Mississippi State
1-0
Stephen F. Austin
0-1
No. 18 State Routs SFA 63-6 To Usher In Moorhead Era
September 01, 2018 | Football
The Bulldogs tallied 214 yards and 21 points in the first quarter to set the tone in an impressive debut for Moorhead and his staff, a game in which State amassed 618 yards of offense and also saw State's defense limit SFA to just two field goals.
In just his second career start, quarterback Keytaon Thompson was easily the star of the night for MSU, accounting for 473 yards of total offense and seven touchdowns (tied SEC record) in just over three quarters of action. He was 13-of-31 for 364 yards and five scores (tying an MSU record) through the air and also rushed for a team-best 109 yards and two TDs.
Thompson spread the wealth quite a bit in the passing game, as 10 different Bulldogs had receptions from him in the game. Osirus Mitchell, Austin Williams and Keith Mixon had two each, Mitchell's pair going for touchdowns of 84 and 30 yards. Kylin Hill, Aeris Williams and Dontea Jones also had TD receptions.
Supplementing Thompson's ground attack was Hill, who added 50 yards and a score on nine rushes. Dontavian Lee had 29 yards and a late score as well.
Defensively, the Bulldogs were very solid as well, allowing just 254 yards of offense to the Lumberjacks.
Safety Johnathan Abram led MSU with eight tackles in the contest. Defensive end Montez Sweat added six stops, including two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. C.J. Morgan had an interception late for State's only pickoff of the night.
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State next travels to Manhattan, Kansas, on Sept. 8 to open its 2018 road slate against Kansas State. It will be only the third meeting between the Bulldogs and Wildcats ever and the first since 1977. It will also be MSU's first-ever trip to Manhattan. The game is set to kickoff at 11 a.m. CT and will be televised nationally by ESPN. KSU edged South Dakota 27-24 in their opener Saturday evening.
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Team Stats
SFA 0, MS 7
MS - Kylin Hill 53 yd pass from K. Thompson (Jace Christmann kick) 1 plays, 53 yards, TOP 0:12
SFA 0, MS 14
MS - K. Thompson 9 yd run (Jace Christmann kick), 5 plays, 19 yards, TOP 2:46
SFA 0, MS 21
MS - Osirus Mitchell 84 yd pass from K. Thompson (Jace Christmann kick) 1 plays, 84 yards, TOP 0:15
SFA 3, MS 21
SFA - Storm Ruiz 36 yd field goal 15 plays, 63 yards, TOP 5:33
SFA 3, MS 28
MS - Aeris Williams 27 yd pass from K. Thompson (Jace Christmann kick) 9 plays, 65 yards, TOP 3:08
SFA 3, MS 35
MS - Dontea Jones 17 yd pass from K. Thompson (Jace Christmann kick) 13 plays, 91 yards, TOP 4:55
SFA 6, MS 35
SFA - Storm Ruiz 33 yd field goal 8 plays, 47 yards, TOP 2:03
SFA 6, MS 42
MS - Osirus Mitchell 30 yd pass from K. Thompson (Jordan Lawless kick) 3 plays, 40 yards, TOP 0:43
SFA 6, MS 49
MS - Kylin Hill 6 yd run (Jace Christmann kick), 5 plays, 66 yards, TOP 2:28
SFA 6, MS 56
MS - K. Thompson 25 yd run (Jordan Lawless kick), 2 plays, 48 yards, TOP 0:32
SFA 6, MS 63
MS - Dontavian Lee 5 yd run (Jordan Lawless kick), 8 plays, 57 yards, TOP 4:46
