The Bulldogs opened a New Dawg Era, taking down the Southeastern Louisiana Lions 48-7. They came into the game a 31-point favorite. However, if you took the Dawgs and the points, at the end of the first half you might have been thinking about that second mortgage. What would it take for Mississippi State to win their opener?
Mississippi State Wins Opener 48-7
Slow Beginning
Quarterback Will Rogers seemed to be out of sync with receivers in the first half. They went three and out on their first possession. They ended the first quarter with only three points, a 47-yarder by the left foot of kicker Kyle Ferrie.
Ultimately, the momentum seemed to shift to the Dawgs in the second quarter. Jo’Quavious “Woody” Marks put on a receiving and running show that continued throughout the game. A three-play, 36-yard drive found Marks in the endzone on a one-yard run to take State to a 10-0 lead.
However, with 5:32 left in the first half, the Lions came right back with a 16-play, 79-yard drive that narrowed the Bulldog lead to 10-7. Head coach Zach Arnett was not happy with the defense and was talking about that drive at the half and after the game. Arnett had this to say, “We obviously didn’t tackle well enough. You should never give up a 3rd and 20 conversions.” Arnett said, “We have to look and see what happened on that drive, Credit them. There are things we have to clean up and do on defense.”
That being said, a forced fumble at the hands of Bulldog linebacker Nathaniel “Bookie” Watson led to that first touchdown.
The cowbells picked up and the faithful breathed a collective sigh of relief with 1:29 left in the half. Rogers hit true freshman Creed Whittemore on a simple wheel route for a 33-yard, wide-open touchdown.
Ferrie put the icing on the first half by kicking a 49-yard field goal taking the Dawgs to 20-7 going into the locker room.
Turning Point
As a matter of fact, in the second half, State looked like the team the fans had hoped for. The defense probably had a good talking-to from Arnett because SLU never scored again.
Jaden Walley scored his first touchdown of the season and the first of the second half with a five-yard toss from Rogers. This capped off an 82-yard, 6-play drive late in the third quarter.
Rogers mounted two more successful drives of 85 and 72 yards in the 4th quarter. Marks and Whittemore scored their second touchdown of the game respectively.
Equally important, special teams got into the action too with a blocked punt at the hands of John Lewis. Avery Sledge scooped it up and ran the 11 yards for a touchdown.
How did Arnett feel about how the second half turned out? “Credit Coach Leach. Learning under him.” Arnett said, “The offensive coaches did a good job at halftime. We’ve got quality coaches who can make adjustments. They did a quality job at halftime communicating that to the players, challenging them, gotta be better in the second half than we were in the first.”
Wildcat is Out of the Bag
There was a lot of anticipation or speculation about how offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay intended to use Wildcat Mike Wright. It had been seen in the Spring game, but how would he fit into a regular-season game?
The play called for quarterback Rogers to be split wide left as a receiver. Wright in the shotgun at quarterback, took the snap and scampered to the right for six yards the first time. But, was the attempt at deception wasted on that play or was SLU open to be deceived again? The answer was in the next Bulldog series. Wright had two consecutive runs of 11 and 53 yards to set up the next score three plays later. Interestingly enough, they were from the same formation, Rogers split left, Wright around the right end. Wright ended as second second-leading rusher of the game with five carries and 95 yards.
Now that Barbay has provided that wrinkle, it will be interesting to see what he does to hoodwink future opponents.
Offensive Standouts
Probably the biggest standout was the new offense and the playcalling of Barbay/Rogers. While elements of Air Raid will still be around, the run is back in a big way accounting for 298 of the 525 total yards. One of the seven runners really stood out.
There is no question that Marks was the offensive player of the game for the Bullies. He proved himself to be a formidable receiver as well as a runner. He had a career-high rushing, 127 yards on 19 carries. In the air, he is an equal threat. His four receptions in the Lions’ game, put him at 195 career catches. That moves him up to 15th in all-time career receptions in the SEC. In fact, he has a reception in 37 consecutive games, placing him at 5th most in the FBS.
Whittemore shined the light on the Mississippi State’s future. The true freshman scored two touchdowns, his first a 33-yard pass from Rogers. The second was a 53-yard run for a touchdown. He finished the day with 59 yards receiving, 57 yards rushing, and two touchdowns. That’s not too shabby for a kid who was in high school last year.
After a shaky first half, Rogers settled into what he does best. He ended the game 20/29, 227 yards, and two touchdowns.
One bright spot on special teams was the freshman left-footed kicker Ferrie. 47 and 49-yard field goals should solidify him as a threat to future opponents.
Conspicuously absent from the game was wide receiver Lideatrick “Tulu” Griffin. He got banged up in the first half and did not return until the 3rd quarter. He still ended up with four receptions for 33 yards. Perhaps we’ll see more of him as a receiver and kick returner, where he is expected to shine.
Defensive Standouts
The performance lived up to the hype in Watson and Jett Johnson. Watson had the forced fumble that led to a score, plus eight tackles and 1.5 sacks. Johnson had two forced fumbles and a sack. He got two-thirds of his career forced fumbles in this game.
Defensive tackle Jaden Crumedy led the team with eight tackles and he split a sack with Watson. Other notables in the tackle department were De’Monte Russell and Decamerion Richardson.
The Pirate in the Room
There is a lot of love for the late MSU head coach Mike Leach. Arnett carries his influence forward with the team. The fans embraced him from his arrival and now go out of their way to honor his memory.
The season opener was no exception. There were tributes throughout the game. His signature was emblazoned on the sideline with a cowbell sporting a pirate flag decal. “Swing Your Sword”, one of Leach’s phrases, was on almost every sign. A pirate flag decal was not only on the Dawg’s helmets but also on those of Southeastern Louisiana.
At the end of the first quarter, Leach’s family was presented with a framed jersey, number 21. The presentation was by Mississippi State President Dr. Mark Keenum and Athletic Director Zac Selman. The family also received a proclamation from Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves. It proclaimed flags to be flown at half-staff. That was done on December 20 of last year to remember Leach.
It’s probably evident that Leach will be around the Bulldogs for some time to come.
Arizona and Beyond
Following the victory over Southeastern Louisiana, Arnett maintains his career record of 2-0. That makes him still the only undefeated coach in college football.
The key now is to maintain that record moving forward, next week, at home again, with Arizona.
Arnett was not the happy coach you might expect following this victory. That 79-yard SLU scoring drive and his defense were his main concerns. He vowed improvement in defense and all around.
But in the end, he did say this when asked about his overall feeling for the day. “It’s all about the players. Players prepare, players make plays.” Arnett continued, “Coaches might make some good calls, but plenty of bad calls. It’s a player-first program. They bleed maroon and white and they want to play in front of this crowd. I’m glad they go out there and get celebrated.”
