Mike Leach assesses rough scheduling to start the season

Mississippi State has opened the season with three challenging games and started 2-1. Each game provided a different challenge that the Bulldogs have had to overcome. While they did well considering all things, Mike Leach is as ready for his team’s upcoming three-game home stand as anyone.

Leach talked about the adversity the Bulldogs have faced to start the year during his press conference on Monday. Between three challenging opponents and the travel involved with two of the games, he was just happy to see his players tough it out and get through it.

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“Our schedule certainly didn’t help us leading into this week,” said Leach. “I can’t remember how long the first game lasted. The first game probably lasted 12 hours. Then the next game you fly to Arizona and was supposed to get back at six in the morning. We get back at 10:30 in the morning. And then we headed to LSU. I don’t think it helped us much. But I think you just gotta fight through it and you gotta just do it anyway.”

Mississippi State had a night kick to open the 2022 season against a Memphis team that knocked them off a year ago. After handling the Tigers, the Bulldogs then flew out west and get the job done against the Arizona Wildcats. Finally, they kicked off SEC play on the road last weekend in what became a disappointing fourth-quarter loss to LSU.

Mississippi State can be happy knowing they came through all of that with a winning record. However, Mike Leach doesn’t want to see their gas tank run empty as it did at the end of their trip to Baton Rouge. With an upcoming slate of Bowling Green, Texas A&M, and Arkansas all in Starkville, it should be a nice recharge for their batteries at home even if the competition isn’t getting any easier.