TEMPE, Ariz. — It was third-and-9 from Mississippi State’s own 26-yard line, and Arizona State brought heavy pressure.
The Sun Devils brought six players after quarterback Blake Shapen off the line of scrimmage, plus another safety blitzing from some nine yards farther back. But the Bulldogs’ offensive line picked up the pass rush at the last moment, and Shapen delivered a deep ball down the right sideline that fell straight into freshman Mario Craver’s hands in stride for a 61-yard pickup that appeared to move MSU into the red zone.
But before the play was over, a yellow flag was on the ground behind Craver, who had pushed off of defensive back Javan Robinson and was called for offensive pass interference. The penalty pushed the Bulldogs back 13 yards, bringing up third-and-22 at their own 13.
This time, Arizona State rushed just four, but defensive lineman Clayton Smith worked his way past left tackle Makylan Pounders and chased after Shapen as the quarterback rolled to his left. A split second before being brought down, Shapen tried to get rid of the ball, but it slipped out of the back of his hand. C.J. Fite, who was also in pursuit of the play, scooped it up and reached the ball above the end zone pylon for a Sun Devils touchdown.
The defensive score gave Arizona State a 17-point lead in the second quarter, and the Sun Devils would eventually stretch that lead to 27 before holding off a furious MSU rally to defeat the Bulldogs, 30-23.
“Obviously, it’s frustrating,” Shapen said. “They went Cover 0 on that play and I ended up checking fade to (Craver) and slants to the field… and they decided to give us a flag on that. We just had to bounce back. And then on the next play, I just have to take care of the football. That’s completely on me. I can’t lose the football in that situation.”
Long touchdown shows MSU is never out of a game
After scoring a pair of touchdowns in quick succession to trim their deficit to 30-16, a punt on fourth-and-17 on their next drive seemingly stopped the comeback in its tracks with less than 10 minutes remaining. But MSU (1-1) got the ball back four minutes later on its own 20, and Shapen’s first pass was a quick completion to slot receiver Kevin Coleman on a button-hook pattern eight yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
Coleman had bigger ideas on his mind than a quick hitter, though. He put a spin move on defensive back Myles Rowser, then used his breakaway speed and a block from Craver to race 80 yards down the right sideline for an explosive touchdown that all of a sudden made it a one-possession game.
Among head coach Jeff Lebby’s slogans when he arrived in Starkville was “Score From Far,” and the Bulldogs’ ability to strike quickly aided them in their fourth-quarter surge.
“We started to execute better, doing our jobs and not worrying about what was going on in the game, the flow of the game,” Shapen said. “Just playing the next play, and that’s what we did. We found a way to string some touchdowns together.”
Run defense unable to come up with one final stop
MSU was in a huge hole in the first place because the Bulldogs could not slow down Cam Skattebo and Arizona State’s rushing attack. The defense, missing Kalvin Dinkins, Deonte Anderson and Eric Taylor up front, briefly turned the tide in the second half, forcing three straight punts, but the Sun Devils (2-0) were again in control of the ball and the clock after Coleman’s long touchdown.
Arizona State went for a fourth-and-1 at its own 34 with four minutes left, and Skattebo picked up the first down behind a surge from the Sun Devils’ offensive line. After MSU called its second timeout, Skattebo picked up 10 yards on a run straight up the middle on third-and-5. With the ball now near midfield after the two-minute timeout, Skattebo burst through a huge hole behind his right tackle for a 39-yard gain that capped his stellar night and iced the game.
The Bulldogs’ longest rushing play of the night went for nine yards, on a direct snap to Coleman late in the third quarter. The Sun Devils had 15 runs that covered at least 10 yards, with Skattebo responsible for 12 of them. Skattebo was also Arizona State’s leading receiver, though with just 35 yards on three catches.
“The way we played early on in the game in the first half, our guys were pressing, not playing incredibly clean, and that was the difference in the ball game,” Lebby said. “Not having (Dinkins and Taylor), that did not help. But again, we have to find ways to get (Skattebo) on the ground. At times, we were in a pretty good position. He ran incredibly hard and played incredibly well for them, and we have to play better and get him on the ground.”
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