Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Mississippi State’s Storylines vs. East Tennessee State
November 14, 2022 | Football
STARKVILLE – For the final time in 2022, Mississippi State will hit the field at Davis Wade Stadium.
MSU concludes this season's home slate on Saturday with an 11 a.m. CT game as the Bulldogs host East Tennessee State. The contest will be streamed via SEC Network+/ESPN+ with Mike Corey (play-by-play), Brian Kinchen (analyst) and Tera Talmadge (reporter) on the call.
Fans can listen to live audio of the game by CLICKING HERE.
MSU concludes this season's home slate on Saturday with an 11 a.m. CT game as the Bulldogs host East Tennessee State. The contest will be streamed via SEC Network+/ESPN+ with Mike Corey (play-by-play), Brian Kinchen (analyst) and Tera Talmadge (reporter) on the call.
Fans can listen to live audio of the game by CLICKING HERE.
Mississippi State's Storylines vs. East Tennessee State
- Mississippi State is looking for its first six-win season at home since 2018. The Bulldogs have won at least six home games four times in program history (2018, 2014, 2012, 1999).
- MSU is 5-1 at home this season and is outscoring opponents 234-156 in Davis Wade Stadium. That's an average final score of 39-26.
- In 2022, MSU is outscoring opponents 76-21 in the first quarter. The Bulldogs are 13-4 when scoring first under Mike Leach.
- WR Zavion Thomas scored his first career touchdown on a 63-yard punt return against No. 1 Georgia. His return makes MSU one of four FBS teams with both a punt return and kick return touchdown this season.
- WR Lideatrick Griffin leads the nation in yards per kick return (31.2), and WR Zavion Thomas is fifth in yards per punt return (14.2). Griffin's career average (32.8) is tops among active FBS players and would exceed the school record by 6.1 yards.
- Mississippi State has scored on 28-of-31 red zone opportunities (90.3 percent), which ranks third in the SEC. MSU is third in the FBS in points per red zone drive (5.03) and second in red zone passing touchdown percentage (51.61 percent). The Bulldogs are sixth nationally in red zone touchdown percentage (77.42 percent).
- QB Will Rogers is one 200-yard passing game from matching Dak Prescott's (2012-15) school record of 29 in his career.
- Bulldog RBs Jo'quavious Marks and Dillon Johnson have both caught 40 passes, which is tied for the SEC lead among running backs.
- Marks has caught a pass in 33 consecutive games, which is the second-longest active streak in the SEC and tied for No. 12 nationally. He has at least one reception in every game of his collegiate career. The MSU school record is 35 games set by Fred Ross (2013-16).
- WR Austin Williams was named one of 12 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy. He is MSU's fifth finalist and the only finalist this season with a perfect 4.0 GPA every year of his career. The last Bulldog finalist was Taveze Calhoun (2015), who now serves on staff as a graduate assistant.
- MSU is bowl eligible and will play in a postseason game for the 13th straight season, which is a program record. Entering the season, only eight schools had active streaks of at least 12 seasons and only Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M joined MSU from the SEC.
- Mike Leach will now have taken 19 of his 21 teams to bowl games, including eight straight seasons.
- Rogers has thrown for 300-plus yards and at least three touchdowns in 15 of his 32 career games, which is tied for 14th in the FBS since 2000.
- State already has 25 runs of 10-plus yards through 10 games after posting just 23 in 13 games last year and 20 in 11 games in 2020.
- Three State receivers have caught at least 40 balls. Tennessee is the only other SEC schools with more than one.
- WRs Austin Williams (78) and Jaden Walley (77) are the SEC's active career leaders in first-down receptions.
- Walley made a season-long 47-yard reception against No. 1 Georgia (Nov. 12) that stands as the longest of his career since a 51-yard catch also against the Bulldogs in 2020.
- WR Caleb Ducking is one of four SEC players to turn in multiple receiving touchdowns in multiple games this season. He has caught a touchdown in six games, which is tied for 11th in the FBS. His eight receiving touchdowns are tied for second in the SEC and tied for 19th nationally this season.
- Four current Bulldogs are now among the top 10 in MSU career history for total receptions: RB Jo'quavious Marks (2nd, 183), WR Austin Williams (6th, 142), RB Dillon Johnson (7th, 141) and WR Jaden Walley (10th, 131).
- The Bulldogs are leading the nation with a 90.6 special teams grade from PFF.
- The Bulldogs have collected at least one takeaway in 27 of 34 games under defensive coordinator Zach Arnett with 51 total takeaways in that span. State has forced multiple turnovers 13 times in that span, going 10-3 when doing so.
- State posted its 10th multi-interception game under Arnett against No. 1 Georgia (Nov. 12). The Bulldogs have 33 total interceptions in 34 games since 2020.
- MSU's 17 turnovers forced in 2022 are third in the SEC.
- LB Nathaniel Watson made 16 tackles against No. 1 Georgia (Nov. 12), giving him an SEC-leading 94 stops this season. It was his third career game with 16-plus tackles, which is tied for second in MSU history (since 1988). Watson has led State in tackles six times this year and has eight career double-digit tackle games.
- Watson now has eight career double-digit tackle games, which is the ninth-most by a Bulldog since 1988. Johnson boasts six career games with 10 or more tackles, which ranks 12th.
- CB Emmanuel Forbes is second in the nation with five interceptions and is second in the SEC with 11 total passes defended. He boasts the No. 8 coverage grade (83.9) in the conference per PFF, and his 81.5 overall defensive grade ranks 15th.
- S Collin Duncan boasts the No. 2 coverage grade (87.0) in the SEC per PFF, and CB Decamerion Richardson's 83.3 tackling grade is 12th.
- LB Tyrus Wheat is tied for eighth in the SEC with 5.0 sacks and now has 17.5 career sacks, which is ninth in MSU history. His 0.56 career sacks per game mark ranks 13th among active players.
- Under Mike Leach, the Bulldogs are 13-0 when scoring at least 30 points.
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