Memphis Tigers (0-1) - 23
Mississippi State Bulldogs (1-0) - 49
Recap
The crowd was rocking, the cowbells were ringing and the thunder and lightning couldn't keep the Bulldogs from getting their revenge. The Bulldogs got the ball to start, and struck quickly Rogers to Rara for the lead and never looked back. Rogers looked very good most of the night, he looked like he was seeing the field very well and found 12 different players to catch balls and had his five touchdowns thrown to five different receivers. The highlight of the first half was the defense who allowed only three points and only 29 total yards of offense. There was a small time frame toward the end of the third quarter where there were some very questionable plays. The offense had a backward pass get recovered by the Tigers, then they drove down the field and it looked like they were poised to get back into the game with a touchdown. Down the stretch Memphis was calling timeouts and keeping their first string in the game, down big. Coach Leach kept the first team offense in as well and let Rogers rack up the stats. Bulldogs win big 49-23, they overcome a long day including the two hour and fourteen minute weather delay. (Scroll toward the bottom to see scoring drives and stats)
Next week they head to Tuscon for a late night (10:00 PM CST Kickoff) matchup with the Arizona Wildcats.
Opponent Recap
Arizona won their Week 1 matchup at San Diego State, 38-20. This team is filled with transfers and young talent, Coach Fisch has this team looking better after Week 1 than they looked all of last season. The biggest addition to the Wildcats was Jacob Cowing and he definitely delivered against the Aztecs, catching 8 passes for 152 yards and 3 touchdowns. Transfer DJ Williams rushed for 88 yards and 1 touchdown. Five star freshman Tetairoa McMillan grabbed his first career touchdown. The former Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year Jayden de Laura threw for 299 yards and 4 touchdowns. Safety Jaxen Turner grabbed his first interception on the season. Jalen Harris recorded the only sack for the Wildcat's defense.
Preview for Week 2
There are lots of things to be pleased with from the first game of the season. But Rogers was not pleased with his performance against the Tigers, yeah not pleased. With the mentality Rogers has about his performance through the first game it seems perfection is the only acceptable option. The offense should be able to dominate against the Wildcats, they've improved but most of the improvements were on the offense. Last season's Arizona defense ranked 127th, according to Pro Football Focus. The strength of the Bulldog defense all preseason was the defensive line, they will have to apply pressure on this Wildcat offense and not let them get comfortable. This game will come down to the Bulldogs pass rush getting to de Laura, and the Forbes/Cowing matchup.
Scoring Drives
Mississippi State got first possession and drove down to the 23 yard line which set up the first score "Rogers drops back and finds a crossing Rara Thomas on a slant. The Memphis defender misses the tackle, Thomas spins and cuts to the sideline. He sprints up the sideline and high steps his way for a touchdown!" 7-0 State
Then the rain delay began at 8:02 PM CST. After waiting two hours and fourteen minutes, we were back to live football!
