STARKVILLE — Jett Johnson made eye contact with Marcus Banks and decided to go for it.
Late in the fourth quarter Saturday with Mississippi State leading by two touchdowns, the Bulldogs’ linebacker intercepted a pass from Southern Miss quarterback Billy Wiles and was in the process of being brought down when he spotted Banks trailing the play. Johnson shoveled the ball backward to the safety, and Banks took it the rest of the way for a touchdown that sealed MSU’s 41-20 victory over the Golden Eagles.
At the end of a difficult week that began with the firing of Zach Arnett on Monday, the “pitch six” gave the Bulldogs something to laugh about on the sideline.
“Thank goodness Marcus was paying attention,” Johnson said. “I owe him for that. In hindsight, that’s a dumb play, in my opinion. But it worked out, so everybody says it’s a great play.”
Greg Knox, who also served as MSU’s interim head coach for the 2017 TaxSlayer Bowl at the end of a previous nine-year stint on the Bulldogs’ coaching staff, stepped into that role again. As MSU’s third head coach in the span of less than a year, Knox started the week with mental preparation, showing the team a video from motivational speaker and former Tennessee football player Inky Johnson, and he said the players and the rest of the coaches responded well.
The Bulldogs (5-6) snapped a three-game losing streak, scoring more points against the Golden Eagles (3-8) than in their previous four games combined. It certainly helped that MSU was at full strength again — starting quarterback Will Rogers returned following a four-game absence due to a shoulder injury, and running back Jo’Quavious “Woody” Marks was also back after missing the last three games with various leg injuries.
“What Will brings to the table (is) his attitude, his effort, his work ethic, his motivation, his enthusiasm,” Knox said. “In every day and every meeting, he’s there, he sits up front, and that young man is special. I love his leadership.”
Even so, the Bulldogs could hardly have started worse. They were stopped on fourth down on their opening possession just across midfield, and Southern Miss was quickly inside MSU’s 10-yard line on a long pass from Ethan Crawford to Jakarius Caston. Three plays later, star running back Frank Gore Jr. took a swing pass eight yards to the end zone to give the Golden Eagles the early lead.
MSU’s offense remained quiet for most of the opening quarter, but the defense quickly settled in, with Southern Miss’ next nine drives ending in seven punts, a fumble and a turnover on downs.
A 48-yard Kyle Ferrie field goal late in the first quarter put the Bulldogs on the board, and MSU finally moved the ball well on the drive after that, taking the lead for good on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Rogers to Lideatrick “Tulu” Griffin. It was Griffin’s first time finding the end zone since his record-setting night on Sept. 23 at South Carolina.
“It’s good to go out there and get a win and finally be back,” Rogers said. “(Being injured) was frustrating, but I had to control what I could control and help contribute something to the team. I wanted to be a part of the team, wanted to travel, wanted to help the team any way I could.”
On the first play of the ensuing Golden Eagles drive, linebacker Nathaniel “Bookie” Watson came unblocked for a free shot at Crawford, stripping the ball as he registered his Southeastern Conference-leading 10th sack. Defensive lineman Nathan Pickering recovered the fumble, which set up another field goal by Ferrie and was the highlight of a 21-tackle performance from Watson.
Johnson made 18 tackles of his own and also recorded a sack to go along with the interception, meaning Watson trails Johnson by one tackle for the SEC lead with one regular-season game left.
“All week long, those two have been the two up front leading this team,” Knox said. “They came to work every day and brought others with them, so it doesn’t surprise me when they play like that. When you work like that, good things happen.”
With the Bulldogs leading 16-7 at halftime, Johnson’s sack and a holding penalty forced Southern Miss to punt from behind the chains. Rogers then completed his longest pass of the day, finding Zavion Thomas for a catch-and-run that turned into a 35-yard gain. That set up a 15-yard swing pass to the left on third-and-1 that Marks turned into his sixth total touchdown of the season.
Caston almost single-handedly put the Golden Eagles back in the game in the fourth quarter, though. He broke multiple tackles on his way to a 44-yard touchdown reception, and then following another Ferrie field goal, he ran the kickoff back 98 yards for another score to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 26-20.
But MSU had just as explosive a response. Running back Jeffery Pittman, a junior college transfer, found a gaping hole to the left and turned it into a 59-yard touchdown, and coupled with a pass from Rogers to Thomas for a two-point conversion, the Bulldogs were back up by 14.
Knox was MSU’s running backs coach during his first tenure in Starkville from 2009-17, and he came out determined to run the ball Saturday. The Bulldogs racked up 238 rushing yards on 45 attempts, exceeding Knox’s target of 40 run plays.
“They knew going into this game, we were going to run that ball,” Knox said. “I told them, ‘I’m the head coach, so I can make sure we run the ball.’ They loved that.”
Rogers and Marks both showed some rust in their returns — Rogers completed just 12 of his 27 passes for 144 yards, but threw for a pair of scores, did not turn the ball over and did not take a sack. Marks managed just 34 rushing yards on 12 carries, but made a big impact in the passing game with that touchdown early in the second half. Cornerback Decamerion Richardson enjoyed his best game of the year, making 12 tackles and breaking up two passes.
MSU will look to secure bowl eligibility with a win over bitter rival and No. 13 Ole Miss on Thanksgiving night in the Egg Bowl. A win would keep the Golden Egg trophy in Starkville for the second straight year and would send the Bulldogs to a bowl game for the 14th consecutive season.
“It was a great feeling. I felt confident; the kids felt confident,” Knox said. “It was a great ride with these guys today, and we’ve got one more.”
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