STARKVILLE — It took just three plays for Mississippi State to show the Davis Wade Stadium crowd the new offense that was promised.
Quarterback Blake Shapen connected with Jordan Mosley down the left sideline on a 65-yard deep ball for a touchdown just 32 seconds into Saturday’s season opener, and the Bulldogs coasted from there to a 56-7 blowout win over FCS Eastern Kentucky, giving Jeff Lebby a victory in his debut as head coach.
Shapen and the offense were clicking right from the start, stretching the field and frequently snapping the ball before the Colonels’ defense could even get set. In the first half, Shapen had 180 passing yards on just 12 attempts, with touchdowns of 65, 23 and 54 yards. He also displayed an ability to make plays with his legs, scoring on a 4-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and converting a third-and-14 on a scramble.
Creed Whittemore continued his trend of strong performances in season openers, taking an end-around run for a 41-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. Keyvone Lee was the lead running back early on ahead of Davon Booth and Johnnie Daniels, though Booth found the end zone in the second half.
Eastern Kentucky got on the board in the closing seconds of the first half, capping a 14-play, 75-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Matt Morrissey to Ron Vann Jr. But overall, MSU’s defense was solid, keeping the plays in front and not losing contain.
The Bulldogs capped the scoring in the fourth quarter with scores on both special teams and defense. JP Purvis blocked a punt that freshman receiver Mario Craver recovered in the end zone, and less than three minutes later, cornerback Elijah Cannon intercepted a pass from Morrissey and went 51 yards untouched to the house.
Takeaways
1. This new receiving corps looks legit. Granted, just about any group of Southeastern Conference receivers would have a big edge in speed and physicality over the Colonels. But the separation the Bulldog wideouts created made for easy downfield throws for Shapen.
Mosley took advantage of blown coverage for his early touchdown, Kevin Coleman simply raced past a safety for his score in the second quarter, and Craver did the same to a cornerback for his long touchdown reception. Coleman was also a huge weapon on punt returns, consistently giving MSU outstanding starting field position.
2. Branden Jennings is going to be a game wrecker on defense. The linebacker has had a roundabout college journey, going from Maryland to UCF to Hinds Community College to MSU. He was arguably the Bulldogs’ best defensive player in the spring game, and he used his combination of speed and strength to wreak havoc on a good EKU offensive line Saturday.
Jennings had five tackles, a quarterback hurry and a pass breakup in the first half in his MSU debut. He later made a key fourth-down stop in the third quarter, igniting himself into the backfield to bring down running back Brayden Latham for a loss on a fourth-and-1.
3. The Bulldogs did what they had to do. Next week, we’ll learn a lot more. If this game had been close in the second half, MSU fans would start to worry about whether this new offensive system could be effective, even with so many new faces playing together for the first time. Instead, the Bulldogs led by 14 after less than four minutes and kept their foot on the gas in the second quarter, connecting on one explosive play after another.
MSU heads west next Saturday to battle Arizona State in the desert for a late-night kickoff, and while the Sun Devils finished just 3-9 last year, the game is nonetheless a good early litmus test to see how far the Bulldogs have come on both sides of the ball.
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