Mike Leach offers thoughts on Eddie George, Tennessee State

Mississippi State will look to keep the ball rolling Saturday in its penultimate game of the season, as head coach Mike Leach and the Bulldogs play host to Eddie George and his Tennessee State Tigers.

Leach and Mississippi State head into the home contest after a historic performance on the road against Auburn, which saw the Bulldogs mount the single-largest comeback in program history. Trailing by 25 points to Auburn, which at the time ranked No. 17 in the AP poll, Leach’s Bulldogs went on to string together 40-straight unanswered points and upend the Tigers by a 43-34 final. Quarterback Will Rogers led the way for Mississippi State, putting together an impressive game with 415 passing yards and six touchdowns. Surely, George’s Tigers will plan for Leach’s Air Raid attack.

Tennessee State hired George in April to become the school’s 22nd head football coach, a distinction that surprised many.

George, who attended Ohio State, has never held a head coaching role at the college ranks. In fact, he hadn’t coached in college in any capacity — but the former Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans running back is more than familiar with the area. Over the course of an 11-year NFL career, 10 of which were spent with the Titans franchise, George was an NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, two-time NFL All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowl selection. In Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference, Leach said he’d never met George, and his connection with the Tennessee State head coach is limited.

The only encounters he’s had with George were “just on TV and watching NFL All-Team stuff or something like that,” Leach said.

Leach continued to offer a rather vague description of George’s team, which holds a 5-5 in his first season at the helm.

“I think they look good,” Leach said. “They run real well. They run well, and they’re pretty aggressive. I think they play real hard, too.”

To Leach’s credit, Tennessee State has had some success running the ball this season in the OVC. The Tigers’ leading rusher, Devon Starling, has amassed 767 rushing yards to date, more than double that of the leading rusher at Mississippi State; granted, the Bulldogs are known for anything but their rushing prowess.

However, George will have quite the challenge this week, as Tennessee State looks to keep its offense rolling on the road against a Power Five team. Not just because of the glaring talent gap, but also because of injuries.

Last week, Tennessee State lost starting quarterback Geremy Hickbottom, who had thrown for 1,816 yards on a 57.7% completion rate, along with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. He led the OVC in passing efficiency but now Hickbottom will likely have to sit out in George’s season finale due to a back injury. Plus, Starling, Tennessee State’s starting running back, was sidelined with an injury last week against Austin Peay, which is likely to keep him out.

Given that Leach has far more to work with at Mississippi State and George’s Tigers have suffered a couple crushing injuries, this game could very well be a blowout.