Bulldogs Win Third Straight With 35-14 Victory At Texas A&M

Saturday, October 28

College Station, Texas

6:15 PM

Mississippi State

6-2 , 3-2

#24 Texas A&M

5-3 , 3-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Mississippi State

Texas A&M

Bulldogs Win Third Straight With 35-14 Victory At Texas A&M

October 28, 2017 | Football

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes & Quotes Photo Gallery VIDEO: Game Highlights

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Mississippi State (6-2, 3-2 SEC) notched its third straight convincing victory Saturday night with an impressive 35-14 road triumph at Texas A&M (5-3, 3-2).

State has outscored its last three opponents a combined 115-31 while becoming bowl-eligible for a school-record eighth consecutive season under ninth-year head coach Dan Mullen.

The Bulldogs led 14-0 at halftime Saturday behind a couple of touchdown drives engineered by quarterback Nick Fitzgerald. After each team failed to score on the first two drives of the game, State marched 86 yards on 16 plays, capped by a 2-yard Fitzgerald scoring run. The second score was set up by a Bulldog interception from Mark McLaurin, putting State in business near midfield with roughly five minutes remaining in the first half. After Fitzgerald scampered 45 yards off right end to the A&M 11-yard line, he would hit Donald Gray two plays later for an 8-yard TD pass.

In the second half, MSU picked up right where it left off. The Bulldog defense forced an Aggie three-and-out. Fitzgerald connected with Farrod Green for 41 yards on the ensuing possession and that play led to a 10-yard touchdown pass from the Bulldog signal caller to Jordan Thomas. State led 21-0. Texas A&M answered on the next drive with its first score of the night, a direct snap to back Keith Ford for a 1-yard score that capped a 76-yard jaunt by the Aggies.

After the Texas A&M forced an MSU punt, it seemed they were gaining momentum. But the Bulldog defense quickly snuffed that thought when Lashard Durr picked off a Kellen Mond pass and returned it to the TAMU 32-yard line. Three State rushes later, the Bulldogs led 28-7 on the shoulders of a 14-yard Nick Gibson TD rumble.

With A&M driving in the red zone midway through the fourth quarter, State's defense would strike again when Jamal Peters intercepted an Aggie pass and returned it 90 yards for a pick six. Texas A&M would answer with a 70-yard TD pass to cap scoring for the night.

Fitzgerald once again led the Bulldog offensive charge, completing 12-of-21 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns. He also eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground with 105 yards and one TD.

Aeris Williams had 68 yards rushing. Jesse Jackson and Green were Fitzgerald's top passing targets, Jackson with four receptions for 39 yards and Green with three for 51.

In addition to the three interceptions that led to 21 Bulldog points, State was led defensively by Leo Lewis and Johnathan Abram with eight tackles each. Montez Sweat produced another big night with six stops and two sacks in the contest.

State returns home next Saturday, Nov. 4, welcoming UMass to Davis Wade Stadium in the Bulldogs' final non-conference bout of 2017. The game will kickoff at 11 a.m. CT and be televised by the SEC Network.

Dan Mullen, Mississippi State Head Coach

Opening statement…
"I'm really proud of our guys and the way we approached the week. I thought we had a great week of practice. I thought coaches did a great job putting a game plan together, both offense and defense. Players believed in it and had a great week executing the game plan especially on defense by not letting (Texas A&M) get any rhythm going and not them seize moment with the crowd. I'm really proud of our guys and their attitude with which they approached the game and went and performed. You guys know me and I wanted to finish a little cleaner than the way we did especially on offense late in the game and even that one big play on defense. You ask all our coaches and we all have pretty high standards. We are very, very pleased. That's a good Texas A&M team. They have talent. They are having to play a true freshman quarterback which is always hard. He has some starts under his belt but he is still a true freshman quarterback, I think our defensive staff did a good job to put him in some uncomfortable positions over the course of the game and limit what he usually does well. You are always in the game with them because they have so many explosive athletes. You look at their kids and with what Kevin (Sumlin) does. You know they are going to compete to the final whistle. It was a great win for us."

Third down stops...
"Yeah that was pretty good. I think the plan worked. When you're facing a freshman quarterback is to get him in some third and longs. The longer the better. The more you can disguise the more confusing looks you can give him. I think we were able to do that on defense tonight."

On hitting the six-win mark...
"We made their predictions come true. I guess we hit that. You know what, you got six wins but there is a lot of football left to be played. The great thing is we have three out of four at home down the stretch. You look at the environments. That's the thing about the Southeastern Conference, we need that home-field environment. We've got an early kick next week. We went out and played a tough UMass team, last year was a battle. They always play with a little chip on their shoulder and we need that home-field advantage. Six wins means to our teams and our guys that you are rewarded with one more game. Hopefully we'll get some more but we at least got ourselves an opportunity for one more at the end of the season."