Costello Tabbed SEC Offensive Player of the Week

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Mississippi State quarterback K.J. Costello continues to receive praise for his record-breaking performance against the defending National Champions, as he was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Costello is MSU's first SEC Offensive Player of the Week since running back Kylin Hill ran for a career-high 234 yards and three touchdowns in the Bulldogs' 54-24 win at Arkansas last season. Since 2014, a total of 15 Mississippi State student-athletes have received offensive player of the week honors by the league.

In addition to the weekly conference award, Costello was also tabbed the Walter Camp FBS National Offensive Player of the Week on Sunday, earned a spot on the Davey O'Brien Great 8 list and was selected as one of eight quarterbacks chosen as Manning Award Stars of the Week. State fans can go to the Allstate Sugar Bowl Facebook page to vote for Costello's performance by Thursday at 11 a.m. CT, as the top vote-getter will be announced as the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week.

Costello began his career as a Bulldog by propelling State to a 44-34 win on the road against No. 6 LSU. Operating in head coach Mike Leach's air raid offense, the graduate transfer threw for 623 yards, shattering the MSU and SEC single-game passing yards record. His 623 yards also rank 11th in NCAA history.

Costello completed 36 passes on 60 attempts, which were also MSU school records. He matched the program record for passing touchdowns with five.

The Rancho Santa Margarita, California, native completed 15 passes of 20 yards or more and found 10 different receivers during the game. He kept the offense rolling on third downs, going 7-of-11 passing for 194 yards. He also added three touchdowns on third down, including a 24-yard strike to Osirus Mitchell with 3:39 left in the game that made the score 44-34.

Spreading out the passing attack, Costello led three Bulldogs to career-high receiving days. Mitchell finished with 183 yards and two touchdowns on seven receptions. Hill and JaVonta Payton both set career highs in catches and yardage. Hill tallied eight receptions for 158 yards and one score, while Payton caught six passes for 122 yards.

It was the second time in program history that a trio of Bulldogs eclipsed the century mark in receiving yards, with Joe Morrow (117), De'Runnya Wilson (105) and Fred Ross (102) completing the feat for the first time in the 2014 Orange Bowl vs. Georgia Tech on Dec. 31.

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Mississippi State University Athletics

Costello Tabbed SEC Offensive Player of the Week

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K.J. Costello

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JaVonta Payton

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