STARKVILLE — Jeff Lebby had installed the fake punt into Mississippi State’s game plan at the beginning of the week and was confident that it would work. So confident, in fact, that he was willing to try it on anything less than fourth-and-10 as long as the Bulldogs weren’t inside their own 20-yard line.
With MSU trailing by seven in the third quarter, the head coach felt it was the right time to pull it out on fourth-and-8 at the Bulldogs’ own 30. In punt formation, tight end Justin Ball came in motion to the line, and freshman running back Xavier Gayten shifted himself behind long snapper Hayes Hammond.
Hammond snapped the ball to Gayten as punter Nick Bar-Mira jumped to feign a bad snap over his head. Gayten took off to his right, but a host of Texas A&M players were there to swarm him, and Myles Davis took him down after just a two-yard gain. To top it off, MSU was called for holding on the play, which was naturally declined.
The No. 14 Aggies took over on the Bulldogs’ 32, and a defense that has had a hard time stopping anyone all season surrendered another touchdown in just five plays. Texas A&M was granted a first down on an illegal substitution penalty, setting up a Le’Veon Moss touchdown run on the next play for a 14-point Aggies lead. MSU fell 34-24 and has now lost six straight games, the program’s longest skid since 2005.
“I felt great about the fake all week long. We loved the looks that we had gotten,” Lebby said. “I’ll Monday morning quarterback myself for a long time and won’t get over that for a long time because of the way it worked out.”
Bulldogs can’t capitalize on Washington interception
After Texas A&M drove down the field with ease for touchdowns on its first two drives, Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman gave MSU (1-6, 0-4 Southeastern Conference) a gift on his third possession. He airmailed a pass far over Tre Watson’s head and straight into the waiting arms of Bulldogs safety Hunter Washington, who secured the first interception of his college career.
MSU took over in plus territory, and a quick completion from Michael Van Buren to Kevin Coleman picked up seven yards. But running back Johnnie Daniels was mauled in the backfield by linebacker Scooby Williams on second-and-3, then lost yardage again on third down as Texas A&M brought pressure. The Bulldogs’ offense stayed on the field for fourth-and-6 at the Aggies’ 43, even after taking a timeout.
This time, Texas A&M brought just four defenders after Van Buren, but star edge rusher Nic Scourton worked his way past right tackle Albert Reese IV and had a clear path to the quarterback. Van Buren noticed him at the last moment and got rid of the ball, but Williams undercut Jordan Mosley and picked off the underthrown pass, returning it all the way to the MSU 28.
Like they would later, the Aggies (6-1, 4-0) turned the short field into a quick touchdown, taking advantage of a pass interference penalty along the way to go ahead by two scores.
“It’s just about playing the next play,” Van Buren said. “It’s football. You’re going to get hit, so that should never affect you.”
Long third-down conversion caps inability to get off the field
A perfectly-executed two-minute drill had the Bulldogs down by just four points at halftime, and they had the chance to back up that score with a defensive stop to start the second half. Texas A&M moved quickly into field goal range, but an offensive pass interference call pushed the visitors back to a first-and-25 at the MSU 38.
After a run for just two yards and an incomplete pass that should have been intercepted by safety Corey Ellington, the Aggies were faced with third-and-23. Texas A&M’s offensive line protected Weigman, who found Watson sitting wide open behind two defenders. Watson hurdled his way across the line to gain for the most backbreaking of third-down conversions. That came after the Aggies were 6-for-7 on third down in the first half.
The Bulldogs ended up holding Texas A&M to a field goal on the drive, but the Aggies still took up more than half of the third quarter without giving up the ball.
“Just details. That’s all it really was,” defensive lineman Sulaiman Kpaka said. “We have to get back there and just not worry about everything else, and play first and second down and on third down especially, try to get off the field. As a defensive line, our job is to get back and I feel like we have to continue to improve on that.”
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