Mississippi State Football Rolling With Confidence Into Week 2
Mississippi State Football is rolling, as expected… How did they do Week 1 and what does it mean going on the road for this Saturday?
Privileged to be a member of the Famous Maroon Band, I was there— standing on the field this past Saturday. I got goosebumps down my body as the Mississippi State Football team rushed the field from the tunnel. Fire. Passion. Moor Cowbell. This is what we’ve been waiting for all year.
Mississippi State is coming off an incredibly emphatic 63-6 win at home against the Stephen F Austin Lumberjacks. The Dawgs had this game in hand from the first snaps on each side of the ball.
First play of the game, Mississippi State’s powerful defensive line plowed through the trenches to stop the SFA run game for a loss. And on the first play from scrimmage for the Bulldogs, Keytaon Thompson found fellow true sophomore, Kylin Hill, out of the backfield… Hill did the rest, taking this one 53 yards to the endzone. While Aeris Williams will still be a dangerous weapon for Joe Moorhead, the first year coach seems to be in awe of the talent that is Kylin Hill and has said that Hill’s role should only grow throughout the season.
And oh man– I’m certain that first play from scrimmage reminded Moorhead of his Penn State product, Mr. Saquon Barkley. Hill is poised and ready to take on the role of an SEC starting running back, and we’re all pumped to see him rise to the occasion.
Those first plays set the tone for the rest of the evening as the impressive Mississippi State football defense was effective in shutting down drives and limiting SFA to two field goals. Meanwhile, the offense seemed unstoppable in this one. 613 total yards. 9 touchdowns. And plenty of fireworks to enjoy for the crowd of nearly 55,000.
More from Mississippi State Football
- Meeting the Opponent: Week 4 – South Carolina Gamecocks
- Mississippi State football vs LSU: The good, bad, and ugly
- The Wednesday Wrap: Maybe Mississippi State Football Coach Zach Arnett shouldn’t do it his way
- Mississippi State football history vs. South Carolina: Records, streaks, and more
- Mississippi State football bowl projections after Bulldogs crushed by LSU
Filling in for a suspended Nick Fitzgerald, Keytaon Thompson was phenomenal on the stat sheet. His only downfall was his 42% completion rate, although he made up for it with 364 yards and 5 touchdowns through the air as well as 109 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. Thompson became the third Mississippi State quarterback to ever throw for 5 TDs in a game (Dak Prescott and Nick Fitzgerald being the others). That’s pretty rare and special company to be in.
As far as Kansas State is concerned, the Bulldogs are ready. Keytaon Thompson has established himself as a stellar quarterback, and Bulldog football will be fun to watch for seasons to come… but Nick Fitzgerald is the starter going forward for his senior season and Coach Moorhead has made that extremely clear. The team captain will make his season debut on the road when the Bulldogs travel to Manhattan, Kansas for a duel with the Kansas State Wildcats and legendary coach Bill Snyder.
Both Moorhead and Snyder have praised one another’s teams and have much respect for the football they each play and the way they conduct their locker room. Kansas State is a solid, bowl-game team that will certainly see this home matchup with Mississippi State as a way to prove themselves on the national stage of ESPN.
The Wildcats were caught snoozing this past weekend and nearly lost a shocker to FCS opponent South Dakota. Kansas State won’t be sleeping when Fitzgerald and the Dawgs roll into town! The Bulldogs have been hyped up by some members of the media as an SEC ‘dark horse’— and why not? They returned nearly every starter on both sides of the ball this offseason and have brought in one of the most thriving offensive minds in the nation in Coach Joe Moorhead. A 2-0 record is likely for MSU, but they need to play good football, and I believe they’ll do just that here in Week 2.
Next. Bill Snyder has High Praise for Nick Fitzgerald. dark
Catch Mississippi State @ Kansas State: September 8th, 12 Noon ET on ESPN.