Folks. We didn’t die. I don’t know what else to say other than that, but the Mississippi State Bulldogs sure found a way to escape their ranked matchup with the Missouri Tigers (and that feels like such a refreshing thing after such a terrifyingly annoying game to try to keep up with). Jeff Lebby and Mississippi State are 4-0 overall, 2-0 in the SEC after surging past Mizzou to win 31-24.
Quite frankly, thank God.
Things may have gone Mississippi State’s way early on and then also very clearly late in the game, but so much of the middle of this mess was filled with just flat out stress for the Bulldogs (and their fans). Kamario Taylor and Mississippi State jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter after the Tigers were kept off the scoreboard after getting stopped with a sack on 4th-and-3 from the Mississippi State 36-yard line and then a 52-yard field goal went left of the uprights. During that same timeframe, the Bulldogs scored with a 43-yard pass to Sanfrisco Magee and then got on the board again with an 11-yard pass to Fluff Bothwell.
And then the Tigers scored 17 unanswered points.
Missouri responded well to Mississippi State’s fast start
The Tigers were able to knock through a 35-yard field goal and then followed that up by taking advantage of an interception of a pass from Taylor by pairing it with a 9-yard pass to Donovan Olugbode.
The Bulldogs were driving into the Missouri red zone as time was ticking off the clock leading up to halftime (and I was trying to get my kids to agree to fall asleep in beds instead of on the couch or the floor or a recliner or any other surface that looked vaguely horizontal).
Unfortunately, Mississippi State couldn’t get into the end zone (or kick something through the upright) and had to settle for holding onto a 14-10 lead heading into the second half. Which, you know, Missouri took advantage of and claimed a 17-14 lead over the Bulldogs once the second half started. A 54-yard kickoff return helped set up a 21-yard touchdown to Cayden Lee (no relation that I know of).
Mississippi State and Missouri went back-and-forth in the third quarter
With the Tigers up 17-14, Kyle Ferrie continued his ascent in the Mississippi State record books by capping off a 15-play, 65-yard drive that tied things up at 17-17. And it was a bit uncharacteristic, but we’ll take it, because that drive took 15 plays and over six minutes of gametime.
And unfortunately, the Tigers just happened to prove capable of moving down the field in less than two minutes and connected with Lee once again to give Mizzou a 28-yard touchdown and a 24-17 lead over MSU.
Thankfully, Fluff Bothwell plays for Mississippi State
I can’t think of a better way to counter that sort of quick scoring burst than to have another sort of long, sustained, impressive drive that allowed for Mississippi State’s defense to get a bit of a breather. And while I’m a little worried about whether or not Fluff Bothwell is fully healthy following this game, I’m very grateful for how he played in this one.
Because Bothwell tied things up by capping off a 14-play, 73-yard drive that took 11 seconds shy of six minutes of the clock. With a 4-yard touchdown run, Bothwell got the Bulldogs tied up at 24-24 against Missouri.
Which allowed for Mississippi State to set itself up to reclaim the lead late in the game after Zach Arnett’s defense held strong. With just five plays, MSU moved 85 yards down the field. That included a 48-yard pass to Anthony Evans III and then a 24-yard pass to Sanfrisco Magee.
The Bulldogs have quite frankly never had a better collection of receivers than what they’ve got this year. It’s remarkable.
That 24-yard touchdown reception gave MSU a 31-24 lead that the Bulldogs were able to hold onto. Just shy of 500 yards of offensive output. Taylor went 27-38 with 360 yards and three touchdowns through the air while throwing just one pick. In total, Bothwell delivered 177 all-purpose yards (and deserves all the recognition in the world).
Mississippi State wasn’t perfect (quite frankly, things looked really irritating for quite some time due to penalty problems and some missed opportunities), but the Bulldogs still found a way to beat a ranked opponent by seven points. That’s something that we need to just sit back and enjoy.
It’s something we haven’t been able to enjoy all that much until recently.
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