A strong Mississippi State defense set up another drive for Rogers & Co. This time the offense drove down to the nine yard line "Rogers drops back and avoids the rush, he passes and finds Jaden Walley for the score!" 14-0 State
Mississippi State defense was strong in the first half, but at the 13:55 mark in the 2nd quarter the Tigers get their first points with a field goal from the 24 yard line. 14-3 State
The Bulldogs were driving once again and poised to score once again, but before the score there was a quality play from Rogers to Ducking "Rogers drops back and rolls to his left to avoid the rush from the right side. He throws across his body and finds Caleb Ducking at the 6 yard line. Ducking leaped over the defender to bring that ball down." A few plays later the drive was capped off by a Woody Marks touchdown dive "Rogers rolls back and hands it to Marks who dives up the middle for a one yard touchdown run." 21-3 State
Another drive at the end of the first half, once again capped off by a Woody Marks touchdown "3rd and goal to go from the one yard line, hand off to Marks who dives in for his second touchdown of the day." 28-3 State
HALFTIME
The Bulldogs got the ball to start the second half, and wasted no time putting more points on the board "Ball at the 35 yard line, with one yard needed for the first down. Rogers drops back looks down field and throws one up for Ducking, deep shot, and hauls it in for the touchdown. Ducking runs down the back of the end zone high fiving the fans. The receivers meet Ducking in the end zone and they all do a duck waddle in circles." 35-3 State
The Tigers had the ball at mid-field trying to put their first touchdown on the board "Ducker in the backfield, takes the hand off up the left side and breaks through the defense, up the sideline for the Tigers first touchdown! 50 yard run and score for the NIU transfer." 35-10 State
After a strong drive by the Bulldogs they were primed to score and a backward pass was ruled a fumble late in the third, which gave Memphis a start for their next scoring drive "Henigan drops back looks left and connects with Lewis in the corner of the end zone for a 15 yard touchdown grab." The two point conversion attempt failed. 35-16 State
Once again the Bulldogs were driving, down to the 33 yard line Rogers found another receiver for touchdown number 3 through the air "The snap and Rogers drops back goes through his progressions, strike down the middle to find Rufus Harvey for the touchdown." 42-16 State
As the game was getting into garbage time, Memphis found themselves with the ball and an opportunity to put points on the board "Henigan in the shotgun, fakes the hand off and runs to his left for the two yard touchdown." 42-23 State
After some timeouts were called by the Tigers in attempts to get the ball back, Coach Leach told the offense to score "Rogers back looks left and it's single coverage on the Georgia transfer Justin Robinson who catches his first ball of the night for a touchdown." 49-23 State
FINAL
Mississippi State Stats
QB Will Rogers - 38/49, 450 YDS, 5 TD, 1 INT, -16 R YDS
RB Dillon Johnson - 14 Rush 67 YDS, 6 REC 39 YDS
RB Woody Marks - 12 Rush 36 YDS, 2 TD, 2 REC 21 YDS
RB Simeon Price - 4 Rush 10 YDS, 1 REC 20 YDS
WR Rara Thomas - 5 REC 81 YDS, 1 TD
WR Caleb Ducking - 3 REC 73 YDS, 1 TD
WR Rufus Harvey - 5 REC 61 YDS, 1 TD
WR Tulu Griffin - 5 REC 60 YDS
WR Antonio Harmon - 3 REC 30 YDS
WR Jaden Walley - 3 REC 30 YDS, 1 TD
WR Justin Robinson - 1 REC 23 YDS, 1 TD
WR Jamire Calvin - 3 REC 11 YDS
WR Austin Williams - 1 REC 1 YD
LB Jett Johnson - 13 Tackles, 0.5 TFL
DB Corey Ellington - 5 Tackles
DB Jalen Green - 5 Tackles
LB Bookie Watson - 4 Tackles, 0.5 TFL
DL Jordan Davis - 3 Tackles, 0.5 TFL, 1 Forced Fumble
DB Marcus Banks - 3 Tackles, 1 TFL
LB DeShawn Page - 3 Tackles
DB Decamerion Richardson - 3 Tackles
DL Jevon Banks - 2 Tackles
DL Randy Charlton - 2 Tackles, 0.5 TFL
LB Ty Cooper - 2 Tackles
DB Emmanuel Forbes - 2 Tackles
RB Woody Marks - 2 Tackles
DL Nathan Pickering - 2 Tackles, 1 TFL, 1 Sack
LB Tyrus Wheat - 2 Tackles
DL Cameron Young - 2 Tackles
LB Shawn Preston Jr - 1 Tackles, 1 Fumble Recovery
Esaias Furdge, Jackie Matthews, Nic Mitchell, J.P. Purvis, De'Monte Russell all with 1 Tackle
K Massimo Biscardi 7/7 XP
If you want more on the Mississippi State Bulldogs follow @SSN_MissState and SEC news @SSN_SEC
Jaron Ruth, @StrssdGamerDad
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