STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State used a series of long plays to beat South Alabama 30-10 on Saturday evening, as the unbeaten Bulldogs improved to 4-0 and the Jaguars fell to 1-3.
South Alabama matched or exceeded the Southeastern Conference program in several statistical categories. The Jaguars had more first downs (21-15) and more passing yards (224-200), and won the time-of-possession battle 30:35 to 29:25. Mississippi State outgained South Alabama by only nine yards, 356-347.
Explosive Plays the Difference
Mississippi State’s advantage came on big gains. The Bulldogs scored the game’s first touchdown on a 44-yard run, completed five passes of more than 20 yards, had two kickoff returns of more than 40 yards and returned two interceptions more than 40 yards each.
“We have some things we need to work on for sure, but I saw a lot of heart on that football field tonight,” South Alabama head coach Joey Jones said. “You’re talking about a top-23 team, and we’re a new program. We fought our rear-ends off. I’m just proud of the team as a whole, and I told them in the locker room that I could live with that. We have to get better, we’re a young team and have a long way to go, but I can’t tell you how proud I am of them tonight.”
Strong Start
South Alabama’s defense held Mississippi State to 27 total yards and no rushing yards in the first quarter, while the Jaguars’ offense gained 67 yards.
Late in the opening quarter, South Alabama drove to the Mississippi State 30, but Michel Chapuseaux’s 47-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide left. The Bulldogs answered with a three-play, 70-yard drive for the game’s first touchdown.
On Mississippi State’s first possession, South Alabama defensive end Anthony Taylor was injured on a third-down play. Trainers from both teams attended to him, and an air splint appeared to be placed on his right leg. No update on his condition was available after the game.
Turnovers Before Halftime
With Mississippi State ahead 17-0 shortly before halftime, South Alabama’s Tyrell Pearson intercepted a Tyler Russell pass and returned it 25 yards. Two plays later, the Bulldogs intercepted a pass from starting quarterback Ross Metheny and returned it 66 yards, setting up a field goal as time expired in the half.
Second-Half Scoring Drives
South Alabama produced both of its scoring drives after halftime, each covering more than 70 yards and lasting at least five minutes.
Metheny led a 13-play, 71-yard drive that reached inside the Mississippi State 5-yard line, but the Jaguars could not get into the end zone and settled for a 22-yard field goal.
About midway through the fourth quarter, C.J. Bennett directed a 12-play, 78-yard drive capped by an 18-yard touchdown pass to Greg Hollinger. South Alabama controlled the ball for 9:07 of the fourth quarter to Mississippi State’s 5:53.
Bennett also ran three times for 29 yards, including a run on which he hurdled a Mississippi State defender to pick up a first down in the red zone. He threw an interception inside the 5-yard line on the next play.
Third-Down Improvement
After going 0-for-11 on third down the previous week, South Alabama converted 5 of 15 third-down attempts against Mississippi State. The Jaguars’ defense held the Bulldogs to 5 of 14 on third down.
Jereme Jones Sets Record
Jereme Jones caught a pass in his 18th consecutive game, breaking the school record previously held by Courtney Smith.
“It’s special because it puts me up there with one of the best receivers [in school history], but I’m more focused on the win-loss record,” Jones said. “We took a huge step forward, playing with a nationally-ranked SEC team. We fought with them. It’s disappointing we couldn’t come out with the win, but we’re a work in progress.”
Statistics
- C.J. Bennett: 14-of-26, 154 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 3 carries, 29 yards
- Ross Metheny: 8-of-17, 70 yards, 1 INT
- Demetre Baker: 12 carries, 49 yards
- Kendall Houston: 8 carries, 21 yards
- Bryant Lavender: 6 catches, 80 yards (game highs)
- Jereme Jones: 4 catches, 49 yards
- T.J. Glover: 4 catches, 12 yards
- Greg Hollinger: 3 catches, 49 yards, 1 TD
- Corey Walden: 3 catches, 17 yards
Three other Jaguars also caught passes.
On defense, South Alabama had three players reach double-digit tackles in the same game for the first time in school history. Enrique Williams posted a career-high 12 tackles, including 1.5 for loss. Jake Johnson and B.J. Scott each made 10 tackles; Johnson had 1.5 tackles for loss and Scott had one.
Jones: ‘We Have to Grow From This’
“We have to grow from this,” Jones said. “We have to get better. We’re brand new and we’re trying to learn and find our way through it, but I was proud of what we did. We learned some things offensively. We moved the ball pretty good, but we threw a couple of interceptions in the red zone and we have to find a way to run the football down in the red zone. We have to get that done.”
“Defensively, I thought we fought hard the whole game,” he said. “Special teams weren’t as good tonight as it has been. Our coverage wasn’t that great. We gave them good field position a couple of times on kickoffs.”
Up Next: Troy
South Alabama opens Sun Belt Conference play Saturday when it hosts Troy at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m.
