STARKVILLE — On a day in which Mississippi State (2-4) honored its history associated with space travel by way of “Flying M” decals and field paint, the previously grounded Bulldog offense briefly took flight before crashing to a new low in a 24-17 win over Vanderbilt (0-5).
Struggling to a meager 42 second-half yards and 204 overall, despite forcing five turnovers, the Bulldogs barely survived a stiff challenge from the Southeastern Conference bottom-feeding Commodores, who were left with just 58 scholarship players due to COVID-19 contact tracing, according to a report from Adam Sparks of The Tennessean.
“They didn’t really do anything,” MSU head coach Mike Leach said of Vanderbilt’s defense on postgame radio. “They just saw us lined up, and they pressured us some, and basically watched us take turns screwing up, playing timid and sitting on the sideline with blank, wide-eyed faces. And I’m getting sick and tired of that.”
Entering Saturday’s win, MSU hadn’t notched an offensive touchdown since just over 11 minutes remained in its loss to No. 7 Texas A&M.
Freshman Will Rogers, who earned his first career start with senior signal-caller K.J. Costello sidelined for undisclosed reasons, promptly ended the streak that stretched across 71:11 of game time on MSU’s first drive.
Taking over at the Vanderbilt 27-yard line after a one-handed interception by sophomore Collin Duncan, whose brother CJ played for the Commodores between 2013 and 2017, Rogers completed three of his first four passes. On the fifth toss of the game, the Brandon native connected with senior Osirus Mitchell for a 6-yard passing touchdown.
Helping the MSU lead balloon to 17 in the first half against a Vanderbilt team that was down to 58 players, Rogers completed 24 of 30 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown in the opening 30 minutes alone.
A four-yard rushing touchdown by freshman Dillon Johnson — who split duties in the backfield with classmate Jo’quavious Marks and sophomore Lee Witherspoon after senior Kylin Hill announced Tuesday he’d opted out of the season to prepare for the 2021 NFL draft — and a 25-yard field goal by junior kicker Brandon Ruiz tied the Bulldogs’ their highest first-half scoring output of the year.
Then the Bulldogs offense of weeks past returned to Davis Wade Stadium.
From Ruiz’s field goal on, MSU punted on seven straight possessions, as Vanderbilt freshman quarterback Ken Seals guided the Commodores to back-to-back scoring drives of 71 and 85 yards in just 8:56 to cut the gap to three points.
“We have to get a lot tougher at offensive line,” Leach said of a unit that dressed just eight players Saturday for undisclosed reasons. “‘Cause right now we’re a cross between spectators and participants instead of players. We need to become players.”
Taking over at his own eight-yard-line after MSU failed to make good on a Marquiss Spencer interception, Seals was sacked and stripped by junior linebacker Tyrus Wheat to give the Bulldogs their third short field of the night.
Four plays later, Marks plunged into the end zone from a yard out for his first career touchdown and the insurance score MSU so desperately sought.
“We came into this game and we knew we had to get a lot of takeaways to get momentum for the offense to keep it going on the defensive side,” junior safety Marcus Murphy said.
A 41-yard field goal by Vanderbilt kicker Pierson Cooke pulled the Commodores within a score with 38 seconds remaining before Austin Williams fell on the ensuing onside kick to assure MSU of its first victory since September.
Postgame, Leach was queried on what his message was for doubters who felt his offense, ideology and program are headed in the wrong direction amid a 2-4 start.
“But I get a kick out of fans feel like they’re upset about something,” he said, frustrated at the sentiment of the question. “They ought to try it from the players’ and coaches’ standpoint. I talked about it on the radio show. It’s like breakfast: the chicken is involved but the pig is committed. Coaches and players, we’re like the pigs.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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