What's wrong with Mississippi State run defense with Kewan Lacy, Ole Miss up next
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COLUMBIA, MO — Mississippi State football and Missouri had pulled most of their starters from the game, but the Tigers kept star running back Ahmad Hardy in.
Missouri (7-3, 3-3 SEC) was one first down away from ending the 49-27 win against the Bulldogs (5-6, 1-6) at Memorial Stadium on Nov. 15. The Tigers rubbed the result in even more by giving Hardy one more carry, a 19-yard rush that gave him exactly 300 rushing yards in the game. Missouri knew MSU had no chance to stop Hardy, who also had three rushing touchdowns.
The Mississippi State run defense was tormented again in its second straight loss by at least 20 points. Georgia and Missouri rushed for over 300 yards in both of those losses. MSU is allowing 289.3 rushing yards per game in the last three games.
That’s not going to cut it for Mississippi State to win its regular season finale against No. 6 Ole Miss (10-1, 6-1) in the Egg Bowl on Nov. 28 (11 a.m., ABC or ESPN) and clinch bowl eligibility.
While Hardy leads the country in rushing yards, Ole Miss‘ Kewan Lacy is third with 1,136 yards and his 19 rushing touchdowns to lead the nation. Lacy had 224 rushing yards and three touchdowns in Ole Miss’ 34-24 win vs Florida on Nov. 15.
“Anytime someone rushes for 300 yards, you can’t expect to win,” MSU linebacker Nic Mitchell said. “That’s not how it works.”
What Mississippi State, Jeff Lebby said is wrong with run defense
Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby identified one big key entering the Missouri game. Mississippi State had to stop the run. It was obvious the Tigers were going to feed carries to Hardy, especially with third-string quarterback Matt Zollers starting.
“Defensively, we talked non-stop all week, stressed it non-stop all week,” Lebby said. “Really frustrating that we don’t defend the run any better. We don’t tackle the way we need to.”
Hardy’s first carry of the game was a 34-yard gain. The Tigers rushed for 326 yards, including the two sacks on Zollers that took away 22 yards. They averaged 9.4 yards per carry in sack-adjusted rushing.
It was the most total rushing yards MSU has allowed since losing to Arkansas in 2024 and the fourth time in the Lebby era an opponent has run for at least 300 yards.
“We’ve all got a part in it,” Lebby said. “I’ve talked about that non-stop. When things are really, really good, it’s because of everybody. When things aren’t good, it’s because of everybody. We talked about it with our football team just now. Everybody to a man, we got to have a great talk with ourselves to see are we doing everything we possibly can to leave no doubt. You got to be obsessed with it Monday through Friday.
“I thought we had a good week of work. I thought our leadership showed up this week. I’m really frustrated with the explosive runs we gave up when we had talked non-stop about it. I thought we had a physical week of practice and then did not execute the way we needed to.”
The Bulldogs are allowing 189.8 rushing yards per game, the worst in the SEC.
“If I could walk you through the film and see the stuff that we’re messing up on, it’s just guys, including myself, getting out of gaps,” Mitchell said. “We’re not doing the stuff that takes no talent. It takes no athleticism, and it takes no skill. We’re just not doing it, and it’s hurting us in a bad way.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State must stop Ole Miss’ Kewan Lacy to win Egg Bowl
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