Week 1 Mississippi State Report Card

Aug 30, 2014; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs mascot during the game against Southern Miss at Davis Wade Stadium. Mississippi State Bulldogs defeat the Southern Miss Golden Eagles 49-0. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports

Special Teams

Grade: C-

Earning Bonus Points: Preston Smith blocked the Eagles’ lone field goal attempt and Jay Hughes scooped it up and ran it back for a touchdown. Devon Bell was switched to punter full time and downed 3 of his 4 punts inside the 20.

Forgot to put their name on their paper: Pretty much everyone else. Westin Graves missed the only field goal he tried. How much of that was his fault is highly debatable. The snap wasn’t great, which led to Dak’s hold being less than stellar, which could have then in turn led to Graves having his timing thrown off. The punt returns were an adventure as well. How much of that was due to us not being sharp and the fact that almost all of the Southern Miss punts were pretty bad is also up for debate. Had it not been for the touchdown on the blocked field goal, this category is probably a D or an F.