Texas A&M's pass rushers' jobs against Mississippi State just got a lot easier

Saturday night may be a long one for Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen.

A week after facing one of the best pass rushing defenses in the nation, the Bulldogs will face No. 6 Texas A&M who is averaging 3.5 sacks per game and ranks sixth in the nation in sacks per game.

“There are some similarities from the standpoint that they've created a bunch of sacks,” Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby said about Tennessee and Texas A&M. “And that's going to be a huge point of emphasis, again, for us this week. We've got to find ways to protect, keep [Shapen] upright, and give him a chance to pitch and catch.”

That task is a lot harder now that starting right tackle Albert Reese IV has been ruled out for Saturday’s game. It’ll be the second game Reese has missed this season (did not play against Alcorn State).

Reese left last week’s game against Tennessee in the third quarter with an upper body injury and did not return.

Earlier in the week, Lebby said he “hoped” to have Reese available this week, but plans were already being made for his absence.

“Hopefully, Albert's going to be back,” Lebby said on Monday. “But we have a couple of different options to be able to go roll guys and make sure we got the best five on the field.”

Reese is the second starting right tackle to be listed as “out” on the Student-Athlete Availability Report, joining Blake Steen, who will miss the rest of the season.

But the games are still going to be played, which means the Bulldogs will need to have a “next man up” mindset this week.

“Regardless of who is in the game, the expectation is to be able to go execute at a really high level,” Lebby said. “Some of the guys were able to get that done and some were not. And for us, man, we do, we've got to get healthy while getting better. And that's a huge strength for us this week.”

Through five games, Mississippi State has allowed just five sacks. But it’s 2.4 sacks allowed per game ranks in the bottom third of the 134 FBS teams.

The Aggies certainly present a tough challenge with their ability to rush passers and the Bulldogs’ chances of upsetting Texas A&M will depend on how they’re able to slow down the Aggies.

“Again, applying pressure and being able to get to the QB. So, we've got to counteract that,” Lebby said. “We've got to make sure we're doing a great job of getting the ball out of two's hands and then giving those big boys a little bit of help when they need it. Whatever that looks like, that looks like a lot of different things, but it is going to be a huge point of emphasis for us.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network.