack that has struggled without its starting quarterback. For an offense still searching for answers, Texas’ defense could make finding them even more difficult.
