COLUMBIA, S.C. — Will Rogers and the Mississippi State offense were in their best rhythm in two weeks during the second quarter of Saturday night’s 37-30 loss at South Carolina.

The senior quarterback had put the Bulldogs on the board with a crowd-silencing 65-yard touchdown pass to Lideatrick “Tulu” Griffin, and after the defense backed up the score with a three-and-out, Rogers had MSU (2-2, 0-2 Southeastern Conference) on the march again. A short pass to Griffin turned into a 47-yard gain as the senior receiver spun around a defender and turned on the jets before going out of bounds at the Gamecocks’ 15.

After a Jo’Quavious “Woody” Marks touchdown run was negated by a holding penalty, though, Rogers rolled to his right on third-and-7, and instead of throwing the ball away to the sideline, he threw across his body, and defensive back David Spaulding intercepted the pass at the 2-yard line. Spaulding had stepped out of bounds during the play, but after a lengthy review, was ruled to have reestablished himself in bounds before coming away with the ball.

It was Rogers’ first interception of the season, snapping a string of 84 throws without a pick to start the year.

“They converted touchdowns in the red zone, and we kicked one field goal and then turned it over one time in there too,” Bulldogs head coach Zach Arnett said. “It was a big difference in the game.”

Legette burns secondary to start second half

MSU entered halftime with plenty of momentum, despite giving up a touchdown in the final minute. Rogers led the Bulldogs down the field with just one timeout remaining, and freshman kicker Kyle Ferrie, after coming up short on a 54-yard field goal attempt, got another chance from five yards closer due to an illegal formation penalty and drilled it, cutting the deficit to 20-17.

But South Carolina (2-2, 1-1) got the ball to start the third quarter, and the Gamecocks opened the second half with an explosive play. Quarterback Spencer Rattler found a streaking Xavier Legette deep along the left sideline, and Legette beat cornerback DeCarlos Nicholson in single coverage for the 75-yard touchdown.

“We’ve just got to be sound and disciplined,” linebacker Jett Johnson said. “Make plays, gang-tackle, cover well. It adds up. We’ve got to see the film and improve and move onto next week.”

Fourth-quarter fumble proves costly

Faced with another two-score deficit, MSU again rallied, getting a 1-yard touchdown run by backup quarterback Mike Wright and a 23-yard Ferrie field goal to tie the game at 27 after the third quarter. With the Bulldogs down by three early in the fourth, Rogers found Griffin on a screen pass for an 11-yard gain and a first down.

On the next snap, Rogers faked a handoff to Marks and faded back to throw, but was stripped by edge rusher Jordan Strachan just before his arm came forward. Defensive back Judge Collier scooped up the loose ball and returned it to the MSU 22, setting up a Mario Anderson touchdown run three plays later. The Bulldogs’ third two-possession deficit of the night was too much to overcome.

“You find out a lot about a person when things don’t go right,” Rogers said. “I made it a point this week to practice as hard as I’ve ever practiced. (It was) not enough, so I need to keep working, need to keep getting better.”