Mike Leach hilariously describes best approach to facing Alabama

Mississippi State is 3-2 on the season entering Week 7. The Bulldogs bounced back from back to back losses to Memphis and LSU to defeat Texas A&M two weekends ago. Now a tough matchup against Alabama awaits. Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach said he wants his team to focus on the game itself rather than the fact that they are going up against Alabama.

“The biggest thing is you don’t want to squander plays because of the helmet sticker. Sometimes you see teams do that and you know a team like Alabama is good enough that you can’t afford to do that under any circumstances,” Leach said. “So, you want to make sure you don’t squander plays reconciling that you’re playing a talented opponent. You just want to kind of worry about yourself and go do the best that you can and focus on that and consistently do that even as the game has ups and downs.”

Leach: Mississippi State can’t focus on rankings

A week ago, Alabama was seemingly unbeatable and the expectation was that they would run through the regular season with no issues until the SEC Championship. Texas A&M, who Mississippi State beat just the week before, took down Alabama. This shows Leach and Mississippi State that the ranking associated with a team is just a number beside its name on the scoreboard. If the team allows it to become anything more, all it does is cause distractions.

“We’ve done a decent job with that recently,” Leach said of not focusing on the rankings of opponents. “I think just go out and play. I guess what I said before, which it’s so boring and it’s not fun for you guys to write about, but if you can just go there and be the best self that you can and just lock into your job and do it the best you can and don’t get distracted by what might happen.”

“Everybody’s seen it and all you gotta do sometime on Saturday is turn the game on,” Leach said on the importance of Mississippi State avoiding distractions. “There’s some player that comes frantically to the sideline. You know, okay they did this. And then the cheerleader ran around the stadium three times. And then the Shetland pony came out and ate a hot dog on the 50-yard line. So then now what do I do.

“So, you’ve got to eliminate all the clutter and just focus on what counts. And the other thing is you got to trust the guy next to you to do the same thing. If you can do that together, that’ll put your best foot forward then put you in the best position to execute a play. And you got to do it over and over.”

Following Mississippi State’s matchup with Alabama on Saturday night, the Bulldogs head to Vanderbilt in Week 8. Then, three touch matchups await with a home date with Kentucky and road trips to Arkansas and Auburn.