STARKVILLE — This wasn’t a game that’s going to rile up the fanbase.
But it was a win, so whatever.
MSU took care of business Saturday, handling FCS opponent Abilene Christian 45-7 at Davis Wade Stadium.
Yet, if you inferred several MSU players were looking ahead to Thanksgiving night for a portion of the game, I don’t think a reasonable person could disagree.
As always, a quick programming note for those who are new here: Bulldog Bullets will be a weekly recurring article filled with short observations and commentary written throughout Mississippi State football games that posts shortly after the final gun.
To the Bulldog Bullets:
– If Mississippi State paid Abilene Christian $500k to play this game as reported, it doesn’t feel like the Bulldogs got their money’s worth.
– Nick Gibson absolutely destroyed some poor soul’s self esteem after completely running him over late in the first quarter.
– Kylin Hill, still awesome. The Columbus native ran for 153 yards on 16 carries and had an 88-yard touchdown reception. I might consider giving him 30 carries in the Egg Bowl.
– Tommy Stevens’ first quarter: 1-of-7 for one yard. In his defense, Stephen Guidry dropped what would have been a touchdown pass, but it still wasn’t a stellar quarter for the senior.
– Don’t want to rag too hard on Guidry, but with the amount of drops he’s had the last two years, isn’t it time to give someone else a chance out there?
– Final line for Stevens: 13 of 27 passing, 165 yards, two touchdowns.
– On a positive note, MSU’s defense allowed a whopping 15 yards in the first quarter. The Bulldogs suffocated the Abilene Christian run game all night.
– MSU allowing a 52-yard completion to start the second half was an example of poor coverage and even worse tackling. At least the defense didn’t allow any points on that drive, but it just seems like the Bulldogs were sleepwalking for most of Saturday.
– Rafael Palmerio was among one of the MSU alumns coming back for homecoming, so that’s cool.
– I’ll go ahead and say it, this performance doesn’t necessarily spark confidence for the Egg Bowl. The good news for MSU is reinforcements will arrive in the form of Willie Gay, Lee Autry, Marcus Murphy and others. But those fans that were biting their fingernails after seeing Ole Miss play the last few weeks look even more justified now.
– Ole Miss will be coming into the game off a bye week, while MSU already has a laundry list of players banged up with more coming after Saturday.
– I cannot wait for next week. The storylines. The drama. The articles (check cdispatch.com all week). The mashed potatoes (best Thanksgiving food for sure). Let Egg Bowl week commence.
Hodge is the former sports editor 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.
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.
