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football Edit

How the Hogs stack up versus Mississippi State defense

Bulldog defenders Aaron Brule and Tyrus Wheat. (Derick Hingle - USA Today Sports)
Bulldog defenders Aaron Brule and Tyrus Wheat. (Derick Hingle - USA Today Sports)

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When your offense throws for a record-breaking 623 yards in one game, the defense tends to be quickly overlooked. After a 10-point performance against Georgia, however, Arkansas's offense needs to be very conscious of the Mississippi State Bulldog defense and their new 3-3-5 scheme.

The Bulldogs gave up 34 points to the defending national champions in week one, but it was still the lowest point total LSU's accumulated since facing No. 9 Auburn last season. The Tigers offense is a shell of its former self but regardless, Mike Leach, not known for his defense, did enough to take the win.

A huge part of Mississippi State's success Saturday was their ability to get after the quarterback. They had four sacks on third down and in the Tigers' final drive, up by 10, they got to the quarterback on the first two downs, setting them back 16 yards.

They finished the day with seven sacks for a loss of 45 yards. Sam linebacker Jordan Davis also caused the Tigers' second interception of the day by getting to Myles Brennan's arm on a pass attempt.

In the 3-3-5 scheme, the Bulldogs bring the pressure from the front six and they aren't afraid to rotate their depth in. The seven sacks were tallied by three linebackers and four different defensive tackles.

"It’s a concern because they move all over the place," Sam Pittman told the media Monday. "They twist and move and it’s just part of their defensive coordinator’s philosophy. And they do it well. They’re not as big on the D-line — they’re huge on the O-line — but they’re not as big on the D-line as what we just played and they move quite a bit more."

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