STARKVILLE — Nickoe Whitley played a big part helping the Mississippi State football team become bowl eligible in 2013.
With the Bulldogs needing to win their final two regular-season games to become bowl eligible, the safety forced a fumble at the MSU 9-yard line in the fourth quarter to deny Arkansas a touchdown and force the game to overtime. After Damian Williams scored a 25-yard touchdown in overtime, Whitley intercepted a Brandon Allen pass to seal the win.
Against Ole Miss, Dak Prescott’s 3-yard touchdown in overtime gave MSU the lead. Whitley then stripped quarterback Bo Wallace, who fumbled the ball into the end zone and into the hands of Jamerson Love to help MSU become bowl eligible.
Whitley played most of his senior year on a torn anterior cruciate ligament and missed a 44-7 victory against Rice in the Liberty Bowl.
This season, MSU (4-6, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) needs to win its final two regular-season games to become bowl eligible for a seventh straight season. It will try to take the first step at 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPNU) when it plays host to Arkansas (6-4, 2-4) 6 p.m. at Davis Wade Stadium. MSU will play Ole Miss in the Battle for the Golden Egg at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26, (SEC Network) in Oxford.
“The leaders on that team in the last two games, they jumped up and kind of willed us to win,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said when asked what he remembers about the final two regular-season games of 2013. “That type of leadership and that type of toughness from our seniors and the leaders of our team that willed us to win those games was huge.”
Running backs coach Greg Knox remembers the final two weeks of the regular season being fun. He said the players knew their backs were against the wall and they responded in the right way.
MSU will need the same kind of response, especially from its veterans, in the next two games.
“We’ve got some guys, veterans, A.J. Jefferson, Richie Brown, guys like that that can step up and make big plays also,” Knox said.
Brown, a linebacker, leads MSU with 82 tackles (four for loss), one-and-a-half sacks, and a forced fumble. Jefferson, a defensive lineman, has 28 tackles (10 1/2 for loss) and four sacks.
MSU has won the last four games against Arkansas, but it has lost the last two to Ole Miss.
Senior wide receiver Fred Ross, who leads the team with 57 catches for 664 yards and nine touchdowns, was a freshman in 2013. He remembers veterans like Whitley stepping up and doing what was necessary to get the team to six wins. He wants to do the same thing.
“The guys came through, and I think that’s going to be the same thing this year,” Ross said. “We’ve got to find a way to win. I want to go to a bowl game, so we have to find a way to get it done.”
Despite a 51-3 loss to No. 1 Alabama last Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium, Mullen feels there will be plenty of motivation and that everyone is on the same page. He will rely on veterans like Ross, Jefferson, and Brown to help the Bulldogs finish the season the right way.
“Those are guys that need to step up because those are the guys that were here or participating or kind of more towel wavers or role players,” Mullen said. “You’ve got to go step up and be the Nickoe Whitley to go make the play and will the team to win. They’ve been there and they’ve seen someone do it, so it’s there opportunity to do that now.”
Kicking questions
Junior kicker Logan Cooke (knee) will be a game-time decision, Mullen announced Monday.
Cooke was injured in a 35-28 victory against then-No. 7 Texas A&M on Nov. 5. Christian Kirk returned a punt 93 yards for a touchdown and Cooke tried to tackle him. He was helped off the field and didn’t play in the second half.
He didn’t play last week at Alabama.
Freshman Kody Schexnayder handled the punting duties and had seven punts for an average of 30 yards (long of 40 yards). He put two inside the 20-yard line.
Freshman Brad Wall handled kickoffs and had one touchback and kicked the other out of bounds for a penalty.
Cooke is averaging 39.8 yards on 40 punts. He has a long of 68 yards. He has 25 kickoffs with 14 touchbacks.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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