Hail State! A Mississippi State Story (CFB 25)

[BuckRaven]

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Trevion Williams Out for Season
By Dan Johnson

Mississippi State received more bad news at the back of their 19-10 loss to Georgia. Starting DE Trevion Williams suffered a broken tailbone late in the 4th Quarter and is ruled out for the remainder of the season. This is a tough break for the Sophomore who had won a starting role and played pretty well so far. He had a safety against Arizona State that swung the momentum of a game the Bulldogs would eventually win. We wish Trevion the best in his recovery

[BuckRaven]

Mississippi State upsets #18 Texas A&M 17-7
Saturday, October 19
SEC Network 3:30

After 2 close losses to top 10 opponents, it felt like the Bulldogs were on the cusp of a breakthrough. They would get a signature win for Coach Holden on Saturday afternoon.

Mississippi State started with the ball and drove down the field but Blake Shapen was hit by Nic Scourton on 3rd and 18 and fumbled. He would recover it and the Bulldogs would be able to punt it at least. Texas A&M would drive the ball but Connor Weigman would throw an ill-advised interception in the red zone to budding star Javae Gilmore. The rest of the first quarter were punt offs. Bulldog punter Zachary Haynes boomed a 55 yard punt pinning Texas A&M down to the 2. LeVeon Moss narrowly avoided a safety on a few plays. The Aggies didn’t gain any ground and would punt it back. Creed Whittmore would return it to the 42. The Bulldogs would chew some clock and Jeffrey Pittman would punch it in from 7 yards out to give Mississippi State a 7-0 lead right out of the 2 minute warning. Texas A&M would punt again and give the ball back to the Bulldogs. Shapen would hit Running Back Jeffrey Pittman on the outside for a 63 yard catch and run whose hesitation move would get an extra 10 yards out of it. Shapen would then throw an interception to end the half.

Texas A&M would continue to struggle on offense in the second half. Jeffrey Pittman would emerge as the hot hand helping to lead Mississippi State down the field and Keyvone Lee would punch it in from 3 to give Mississippi State a 14-0 lead heading into the 4th. Texas A&M would punt for a 5th time but Blake Shapen would throw a Pick 6 to WIll Lee III who would cut the lead down to 14-7. Mississippi State would go 3 and out and Texas A&M would drive down the field to the 34 yard line. Connor Weigman would get dropped for a sack by John Lewis on 3rd and 9 out of Field Goal range. Mississippi State would get the ball with roughly 3 minutes left, get a few first downs. Senior Nick Barr-Mira would hit a clutch 51 yard field goal to essentially ice the game. Safety Hunter Washington would put the nail in the coffin with an interception securing Coach Holden’s first SEC win. “I’m thrilled for our guys. We had a few tough losses to some talented teams but we put our heads down and played our game. Our Defense was tremendous.”

Texas A&Ms offensive gameplan was puzzling. Connor Weigman never seemed to get going and Reuben Owens and LeVeon Moss weren’t much more successful. Offense has been an issue in College Station for years and Coach Elko will have to get that sorted. What a game for Jeffrey Pittman though. He came into the season as the #3 Running Back and had over 150 total yards against a talented A&M front. Texas A&M was held to just 164 yards of total offense. After playing 3 ranked teams in a row, Mississippi State will host 3-3 Arkansas next week and hope to build on their momentum.

Mississippi State
Blake Shapen 21-25 218 Yards 2 INTs
Jeffrey Pittman 17 Carries 78 Yards TD 5 Catches 88 Yards
Coby McCollum 3 Catches 37 Yards
Javae Gilmore 7 Tackles INT
DeMonte Russell 3 Tackles 2.0 Sacks
Stone Blanton 7 Tackles

Texas A&M
Connor Weigman 13-21 145 Yards 2 INTs
Reuben Owens 13 Carries 31 Yards
Donovan Green 3 Catches 42 Yards
Shemar Turner 11 Tackles 4 TFLs
Dalton Brooks 10 Tackles 3 TFLs
Nic Scourton 8 Tackles 4 TFLs 1.5 Sacks

