Mississippi State Football: NC State Preview
Following the largest come-from-behind victory in school history, Mississippi State (1-0, 0-0 SEC) returns to Davis Wade Stadium for a primetime 6 PM matchup with the NC State Wolfpack (1-0, 0-0 ACC). The Bulldogs were all but left for dead last Saturday before outscoring Louisiana Tech 21-3 in the final 15 minutes.
The Bulldogs were led by Will Rogers, who finished the game 39-47 for 370 yards, 3 touchdowns, and one interception. His final pass, a 15-yard dart to Jaden Walley, was the difference in the 35-34 win.
Woody Marks also was impressive in the backfield, running for 71 yards and two scores on 12 carries while hauling in nine passes for 27 yards and another score. In his maroon and white debut, Makai Polk led State with ten catches, while Jamire Calvin totaled 67 yards on three catches, including a touchdown.
Taking a look at NC State
NC State opened up its 2021 season last Thursday night in a blowout win over South Florida. The Wolfpack dominated from the opening kickoff, cruising to a 45-0 win. NC State outgained USF 525-271 and won the turnover battle 3-1.
Two extremely talented tailbacks lead the offense in Zonovan Knight and Ricky Person. Knight won 163 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries last week, while Person finished with 105 yards and two scores on the same number of carries.
Quarterback Devin Leary was solid in returning from a broken leg suffered last October, completing 17 of 26 for 232 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Emeka Emezie was his go-to target, catching five passes for 71 yards.
Defensively, linebacker Drake Thomas led the way with eight tackles and an interception in the win. Safety Cyrus Fagan added an interception and seven tackles to the stat book to lead the Wolfpack secondary.
Prediction
The Bulldogs feed off the night game atmosphere at Davis Wade Stadium to win in a close one. The offense builds off last week’s fourth quarter, and the defense forces a couple of turnovers.