STARKVILLE — After breaking a record last week, Mississippi State wide receiver Fred Ross did so again.
In a 56-41 win against Samford on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium, Ross had nine catches for 107 yards to record his ninth 100-yard receiving game, the most in school history.
“He’s very much a student of the game, knows all the different situations, what’s going on, and why things are happening on the field,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said.
Ross broke the record for most catches in school history (162 by David Smith) with five catches last week in a 40-38 loss at Kentucky. He has 175 catches, the most among active Southeastern Conference players.
Ross caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Nick Fitzgerald to move into a tie with Justin Jenkins (2000-03) and Eric Moulds (1993-95) for third on MSU’s all-time list with 17.
The Tyler, Texas, native originally committed to Oklahoma State, but he signed with MSU in February 2013.
“Fred believed in what we were doing here,” Mullen said. “He came here. He’s got a tremendous work ethic in what he does and constantly works.”
Ross set the single-season school record with 88 catches last year.
“He’s going to leave as one of the most decorated receivers in school history,” Mullen said. “He made a great decision to come back for his senior year to continue to improve for his career.”
Injury bug
MSU had three players miss their first game because of injury.
Senior defensive lineman A.J. Jefferson (elbow), sophomore defensive back Jamal Peters (left foot), and redshirt freshman offensive lineman Darryl Williams (neck) were all sidelined.
Mullen said Jefferson had elbow surgery Monday, but he didn’t find out until Friday night that Jefferson wouldn’t be able to go. Mullen said he learned Peters would not play Thursday because he hadn’t practiced all week. He hopes to get both of them back next week.
Williams suffered his injury last week against Kentucky and spent Saturday night in a Lexington, Kentucky, hospital before returning to Starkville on Sunday. Peters suffered his injury in the final minute.
Senior safety Kivon Coman (right foot) and senior running back Brandon Holloway missed their third-straight game, while sophomore offensive lineman Deion Calhoun (left foot) missed his second-straight game.
Senior cornerback Tolando Cleveland (torn anterior cruciate ligament in left knee) suffered a season-ending injury Aug. 17 in training camp.
“It’s challenging,” Mullen said. “When you’re already really young and then you compound tons of injuries on your team, it bodes well for guys getting experience in the future, but it’s tough now. Guys are getting opportunities.”
TDs taken off
MSU had two touchdowns taken off the scoreboard.
The first came after Keith Mixon caught a pass over the middle and rushed 73 yards into the end zone, but Jordan Thomas was flagged for offensive pass interference.
“Pass interference? I don’t know. Whatever,” Mullen said. “I’m sure we’ll talk about it with the league office again and they’ll be another discussion about it this week.”
The second was a 1-yard Fitzgerald run. On fourth-and-goal, Fitzgerald took the snap and lumbered forward. He was hit and stopped for a brief second before he felling into the end zone without his helmet.
The officials reviewed the play and said Fitzgerald’s helmet came off before the ball broke the plane of the goal. When a player’s helmet comes off, he is no longer eligible to compete on the play.
“The helmet come off. That was the right call,” Mullen said. “It’s been that type of year for us where a helmet comes off on one play. The guys upstairs said it looked like they grabbed his helmet to pull it off, which has to be called a penalty. They said nobody on the field saw that.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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