Why Mike Leach isn't panicking over Mississippi State offense's poor outing against Arkansas

STARKVILLE – What Arkansas did to Mississippi State isn't anything Mike Leach has never seen before. 

Rushing three defensive linemen and sending eight players back into coverage isn't a novel concept in football, after all. Leach has been running the Air Raid offense for nearly 20 years as a head coach. Teams have enacted that game plan several times throughout Leach's career. 

Whether Leach's teams have won or lost in those scenarios comes down to if Leach's players are able to still run the offense effectively against a defense that is drawn up to to stop it in its tracks. That didn't happen against Arkansas.  

"Our execution was the difference," Leach said. "They executed, we didn't. But you know, that's not some special thing. It wasn't newly invented either. I mean, you've got o go out there and execute. I think they did, we didn't. We had a lot of chances that game. We just have to get better. We have to be a steady, consistent team. We can't rest on any level of perceived success. We have to be the same team every snap. I don't think we were." 

Leach said Oregon often played a similar style of defense against his Washington State teams. Leach's Cougars went 4-4 against the Ducks during his time in Pullman. All four wins came consecutively from 2015-18. Washington State scored 45, 51, 33 and 34 points in those victories. The fewest points Washington State scored against Oregon in Leach's tenure was 26. 

The Air Raid can beat zone coverage when, like Leach said, the offense is executing better than the defense. And that doesn't fall solely on senior quarterback K.J. Costello, who had three interceptions against Arkansas. It falls on all 11 players on the field. 

Leach said there could have been a better effort from every offensive position group against Arkansas, from Costello at quarterback to the offensive line, running backs and wide receivers. 

"The guys away from the ball have to push and stretch the field also," Leach said. "And then of course, run the ball and be more consistent and strong up front as far as moving the pile. That type of thing. Consistency, I think, would be the best way to put it. You've got to understand, we're out of business decades ago if drop eight is some secret deal." 

Having senior running back Kylin Hill for the duration of the game would have certainly helped too. Hill left after his first carry against Arkansas with an apparent head injury. Leach said Hill, who had 158 receiving yards against LSU on nearly 20 yards per catch, is expected to be back in the lineup against Kentucky. 

A player with Hill's versatility out of the backfield might make defenses think twice about allowing him to catch the ball close to the line of scrimmage with so much space in front of him to make a play. Hill can't be the only receiving threat that makes opposing defenses scratch its head, though. 

Senior wide receiver Osirus Mitchell had 183 receiving yards and two touchdowns against LSU but came down to earth against Arkansas with 61 yards and zero scores. Junior Austin Williams had seven catches for 57 yards and a TD against LSU but didn't catch any passes against Arkansas. 

Leach wants more from that duo and more from every other player he puts on the field against Kentucky. 

"I think that our receivers can throw out a combination of routes, everybody has to be stretching the field because it sets up the other routes," Leach said. "Then the quarterback has to have his eyes in the right place. Your five (offensive lineman) has to be able to beat their three (defensive linemen). We didn't do either one of those three things consistently." 

Contact Tyler Horka at thorka@gannett.com. Follow @tbhorka on Twitter. To read more of Tyler's work, subscribe to the Clarion Ledger today!