OXFORD — Keep Shea Patterson in the pocket.
That’s what Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen’s message was to his team at halftime. The Ole Miss quarterback had 261 yards of offense (67 rushing, 194 passing) in the first two quarters. Patterson finished with 393 yards (73 rushing, 320 passing), but MSU didn’t allow a point in the second half in a 55-20 win Saturday in the Battle for the Golden Egg at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
“Once he got out of the pocket, it was like he was in high school all over again,” MSU senior defensive lineman A.J. Jefferson said. “That’s what he wanted to do, be able to run and throw the ball, so he was comfortable doing that. We saw it all week on film, and we watched some clips of him in the pocket over throwing some people. He’s a good passer, but there was evidence he wasn’t that good at it.”
Trailing 27-10 in the second quarter, Ole Miss faked a punt and punter Will Gleeson ran for 14 yards to convert a fourth down. Patterson then hit Damore’ea Stringfellow for a 25-yard touchdown. On Ole Miss’ next possession, Gray Wunderlich made a 38-yard field goal to cut MSU’s lead to 27-20 at halftime.
MSU (5-7, 3-5 Southeastern Conference) dropped into man-to-man coverage, but it didn’t have a spy on Patterson. MSU senior linebacker Richie Brown said if a defender wasn’t on a man, it was their job to get to Patterson when he left the pocket.
“I think in the first half we had a few runs here and there and some different fits we were missing by one gap, one person,” Brown said. “We figured those out, so that worked out great in the second half. Then we figured out how to contain the quarterback and keep him in the pocket.”
Ole Miss had 528 yards of offense (208 rushing, 320 passing), but only 170 in the second half. The Rebels turned the ball over on downs three times in the final 30 minutes.
MSU senior cornerback Cedric Jiles intercepted a pass by Patterson and returned it 74 yards for a touchdown with 2 minutes, 59 seconds remaining to derail any chance Ole Miss (5-7, 2-6) had of coming back.
Mullen felt like the game was going to be decided by the team that made the most plays in the second half.
“They came out and played well,” Mullen said. “They’re an explosive offense. Our whole deal was to continue to play and to continue to make plays. They made some plays in the second half, but we just went back and played the next play and worried about playing the next play as hard as we could.”
Williams’ last game
Before the game, MSU junior quarterback Damian Williams posted a picture on Instagram with the caption, “Last game in maroon and white, I’m thankful for the opportunities #justgettingstarted.”
Mullen said he has talked with Williams about his future, but he said nothing has been decided.
“We were going to meet about what the actual plans would be,” Mullen said. “He graduates in two weeks. I give him a lot of credit, a guy that was always ready. We’ll work with him to help him however we can help him in the future.”
Williams battled with sophomore Nick Fitzgerald for the starting quarterback job, but Fitzgerald was named the starter as training camp ended in late August.
The Metairie, Louisiana, native redshirted last season as Fitzgerald and Elijah Staley, who transferred to Tyler (Texas) Junior College midway through August, acted as Dak Prescott’s backups.
Williams is 31 of 46 for 272 yards and two touchdowns and has 99 yards rushing on 19 carries this season.
Bryant out
Sophomore safety Brandon Bryant suffered a concussion in the first half and didn’t play in the second half, Mullen said.
Bryant returned to the sideline in street clothes for the second half.
Junior punter Logan Cooke (knee) missed his third-straight game, while redshirt freshman offensive lineman Darryl Williams (neck) missed his fifth-straight game.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.