3 Stars
3rd Star: DeMonte Russell: A couple of big sacks on 3rd down from the senior captain
2nd Star: Javae Gilmore: Huge interception in the red zone and has been a tremendous run stopper
1st Star Jeffrey Pittman: Instrumental in moving the chains and has had the best RB performance this season

Around the NCAA:
#6 Georgia blasts #17 Texas 50-22
#10 Maryland beats USC 17-13, advances to 7-0
#3 Oklahoma falls to South Carolina 43-28

Top 10
1. Bama 7-0
2. Michigan 7-0
3. Ohio State 6-0
4. Georgia 6-1
5. Penn State 6-0
6. Oregon 6-1
7. Kansas 7-0
8. Maryland 7-0
9. Ole Miss 6-1
10. Oklahoma State 6-1

Recruiting News:

Alabama 4 Star DT Dakota Coffee (#238 Prospect) has committed to the Bulldogs! He was supposed to visit Ole Miss and Nebraska later in the season but shut down his recruitment citing a strong relationship with Coach Holden and Defensive Coordinator Bobby Horn.

[BuckRaven]

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SEC Power Rankings- Midseason Edition
By: Curtis High, SEC Writer

1. Bama (7-0) - Undefeated and haven’t skipped a beat under Kalen DeBoer, huge W against UGA
2. Georgia (6-1)- Kirby’s squad has blown out #19 Kentucky, Texas and beaten #18 Clemson
3. Oklahoma (6-1)- Upset by SCar in trap game, favored on the road against Ole Miss
4. Ole Miss (6-1)- Rebels hiccuped against Kentucky early in the season, lack marquee win but will get chance against OU this week
5. Florida (5-2) Lost to Miami and A&M by 1 pt each, on 4 game winning streak now
6. Kentucky (5-2) Losses to Florida & UGA but drummed SCar 40-0 and Vandy 52-7 and had decisive win over Ole Miss
7. Mizzou (5-2) Rebounded from losses to BC and Vandy with 3 game win streak
8. Texas (4-3) Highly disappointing start by Longhorns, were not competitive against #2 UM, #12 OU or #4 UGA
9. Texas A&M (4-3) Up and down season but 2 losses in a row to Mizzou and Mississippi State
10. South Carolina (4-3) Big upset over #3 Oklahoma but inconsistent start in SEC play
11. LSU (4-3) Defense is still a major issue in Baton Rouge, blown out at home by 1-6 UCLA, lost to SCar and Ole Miss. Barely squeaked by Arkansas and South Alabama
12. Auburn (4-3) 4-0 start with W over Arkansas, lost the next 3
13. Arkansas (3-4) Lone conference win against lowly Tennessee, Pittman’s seat is getting warm
14. Mississippi State (4-3) Bulldogs have been surprisingly competitive against UGA, Texas and upset A&M. Huge test against Arkansas may determine bowl eligibility
15. Vandy (2-5) Upset against Mizzou appears to be outlier, lost to Ball St and Georgia St
16. Tennessee (2-5) Only SEC team without a conference win, highly disappointing start

[redsox907]

HUGE win over A&M! That alone is going to make for an improved season, but another win against the Hogs will definitely have your 1st season starting great

[BuckRaven]

Quote: Originally Posted by redsox907

HUGE win over A&M! That alone is going to make for an improved season, but another win against the Hogs will definitely have your 1st season starting great

Yeah definitely have built some momentum and confidence these past few weeks. Hoping we can make a bowl game this year

[BuckRaven]

Arkansas humbles Mississippi State 36-21
Saturday, October 26 Noon
SEC Network

The 3-4 Arkansas Razorbacks came to town with Mississippi State coming off an upset victory over Texas A&M. Arkansas would get first downs on their first 3 plays, get down to within the 30, but their drive would stall and Matthew Shipley would kick a 48 yard FG. Mississippi State would respond with a 14 play drive and Shapen would hit star WR Kelly Akharaiyi on a 1 yard RPO pass to take a 7-3 lead. The next few drives would still. Arkansas QB Taylen Green would hit Isaiah Satenga on a 38 yard catch and run. This would set up a 24 yard corner from Green to Jordan Anthony giving the Razorbacks the lead back. Facing a blitz, Green would hit Isaac Tessla on a in route which would result in a 53 yard catch and run. Rashod Dubinion would punch it in for 3 to give Arkansas a 17-7 lead. Shapen would get picked off in Arkansas territory after a decent drive and Arkansas’s 2 min offense would get them in Shipley’s range to drill a 38 yard FG as time expired.

