NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Believe it or not, Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox said he was blocked up front before he blocked a 33-yard field goal in the second quarter Friday night in the Music City Bowl.
The reason this fact is up for debate is the speed at which the 295-pound defensive got to the Wake Forest holder and nearly tackled kicker Jimmy Newman.
“I was keyed on the ball and got off the ball,” Cox said. “The trajectory was kind of low, so the ball just came off low.”
Both teams agree Cox’s block shifted the momentum and was a key play that helped MSU earn a 23-17 victory.
“The blocked field goal was really tough because as the game wound down to the end, that field goal became huge (to the scoring margin),” Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said.
It was the fifth blocked career kick for the All-American in his three-year career in Starkville (field goal vs. Houston in 2009, vs. Auburn in 2010, at Arkansas in 2011 and an extra point vs. Ole Miss in 2010).
Cox was one of several dominant lineman for MSU (7-6) on Friday night. He had seven tackles, two for losses, and a sack in what could be the final game of his MSU career.
The junior defensive tackle, who has submitted paperwork to the NFL draft advisory board to see where their expert scouts estimate he will get picked, is a projected first-round selection by ESPN.com analyst Todd McShay.
“I have a good idea of what I’m going to do,” Cox said with a smile when asked about his future.
MSU coach Dan Mullen has said he always will instruct a projected first-round pick to leave the program early, but anything less than that and the advice will be to come back to school.
“If you’re a first-round pick than that’s big-time money and you should go,” Mullen said. “Anything else and we’ll encourage guys to come back. You’re never hurt by coming back, but you can hurt yourself by leaving.”
When asked if he was going to try and convince his defensive linemate to come back to MSU, junior Josh Boyd gave an insight as to the future for Cox, who said he’d announce his decision in a few days.
“I wish,” Boyd said.
Turnovers not as critical in win
Mullen looked up at the scoreboard at halftime and smiled.
The Bulldogs third-year coach realized it could have been a lot worse after two fumbles and an interception.
“We were at times finding ways to lose the game tonight,” Mullen said. “Even though we started slow and made a bunch of silly mistakes, no one panicked and no one got worried.”
Mullen is 6-16 when tied or having a negative margin and the last time he’s lost that battle but won the game was the 21-3 come-from-behind win at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“Everybody just stuck to the game plan and did their job and found a way to come home with a win.”
During Mullen’s three seasons in Starkville, MSU hasn’t lost to an unranked team or a team that is also receiving votes.
“That’s a really good football team we just played, but they played in a great league and played great competition,” Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said. “I thought our kids played hard enough to win but didn’t make enough plays.”
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