Mississippi State football: Mistakes cost Bulldogs in Outback Bowl

Joe Moorhead and the Mississippi State football team lost the Outback Bowl due to a multitude of errors. MSU failed to live up to any sort of #ChampionshipStandard today.

The Mississippi State football team just lost the Outback Bowl in one of the most infuriating ways possible. The Bulldogs fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes by a score of 27-22 in a game that State committed eight penalties costing them 90 yards and then also turning the ball over three times.

Mississippi State actually had a decent lead at one point in this game. And at that point, it felt as if this game would be a low-scoring, defensive battle. But, after Mississippi State claimed a 6-0 lead early on, things quickly turned on the Bulldogs.

Iowa responded and scored 17 unanswered points to end the first half. 

Once things got started in the second half, as the Bulldogs were down 17-6, things turned around just as quickly. This time that momentum switch was a good thing and the Bulldogs claimed a 19-17 lead after a few Iowa turnovers.

But then the Hawkeyes were able to work their way back into the lead with 10 more points as the Bulldogs could only muster another field goal. And Mississippi State fell 27-22.

MSU was plagued by errors all day, but arguably the biggest mistake that the Mississippi State football coaching staff made today was the decision to punt late in the fourth quarter down by five points with just one timeout remaining.

This move right here cost Mississippi State a realistic shot at getting back into the game:

Mississippi State will finish the season at 8-5. This was a year in which the Bulldogs were supposed to find a way to double digits and make noise nationally. MSU had the talent assembled to do just that. Joe Moorhead stepped into Starkville talking about championships and going from good to great.

Mississippi State hasn’t done that. The Bulldogs didn’t even improve from last season. Joe Moorhead must take a long look in the mirror and evaluate things after an underwhelming end to an underwhelming season.