Mississippi State would start off with the ball and Jeffrey Pittman would have some nice runs to help lead the Bulldogs down the field. Coby McCollum would be wide open on a crossing route and a scrambling Blake Shapen who was avoiding the blitz would hit him for 38 yards. It was 4th and 1 from the 15, Coach Holden decided to leave the offense on. He’d run a FB Dive and Rahim Garnett would pick up 9. Jeremy Pittman would score from 6 yards out on the following play to cut the lead. Arkansas would drive the ball combining the run and the pass. But the sturdy Javae Gilmore would get a huge run stop on 3rd and 2 to force a 48 yard FG. On the ensuing drive, Kelly Akharaiyi would bounce off two tackles on a screen and go 44 yards. Coach Holden would draw up an RB screen against the blitz and Keyvone Lee would walk in from 16 yards out to cut the deficit to 23-21. Both defenses would trade 3 and outs to start the 4th. Taylen Green would drive Arkansas down with several third down conversions. Facing a crucial 3rd and goal from the 3 he would hit Jordan Anthony for a TD to make it 30-21. Shapen would then throw a pick 6 to Doneiko Slaughter which would seal the game for Arkansas 36-21.

A disappointing result for Mississippi State. Arkansas’s passing attack was highly effective and they were able to score in bunches while also sustaining a key drive in the 4th quarter. The Bulldogs were essentially playing from behind the entire game which is not a recipe for success. Finally, the Bulldog pass rush was kept at bay as they only recorded one sack.

Mississippi State
Shapen 20-31 250 Yards 2 TDs 2 INTs
Jeffrey Pittman 11 Carries 72 Yards TD 4 Catches 31 Yards
Keyvone Lee 7 Carries 58 Yards 1 Catch 16 Yards TD
Kelly Akharaiyi 5 Catches 87 Yards TD
Coby McCollum 4 Catches 61 Yards
Javae Gilmore 14 Tackles 2 TFLs
John Lewis 3 Tackles Sack

Arkansas
Taylen Green 23-28 316 Yards 2 TDs 5 Carries 29 Yards
Rashod Dubinion 18 Carries 64 Yards TD
Isaiah Satenga 7 Catches 101 Yards
Isac Teslaa 4 Catches 95 Yards
Doneiko Slaughter 9 Tackles INT
Landon Jackson 5 Tackles 2 TFLs Sack

3 Stars
3rd Star: Jeffrey Pittman/Keyvone Lee- Tandem played well and took pressure away from Shapen
2nd Star: Kelly Akharaiyi- Shapen’s security blanket, made some big plays to get Bulldogs back into the game
1st Star: Javae Gilmore- seeing his name every week now, he’s been all over the field

Recruiting News
Texas S Josh Carrera (#298 Prospect) has committed to the Bulldogs. He is the Bulldogs 7th Commit and brings their class to #14 in the country.

Around the NCAA
#14 7-1 Nebraska stuns #3 Ohio State at home 42-34
Wisconsin upsets #5 Penn State 34-28
Kansas State throttles #7 Kansas 38-7
#12 Oklahoma outlasts #9 Ole Miss 30-18

Top 10
1. Bama 8-0
2. Michigan 8-0
3. Oregon 7-1
4. Georgia 6-1
5. Maryland 8-0
6. Oklahoma 7-1
7. Oklahoma State 7-1
8. Nebraska 7-1
9. Ohio State 6-1
10. Notre Dame 7-1

[BuckRaven]

