STARKVILLE — Nothing was working on offense. Nothing was working on defense. So Mississippi State produced its first big play of Saturday’s game against Massachusetts on special teams.
Davon Booth hasn’t had many chances to return kickoffs this year — just eight entering this game, although he did take one back 42 yards the week before against Arkansas. But he has the speed to change a game in a flash, and with the Bulldogs trailing by 10 and getting outgained 113 to minus-4 with just over a minute left in the opening quarter, Booth gave the MSU sideline a spark.
The Utah State transfer caught the ball on the right hash mark at his own 2-yard line and picked up a few blocks as he cut toward his sideline before being tackled from behind at the 42. The Bulldogs took advantage of the good field position, with freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren finding Booth out of the backfield for a 14-yard pickup to move the ball into Minutemen territory.
MSU converted a third down later in the drive on a completion from Van Buren to Kevin Coleman, and the Bulldogs used two big defensive penalties to move close to the goal line before Van Buren’s 2-yard touchdown run put the hosts on the board. That started a stretch of 35 unanswered points for MSU as the Bulldogs snapped their seven-game losing streak with a 45-20 victory.
“It’s what we’re seeing on the other side, what gives us the best opportunity to ensure we get the best field position possible,” MSU head coach Jeff Lebby said. “We felt like we had the ability with some of the kicks we had a chance to receive, to be able to bring them out and put us in a really good place.”
McClendon, Anderson team up for Bulldogs’ first sack in four games
MSU ranks 133rd out of 134 FBS teams in sack rate, bringing down the quarterback on just 2.06 percent of dropbacks. The Bulldogs (2-7) entered Saturday without a sack since Sept. 28 at Texas, and their inability to pressure quarterbacks has been a big reason why they are allowing the highest completion percentage in the country.
But UMass (2-7) has been prone to sacks all season long despite having a mobile quarterback in Taisun Phommachanh. The Minutemen used three quarterbacks Saturday, with Phommachanh sitting out the second half in favor of Ahmad Haston and AJ Hairston.
It was Hairston in the game on a third-and-5 from the MSU 33 in the third quarter when the Bulldogs brought heavy pressure, sending six players after the quarterback. Hairston stepped up in the pocket to avoid the first wave, but freshman Kai McClendon shed a block and was right there to wrap him up, and Deonte Anderson arrived to help finish him off for a five-yard loss that forced UMass to punt.
Linebacker Ty Cooper also sacked Hairston in the fourth quarter, picking up the first sack of his college career.
“We needed to create some negative plays,” Lebby said. “That happened today. We needed that. They’ve been few and far between, so for us to be able to do that was huge. We have to be able to build on that.”
Gayten caps victory with explosive touchdown run
MSU had a comfortable enough lead late to give playing time to some younger players who had not seen the field much. Freshman running back Xavier Gayten has played in every game except one, but after getting three carries in the season opener against Eastern Kentucky, he never touched the ball again until an ill-advised fake punt against Texas A&M.
Last week, though, Gayten gained 38 yards on three touches against Arkansas, and on his second carry against the Minutemen, he hit a big hole on the left side of the line and sprinted past the secondary. Defensive back Lake Ellis nearly caught him, but Gayten’s game-breaking speed allowed him to go all the way for a 72-yard touchdown that perhaps provided a glimpse of the future.
“We all knew what he was able to do,” receiver Jordan Mosley said. “We’ve known what he was able to do since he got here. He’s a burner. He’s fast, he’s explosive, so it was fun watching him. Watching him just keep churning, keep picking them up and putting them down, it’s good. It gives us confidence being able to run the ball each and every week.”
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