HATTIESBURG – Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen had a simple, calm message to his team at halftime on Saturday.
“Just cut it loose.”
The Bulldogs had a narrow 13-10 lead over their hosts, Southern Miss, and twice had to settle for field goals because of penalties in the first half.
“I don’t want any of our guys to hold anything back, especially in the first game of the year,” Shapen said. “There’s some jitters and things like that. A lot of new guys on a team, and I just wanted everybody to cut it loose.”
MSU came out of the locker room and put the Golden Eagles to the sword. Two quick defensive stops set up two touchdown drives, capped by Fluff Bothwell running through the defense in the red zone.
The Bulldogs even faced another difficult situation with a penalty calling back a touchdown by Brenen Thompson, but this time they made their opportunities count. They set the tone for a dominant second half and an eventual 34-17 win.
“We’ve talked nonstop about Aug. 30 and winning the opener, and being 1-0,” head coach Jeff Lebby said after the game. “Proud of that, proud of being able to come down here on the road. It was a really good environment, and then find a way to win.”
Lebby acknowledged the team’s struggles, which were hard to ignore. The Bulldogs committed 14 penalties, totaling 119 yards, and saw two touchdowns chalked off by holding calls.
The adjustment process was always going to continue into the season considering the personnel turnover on both the offensive and defensive lines, but the team was able to push through the growing pains and get a win against a feisty Southern Miss team.
“We’ve got to play cleaner up front,” Lebby said. “There’s no question about it. We had some issues, some of the negative plays that showed up. We’ve got to be able to take that out of our game and not be in the second-and-16s or the false starts, whatever they are. That’s going to be a huge point of emphasis this week.”
The Bulldogs also went without projected starter Luke Work on the offensive line, and lost Blake Steen mid-game with an injury. It reshaped the line in the second half, but the Bulldogs continued to find success running the ball as Bothwell and Davon Booth found the end zone.
Defensively, the Bulldogs played a strong game. Defensive backs Kelley Jones and DeAgo Brumfield were both tested in one-on-one situations and came up with big pass break-ups to deny USM quarterback Braylon Braxton a first half touchdown.
The success continued into the second half with back-to-back quick stops and a Brylan Lanier interception.
“Those guys played well,” Lebby said of his defensive backs. “Looking for them to have this huge amount of growth here in the next couple of weeks. Those guys being on the field, with DeAgo he’s played a bunch here, and then Kelley is starting to come on.”
“We just ride each other’s wave,” Lanier said of the DB’s success. “We don’t get too high, don’t get too low. Just stack days and stack plays.”
The second half shutout bid was cut short in the final minute, as Braxton found the end zone with just over 30 seconds left. The first team defense was still proud of the performance though, especially after a down year in 2024.
“It feels great, man,” Lanier added. “We went through a tough time last year. We had some guy stay, me Issac, and Nic Mitchell. We got a lot of guys to come in, and they’re feeding off the same energy. I feel like we’re coming together to be a great team.”
The Bulldogs are back in action for their home opener next week, a blackout game in primetime against reigning Big 12 champions Arizona State.
The team has plenty to work on before then, but the opening day win has the team feeling positive ahead of a big matchup at home under the lights.
“I just told the guys, we’ve got a ton to work on,” Lebby said. “A ton to look at and clean up, but 6:30, Davis Wade. It’s going to be a fun night.”
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