Why claims of Mississippi State fearing Alabama aren't in Zach Arnett's message to team
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football coach Zach Arnett was accompanied by a white Styrofoam cup filled with coffee while standing at the podium inside the Golding Family Media Center located in the north end zone of Davis Wade Stadium on Monday,
It was reminiscent of his predecessor Mike Leach who oftentimes held a similar cup, including his postgame press conference at Bryant-Denny Stadium last year following Mississippi State’s 30-6 loss against Alabama. While the coffee cups tied the two together, the messages shared were different. Leach felt the Bulldogs were at a disadvantage against the Crimson Tide even before taking the field.
“We’ve got some guys that are afraid of the jersey that says Alabama on it,” Leach, who died in December, said after the Oct. 22 loss. “We spent a lot of time frightened of their jerseys. If you want to scare some of the guys on our team, put an Alabama jersey on. You’ll scare the hell out of them.”
When asked how he can combat that approach Saturday (8 p.m., ESPN) against Alabama (3-1, 1-0 SEC), Arnett didn’t have much to say.
“That’s not going to be my message to the team,” Arnett said. “We’ve got to focus on us and we’ve got to play. We’ve got to execute. That’s what football comes down to. You’ve got to show up excited to play with energy and you’ve got to do your job. It doesn’t matter who it’s against.”
However, Arnett may be forced to address the obvious. Mississippi State (2-2, 0-2) hasn’t beaten Alabama since 2007 – Nick Saban’s first season in Tuscaloosa. Since then, Saban has done his part as solidifying himself as the best to ever coach college football, Arnett believes. Facing the best causes a different feeling than an average week at Davis Wade Stadium.
“We let the logo get us down a little bit — the ‘A’ and stuff,” linebacker Jett Johnson said after the 2021 loss to Alabama. “That stuff we’ve got to clean up.”
Mississippi State, entering as a 14.5-point under according to DraftKings, can’t be intimated if it wants to end the skid and pull off an upset. Once fear is gone, schematics can come into play, and MSU has plenty to fix defensively to slow down Alabama and quarterback Jalen Milroe.
The Crimson Tide offense hasn’t been sharp this year. A quarterback competition carried into the season, but it’s evident Milroe is the best option.
Milroe led Alabama to just six points in the first half of last week’s game against Ole Miss. However, the Crimson Tide outscored the Rebels 18-3 in the second half en route to a win. Milroe threw for 225 yards and gained another 64 on the ground.
After allowing opposing quarterbacks to win back-to-back SEC offensive player of the week honors, Arnett and defensive coordinator Matt Brock have work to do.
CRUNCHING NUMBERS: Who is Steve Campbell and what is his role with Mississippi State football, Zach Arnett?
“Obviously, when the quarterback pulls it out and scrambles that becomes a little bit of an issue,”Arnett said. “You usually have to take someone out of the rush and spy a little bit. Or you can play zone coverage and have a whole bunch of eyeballs on the quarterback, but then you get picked apart a lot of times in zone. We’ve got to do something. It would not be in my best interest to yell you exactly what our plans are.”
Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State football: Fearing Alabama not in Zach Arnett's message
