STARKVILLE — Through 15 minutes of Saturday’s 48-7 victory over Southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi State looked a bit sluggish.
The Bulldogs had punted after one first down on their first drive of the season and were held to a field goal on their second after senior quarterback Will Rogers took a sack on third down. On the other side of the ball, MSU allowed back-to-back chunk plays to start the game before settling down and forcing a punt from near midfield.
Leave it to State’s defensive captain to ignite the crowd of just over 50,000 at Davis-Wade Stadium on the first play of the second quarter.
Sixth-year linebacker Nathaniel “Bookie” Watson teamed with cornerback Esaias Furdge to bring down Lions receiver Jacob Logan after a short gain. The two combined to knock the ball loose and Watson fell on it immediately, giving the Bulldogs the ball in plus territory.
“We put them through a physical camp,” head coach Zach Arnett said. “We tried to challenge them. Simply put, this is just the beginning. It only gets harder from here.”
MSU’s offense appeared energized by what turned out to be the game’s only turnover. On second down, Rogers found senior running back Jo’Quavious “Woody” Marks on a bubble screen, and Marks followed his blockers and slipped a pair of tackles before being brought down just shy of the goal line.
On the next snap, Marks punched it in for the Bulldogs’ first touchdown of the season.
“Woody has known that he can do that for the last three years. It’s just been the scheme that’s held him back,” Rogers said. “You still saw today, him catching the ball out of the backfield and making guys miss. He did a great job for us.”
New-look offense
Rogers didn’t throw downfield much in Mike Leach’s “Air Raid” offense, instead getting the ball out quickly and attacking opposing defenses with short, pinpoint passes. Offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay’s system allows Rogers to open things up more, particularly in play action.
His best throw of the day came late in the first half — he beautifully sold a playfake to Marks and found freshman receiver Creed Whittemore, who had streaked past the secondary along the left sideline after lining up on the right side of the formation as a tight end, for a 33-yard touchdown.
Prior to that, Rogers was just 3-for-8 on throws that went at least five yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
“It took us a second to get settled in, which almost has to be expected,” Rogers said. “Everybody’s a little bit nervous for that first game, especially with the new coaching staff. But as a leader, as a senior, you kind of just stay the course.
“You don’t get worked up because you haven’t scored or anything like that. You just stay the course and let the game come to you, and I thought we did that and we were able to capitalize on some drives.”
Special teams makes its mark
The Bulldogs’ special teams also came up big to help put the game out of reach late. On the first play of the fourth quarter with MSU leading by 20, sophomore linebacker John Lewis blew past SELA’s punt protection to block the kick, and redshirt freshman Avery Sledge brought the ball in for an easy touchdown.
Although State’s starters remained in the game for one more series on each side of the ball after that, Arnett called the blocked punt “a huge momentum play.”
“John Lewis did a great job. John plays really hard and (physically), and he got his hands up,” Arnett said. “The ball went right into him, and we tipped it and took it in.”
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