Should Mississippi State fire Joe Moorhead?
Twitter’s great in the morning. You can catch up with the daily highlights, wonder why people wake up and immediately write about hating or loving things about Donald Trump (DRINK SOME COFFEE PEOPLE!), as well as the usual prayer requests, sniping between Georgia and Florida fans, SEC rankings, excited-about-the-future Vols pictures (CUE HALF-NAKED MAN IN ORANGE AND WHITE OVERALLS)…..and a number of Mississippi State fans already asking for the head of Joe Moorhead.
After all, the Bulldogs have lost four straight, including a stunning loss on the road to Tennessee and blowouts by Auburn and LSU.
It’s been miserable.
This season, we’ve seen the Cowbells that were so loud last year have gone very, very quiet.
It’s gotten so bad that a hater’s created a ‘Fire Jo Moorhead’ page – even creating T-Shirts (Ironically, they are also advertising pro-Mississippi State gear, too (just in case you didn’t think it was an anti-Cowbell vendetta).
Look, we know it was going to be a step-down from last year. A school like Alabama can lose three defensive players to the first round of the NFL Draft and not blink, but Mississippi State (like a lot of other schools), can’t. So when Jeffrey Simmons, Montez Sweat and Jonathan Abram – went off to get paid, it left a huge hole. After all, this was one of the Top 5 defenses in the nation last year.
Also, it was going to be a step-down because the school’s talisman, Nick Fitzgerald, left, and Aeris Williams, who was in a more-than-capable duo with Kylin Hill, took someone’s advice and went off to seek NFL gold (he’s hasn’t been picked up since a failed trial with the Indianapolis Colts, since you ask).
But this isn’t a step-down, this is a tumble.
THE OFFENSE HAS BEEN PUTRID
Quarterbacks-wise, it’s been miserable. Keontay Thompson, who was meant to be Fitzgerald’s successor, was injured, then put himself in the transfer portal, but has not played a snap yet this season. Tommy Stevens, who played in Joe Moorhead’s system at Penn State, has also been injured, leaving freshman Garrett Shrader to pick up everyone else’s problems.
The Mississippi State offensive line was meant to be good. It had the experience.
But good? It’s been a horror show. The line has given up 22 sacks so far this season – the worst in the SEC and 106th in the nation. It’s therefore no surprise that Shrader currently stands 11th in the SEC in pass completion percentage (55.1) and 13th in passing yards (1,022)….he was running for his life.
The offensive line hasn’t helped Kylin Hill, who’s been gutsy. Last week against A&M he had his best running outing for the season (about 150 yards), but he hasn’t had anyone backing him up. It’s meant that while he leads the conference in rushing attempts (793), he’s only 13th in rushing yards per attempt (5.1).
I for one will be stunned if O-Line coach Marcus Johnson is not fired at season-end.
DEFENSE HAS DROPPED LIKE A STONE
The defense has been atrocious. It only leads Vanderbilt and Arkansas in points given up (31 points per game), gives up an average of 6.4 yards per game (second-worst in the SEC), and is equally below-par against pass and run. Again, we’re not surprised given the talent that’s been lost, but still…
THE PROBLEMS ARE BOTH INHERITED AND NOT
Although Mississippi State fans might want Moorhead out, there is one bear in the room – the NCAA. In late August the World’s Worst Governing Body Except FIFA handed down sanctions to the team after a tutor was found to have helped 10 football ‘student athletes’ in completing general chemistry assignments. All of them have been hit with eight-game suspensions, which has battered the team’s depth, and led to uncertainty as to whom is going to start one weekend to next.
Now, we don’t know if the NCAA sanctions were a result of Moorhead’s efforts to ‘get his players eligible’, but we can presume that a complete lack of oversight from Moorhead and the rest of the Athletic Department will have helped to scupper the season.
ON THE RECRUITING SIDE?
Recruiting-wise, Mississippi State isn’t Alabama, Georgia or LSU, but it’s fine. It’s ranked 8th in the SEC so far (up from 11th), and so far he’s gotten some strong jucos and a speedy quarterback – something he relishes.
SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
Mississippi State AD John Cohen has repeatedly denied the fact that Moorhead’s being recruited by college football’s biggest laughing stock, Rutgers. You can see why the rumors have taken place. Moorhead was a former head coach at Fordham in New York, and then was the offensive coordinator at Penn State. A move to the North-East, people surmise, might be a good move.
But will Moorhead move or be moved? We don’t think so. He’s got more of a long-term plan in place.
Give him time, Mississippi State fans. Remember, y’all gave Buddy Croom 5 years.