STARKVILLE — In the week beforehand, Mississippi State’s coaches went to quarterback Nick Fitzgerald and asked him what he wanted to run on the first play of Saturday’s game against Kentucky. He picked a pass play; coaches quickly told him they wouldn’t settle for less than a completion.
The other four passes on that touchdown drive, those were coach Dan Mullen’s idea.
As a team that entered Saturday averaging over 260 rushing yards per game compared to 181 passing yards per game, MSU broke the mold with its first possession. Fitzgerald connected on that play he called, a 17-yard pass to Gabe Myles, then completed four more passes for a total of 50 yards as part of a touchdown drive. It was the first of many as MSU (5-5, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) beat Kentucky (5-2, 2-2 SEC) 45-7.
“We wanted to be able to stay balanced and we knew coming into the game they were a great run defense, they were going to try to stop the run. We wanted to get some early confidence and put a score up early,” Mullen said, “so try to loosen them up sometimes and make sure we try to stay balanced.”
By Fitzgerald’s account, that drive went exactly as he and Mullen planned it. Fitzgerald said roughly 80 percent of that drive, maybe more, was exactly as scripted going into the game.
“Most the time we try to go right down the script if we can,” he said.
It was the beginning of what was Fitzgerald’s best performance of the season by completion percentage, completing 18 of his 26 attempts for 155 yards and a touchdown. Mullen and Fitzgerald agree it could have been more.
“I tell him it’s one of the six- to 12-inch days,” Mullen said. “I thought he made great reads, the right checks and on a couple of throws, just six to 12 inches off — in fact, if you could take that ball and move it six inches in a different direction, he probably would’ve had a couple more touchdown passes even.”
Injury update
Mullen said after the game both defensive tackle Cory Thomas and wide receiver Keith Mixon were cleared to play in an, “emergency situation,” but in a 45-7 blowout, such a situation never presented itself.
Wide receiver Gabe Myles got injured during the game, but Mullen said he was fine and will be back next week. Mullen anticipates the same for Thomas, Mixon and left tackle Martinas Rankin, who has been replaced by Greg Eiland since the fourth quarter of the Auburn game.
Hoyett joins the party
The celebration of it all remains a blur, so MSU defensive lineman Braxton Hoyett didn’t remember when he ran into the defensive backs. As soon as he did, he had his joke loaded.
“I was joking with all of those guys, ‘I have more interceptions than all of you,'” Hoyett said.
Hoyett’s interception was MSU’s fourth of the season, two for the defensive backs and two for the defensive front. Linebacker Gerri Green got the other for the defensive front against Kentucky and returned it 84 yards for a touchdown.
“I really wanted to be like Gerri and take it to the house, but somebody hit me as soon as I grabbed it,” Hoyett said.
2,000 for Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald’s 115 rushing yards Saturday pushed him over the 2,000-yard mark for his career. He now sits at 2,063 rushing yards and is one of just six SEC quarterbacks to amass 2,000 career rushing yards, one of those six being former MSU quarterback Dak Prescott.
Over the course of 15 carries, Fitzgerald’s helmet popped off a couple of times, giving backup quarterback Keytaon Thompson ample opportunity to run for two touchdowns of his own. Thompson scored on runs of 9 and 40 yards and ended the game with 65 yards on four carries.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter, @Brett_Hudson
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