Mississippi State outlasts UMass 38-27
Saturday November 2 Noon
SEC Network

4-4 Mississippi State would welcome 3-5 UMass after their disappointing loss to Arkansas. Jordan Morant would intercept a Taisun Phommachanh pass on the 3rd play of the game to set Mississippi State up nicely. Shapen would hit tight end Seydou Traore on a 13 yard pass to give the Bulldogs an early 7-0 lead. Later in the first, Minuteman safety Jashon Watkins would bait Shapen into a pass would pick it off. Riley Moore would kick a 45 yard field goal to get UMass on the board. On the ensuing drive, Shapen would hit Kevin Coleman for his 2nd passing TD of the quarter. The former Clemson QB Phommachanh would connect with Sterling Galban on a deep post for an explosive 52 yard TD on the last play of the first quarter. Mississippi State’s offense would stall and UMass would put together some nice passing plays on their next drive. Mississippi State would get a stop in the red zone and force a Riley Moore 28 yard field goal. The Bulldogs would drain most of the remaining 2nd quarter clock on their next drive and Nick Barr-Mira would nail a 31 yard field goal to give Mississippi State a 17-13 lead into halftime.

Mississippi State would go 3 and out to start the 2nd half and Keshawn Brown would catch a 59 yard strike on the first play of UMass’s drive to give them a shock 20-17 lead. Davon Booth would have a nice 29 yard run and Coby McCollum catch a 33 yard touchdown pass to restore the lead for the Bulldogs. They would get the ball back and Shapen would throw a dot on a deep post to Coby McCollum for 38 yards. Kelly Akharaiyi would then score on a 10 yard slant route for Shapen’s 4th TD and give Mississippi State a 31-20 lead. UMass would get past midfield but Phommachanh would get greedy and throw a pass in double coverage that was intercepted by Corey Ellington in the end zone. Mississippi State would drive down and Keyvone Lee would punch it in on 4th and Goal from the 1 to effectively end the game. UMass wouldn’t quit however, they’d hit some nice passing plays and Keshawn Brown would get a TD back from 9 yards. Mississippi State would recover the onside kick and run the rest of the clock out.

It was a strange game that felt like Mississippi State was in control the whole game but UMass was able to pass the ball pretty well and had numerous big plays against the Bulldogs DBs. “We didn’t play great today. I thought we could’ve used some more stops from the defense. Just need more consistency from the guys,” Coach Holden on the game. Mississippi State is now 5-4 and will head to Knoxville next week to take on 2-5 Tennessee who has really struggled this year. Then they’ll have a bye before closing out their regular season with 5-3 Mizzou and #16 6-2 Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. While the Bulldogs will definitely be underdogs in all 3 games, they have played their best opponents pretty tough this year. An upset would get Mississippi State to bowl eligibility which would be a huge accomplishment in Coach Holden’s first year at the helm.

MSST
Blake Shapen 20-26 205 Yards 4 TDs INT
Davon Booth 11 Carries 104 Yards
Jeffrey Pittman 15 Carries 76 Yards
Keyvone Lee 10 Carries 47 Yards
Coby McCollum 6 Catches 83 Yards TD
Kevin Coleman 5 Catches 45 Yards TD
Corey Ellington 10 Tackles INT
John Lewis 3 Tackles 2.0 Sacks
Jordan Morant 3 Tackles INT

UMASS
Taisun Phommachanh 17-25 295 Yards 3 TDs 2 INTs
Jackson Paradis 11 Carries 41 Yards
Keshawn Brown 5 Catches 113 Yards 2 TDs
Sterling Galban 3 Catches 90 Yards TD
Jashon Watkins 14 Tackles INT TFL
Jalen Stewart 13 Tackles
Zukudo Igweagu 7 Tackles 2.5 Sacks

3 Stars:
3rd Star: Davon Booth- a force on the ground, Booth was too quick for UMass’s defense before he got banged up
2nd Star: Blake Shapen- Shook off first quarter pick, was in command and had a solid day
Gameball: WR Coby McCollum- Made some big 3rd quarter catches that propelled MSST to victory

Recruiting News:
Mississippi State has landed the pledge of 4 Star S Duane Weatherford (Alabama). Alabama and Clemson both scheduled visits later in November but Weatherford decided to shut down his recruitment citing a strong relationship with Coach Holden and Defensive Coordinator Joe Horn.

