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COLUMN: Bulldog fans ready for Kamario

3rupauk8_400x400by: Robbie Faulk4 hours agoRobbieFaulkOn3
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Mississippi State QB Kamario Taylor

Before the game even began on Saturday evening, the dread was already seeping out of Mississippi State fans.

With all signs pointing towards Blake Shapen being the starter at Missouri, a fanbase clamoring for freshman Kamario Taylor to get more run had more frustrations bubbling.

Taylor entered the ball game a week ago against Georgia after Shapen took a nasty hit and the freshman delivered a couple of touchdown drives. With Shapen not returning to the game and listed this week as questionable for the Missouri game, it appeared that things could be trending for the freshman to get his shot to start.

Head coach Jeff Lebby shot down the possibility with the caveat that, if healthy, Shapen would be the starter. The coach stuck true to that word.

Make no mistake, Shapen played his guts out as he has all season. The senior QB ran the ball 17 times in the game and took hit after hit from the Missouri defense. Unfortunately, he also had two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns and he netted 16 yards on those 17 runs including being sacked four times in the game.

At this point, the biggest detriment to Shapen’s success isn’t himself, it’s the Bulldog offensive line. It was another SEC game where the unit just looked simply outmanned and outclassed. Mizzou had 13.0 tackles for loss and added 5.0 sacks as they held the Bulldogs to 2.1 yards per carry and Shapen’s inability to escape the pocket or get the ball out in time stalled the offense out routinely.

While Taylor’s play wasn’t perfect, it was one of the few times on Saturday where the Bulldogs looked a little freer offensively. He had just 22 yards on 10 carries but was 4-of-5 passing for 36 yards and a touchdown and got some more valuable reps.

Now, this game wasn’t lost solely on QB play and it certainly wasn’t all of the offense that gets the brunt of the blame. The defense was run through like a hot knife through butter and special teams was anything but special. Still, this is where the frustrations seem to lie within the State fanbase.

Last week we talked about the quarterback rumblings and the direction that Lebby would go this year. Lebby has had a choice to go ahead and hand the keys to his freshman to prepare for next season or to ride with his veteran at QB and he’s sticking with the latter.

In the process, the ceiling of the offense is significantly lower behind the struggling Bulldog offensive line, and the State fanbase is growing further and further away in their backing of the second-year coach.

Lebby now enters a pivotal two week stretch as he and his team prepare for the biggest game of the season. Over the next two weeks, Lebby will either soul search and try something different or he will continue to stick with his guns and lean on Shapen. If it’s not Taylor that gets the opportunities in the Battle for the Golden Egg and if that results in a State loss on Black Friday, the chances of getting significant offseason support from an already fractured fanbase.

It’s past time for Lebby to listen to the concerns of his fanbase. The results at this point don’t bear out a massive difference in execution between the two quarterbacks and the future of the program has Taylor in it if he chooses. An instate kid hungry to help his team win getting the ball in two weeks would be just the shot in the arm that the Bulldog fans need and could be an energy boost for the State team as well.

Will it happen? The evidence of this season says no, but Lebby is losing the trust of the fanbase quickly and he’s going to need it as he heads into a critical offseason. It will be up to his decisions and the Bulldog players to get it done.

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