Mississippi State
4-5 , 2-4
Arkansas
2-7 , 0-6
Bulldogs Explode For 54-24 Victory At Arkansas
November 02, 2019 | Football
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A record-setting performance from Kylin Hill ignited Mississippi State back into the win column with an emphatic 54-24 victory over Arkansas on Saturday afternoon at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Hill racked up a career-high 234 rushing yards on 21 carries and three scores. The Columbus, Mississippi, native amassed 198 of his 234 yards during the first half which marked the most rushing yards by a MSU player in a half in school history. He became the 16th player in school history to rush for over 2,000 yards during his career.
Hill's 234 yards on the ground are the fifth-most in program history and the most since Nick Fitzgerald piled up a program-record 258 yards against Ole Miss in 2016. He joins James Johnson (1997-98) and Jerious Norwood (2002-03-04-05) as the only players with multiple games of 200-plus rushing yards in MSU history. Hill's first 200-plus effort came when he amassed 211 yards at Kansas State on Sept. 8, 2018.
The junior running back is tied for sixth in MSU single season history for 100-yard rushing games with six and now ranks 10th in program history with nine games of 100-plus yards.
As a team, Missisippi State's (4-5, 2-4 SEC) rushing attack piled up 460 yards on 57 carries for an average of 8.1 yards per carry. The Bulldogs dominated the line of scrimmage and outgained Arkansas (2-7, 0-6 SEC) by a healthy 640-285 margin. State eclipsed the 500-yard mark for the fifth time under Joe Moorhead and has won all five decisions. The 640 yards of total offense and the 460 yards rushing were both school records for an SEC game.
"We challenged our kids at the beginning of the week to do all of the little things right," said head coach Joe Moorhead. "When that happens and you have a great week of preparation and play with great effort and great precision - (I am) very excited for the kids and very excited for the program. It was a great team win today."
The Bulldogs drew first blood as Hill rushed for 62-yards to the Arkansas 3-yard line. Then, he completed a six-play, 82-yard, 2:49 opening-drive by plunging four yards into the end zone.
Tommy Stevens connected with Osirus Mitchell from 33-yards out to give State a two-score lead with 5:31 remaining in the first quarter. Mitchell owns a team-leading five touchdown receptions this season.
Jace Christmann added a 26-yard field goal to bring the score to 17-0 early in the second quarter.
Arkansas got on the scoreboard as running back Rakeem Boyd rushed for 52-yards to bring the tally to 17-7 at the 10:31 mark. Boyd's rush was the longest haul allowed by MSU's defense this season.
The score reached 31-10 late in the second quarter after a pair of Hill rushing touchdowns sandwiched between an Arkansas field goal.
Marcus Murphy intercepted Arkansas' quarterback Ben Hicks' pass for his first career pick and
scampered 32-yards to paydirt to bring State's advantage to 38-10 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Stevens connected with Deddrick Thomas from 42-yards out to land the Bulldogs at Arkansas 19-yard line.
Three plays later, Farrod Green capped a 66-yard drive and caught a 3-yard pass for his first touchdown since the UMass game in 2016 when he was a freshman.
Both teams traded scores near the end of the third and the start of the fourth quarter. Christmann's 46-yard field goal made it 48-17 with 11:40 to go, and Gibson capped the scoring with a 47-yard rush to reach the final margin of 54-24.
Gibson logged a career-high 129 rushing yards on 12 carries and added a touchdown. Stevens compiled a season-high 74 rushing yards on 15 attempts.
Murphy paced the Bulldogs' defense with eight total tackles ignited by four solo stops and an interception. With Murphy's interception, MSU has recorded a takeaway in 23 of the last 25 games.
State will now enjoy its second off week of the 2019 season on Nov. 9 before returning home to host No. 2 Alabama (8-0, 5-0 SEC) at Davis Wade Stadium on Nov. 16. Kickoff time and television assignment for the game have not yet been announced. Options include 11 a.m. CT on either CBS or ESPN, 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS or 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU football on its social media platforms by searching for "HailStateFB" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Team Stats
MS 7, AR 0
MS - Kylin Hill 4 yd run (Jace Christmann kick), 6 plays, 82 yards, TOP 2:49
MS 14, AR 0
MS - Osirus Mitchell 33 yd pass from Tommy Stevens (Jace Christmann kick) 11 plays, 80 yards, TOP 5:21
MS 17, AR 0
MS - Jace Christmann 26 yd field goal 11 plays, 68 yards, TOP 4:55
MS 17, AR 7
AR - Rakeem Boyd 52 yd run (Connor Limpert kick), 2 plays, 61 yards, TOP 0:57
MS 24, AR 7
MS - Kylin Hill 2 yd run (Jace Christmann kick), 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:29
MS 24, AR 10
AR - Connor Limpert 40 yd field goal 4 plays, 1 yards, TOP 0:56
MS 31, AR 10
MS - Kylin Hill 1 yd run (Jace Christmann kick), 5 plays, 84 yards, TOP 2:18
MS 38, AR 10
MS - Marcus Murphy 32 yd interception (Jace Christmann kick)
MS 45, AR 10
MS - Farrod Green 3 yd pass from Tommy Stevens (Jace Christmann kick) 6 plays, 66 yards, TOP 3:09
MS 45, AR 17
AR - Mike Woods 11 yd pass from J.S. Jones (Connor Limpert kick) 12 plays, 59 yards, TOP 6:30
MS 48, AR 17
MS - Jace Christmann 46 yd field goal 13 plays, 47 yards, TOP 7:23
MS 48, AR 24
AR - KJ Jefferson 5 yd run (Connor Limpert kick), 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:53
MS 54, AR 24
MS - Nick Gibson 47 yd run (K. Schexnayder rushfailed), 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:25