Mississippi State’s priority WR target Jace Watts has committed to Ole Miss. While Mississippi State definitely put up a good fight in the recruitment, Watts wants to play for a contending SEC team.

Around the NCAA
#2 Michigan knocks off #9 Oregon 28-25
#3 Georgia beats Florida 31-21
#6 Penn State defeats #10 Ohio State 27-21
#12 Louisville beats #13 Clemson 28-23 to take control of the ACC
UCLA drops #7 Nebraska 34-16
#8 Oklahoma State advances to 8-1 after slugging Arizona State 33-10
#22 Rice moves to 9-0 after convincing 21-7 win over Navy

[BuckRaven]

Recruiting Roundup

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Class of 2025 Commits
4 Star #189 Prospect WR Athya Ngata (Petal, MS)
4 Star #155 Prospect RB Kyree Bonham (Shreveport, LA)
4 Star #54 Prospect C Matthew Edmond (Harvey, LA)
4 Star #148 Prospect DT Heath Byard (St. James, LA)
4 Star #89 Prospect T Quentin Fournette (Madison, MS)
4 Star #238 Prospect DT Dakota Coffee (Trussville, AL)
4 Star #298 Prospect S Josh Carrera (Grand Prairie, TX)
4 Star #316 Prospect S Duane Weatherford (Phenix City, AL)

Looking back at the top 10 targets list, Mississippi State now has commitments from 6 of them. They’ve punched above their weight this recruiting class taking advantage of a down year from LSU and capitalizing on targets that were not as highly sought after by perennial championship contenders. With the core of their class in, let’s take a look at some of the top remaining targets on Coach Holden’s board

After Frederick Coleman committed to Ole Miss, the Bulldogs turned their attention to 3 Star QB Marquis Hocker from Buford, GA who did not receive any attention from in-state UGA or GT. Hocker has gotten looks from Kennessaw State, Jacksonville State and Georgia Southern but the MSST staff is very high on him.

Mississippi native Morgan Cantwell is the highest rated player and only remaining 4 star on the Bulldog radar. He’s only received lukewarm interest from LSU and has been passed over by Texas, Ohio State and Bama

3 Star Theo Brown from Atlanta is the only TE on Mississippi State’s board as of now and it is believed to be a 2 horse race between the Bulldogs and Army. Duke and Vandy are in the mix as well but he is not a priority for them at this time.

For OL, the Bulldogs are in pursuit of the following players:
3 Star G Quandre Bond (Ohio), 3 Star G Curtis Minnis (Michigan), 3 Star T JJ Simons (Pennsylvania)

They are particularly high on Minnis and are surprised at his lack of Big 10 interest outside of Northwestern. Mississippi State would be happy with a 5 player OL class after landing top 100 recruits Quentin Fournette and Matthew Edmond.

After missing on Rico Chunn (who committed to LSU), Mississippi State turned their attention to 3 Star UNLV Commit Randy Davis from Utah. They believe they can flip Davis which would be a nice addition to their DL class.

At Linebacker, Mississippi State has been underwhelmed by the options and will likely only take 2 in their class. The staff is really high on Troy Commit 3 Star Marcus Whalen and hoping they can get him to flip. They are also heavily recruiting 3 Star Trey Dolegala from Nevada who hasn’t had much interest from the Power 4

Looking at defensive backs, they are done at safety landing an impressive duo of Josh Carrera and Duane Weatherford. 3 Star CB D’Andre Tull from Marietta, GA has really impressed DC Joe Horn and he has only received lukewarm interest from blueblood programs such as Tennessee, Florida and Florida State.

As of now, the Bulldogs have the #13 class in the country with 8 4 Star commitments but this is almost certain to drop before signing day. With 1 4 star target remaining, the Bulldogs are filling their class with 3 Star prospects. Regardless, the coaching staff believes some of these guys are gems and are pleased with the class so far.