Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Mississippi State's Storylines vs. Georgia
November 07, 2022 | Football
STARKVILLE – The country's top-ranked team comes to town as Mississippi State hosts No. 1 Georgia on Saturday.
The Southeastern Conference's two sets of Bulldogs are set for a 6 p.m. CT contest at Davis Wade Stadium. The game is set to be televised by ESPN with Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Todd Blackledge (analyst) and Molly McGrath (reporter) on the call.
Fans can listen to live audio of the game by CLICKING HERE.
Mississippi State's Storylines vs. Georgia
- MSU is facing the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 for the 12th time in its history. Eight of those meetings were against Alabama, two against Tennessee and one against LSU. State has never faced Georgia as the nation's top team.
- State upset No. 1 Alabama on the road in 1980, winning 6-3.
- MSU is now 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.
- Saturday's game marks the 62nd contest in which the Bulldogs have met a team sharing their name or mascot. There are 14 Bulldogs among NCAA Division I schools (FBS and FCS), and State has played five with a 36-24-1 all-time against fellow Bulldogs.
- 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.
- In 2022, MSU is outscoring opponents 76-14 in the first quarter. The Bulldogs are 13-4 when scoring first under Mike Leach.
- MSU defeated Auburn in overtime on Nov. 5. It was the 11th overtime game in school history (6-5) and the Bulldogs' first overtime win since defeating Ole Miss (17-10; 1OT) on Nov. 28, 2013. MSU has won four of its last five overtime games.
- State's kickoff return unit leads the nation, averaging 29.0 yards per return. WR Lideatrick Griffin leads the nation in yards per kick return (33.2), and his career average (33.8) is tops among active FBS players.
- WR Lideatrick Griffin returned his second career kickoff for a touchdown (92 yards) against Auburn (Nov. 5). That return tied him with Leon Berry (2009-10) and Kevin Prentiss (1997-98) for the MSU career record.
- Griffin finished the game against the Tigers with 144 yards on three kick returns, giving him five career games with 100-plus kick return yards, which is also tied for an MSU career record (since 1979).
- QB Will Rogers broke a pair of Dak Prescott's (2012-15) MSU career records against Auburn (Nov. 5). He threw his 71st touchdown and surpassed Prescott's 9,376 passing yards. Rogers now boasts 73 touchdowns and 9,627 yards passing.
- Rogers has thrown for 300-plus yards and at least three touchdowns in 15 of his 31 career games, which is tied for 14th in the FBS since 2000.
- RB Jo'quavious Marks has caught a pass in 32 consecutive games, which is the second-longest active streak in the SEC and tied for No. 14 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).
- Mike Leach and Mason Miller's offensive lines since 2018 lead the nation in lowest tackles for loss percentage allowed (6.8 percent) and are fifth in sacks percentage allowed (3.7 percent).
- Five State receivers have caught at least 30 balls. Georgia and Texas A&M are the only other SEC schools with more than two.
- WRs Austin Williams (78) and Jaden Walley (76) are the SEC's active career leaders in first-down receptions.
- Of the Bulldogs' 210 first downs this year, 137 have come through the air, which is tied for fourth in the FBS.
- WR Rara Thomas turned in his second career multi-touchdown game against Auburn (Nov. 5). He has matched his total from last season (5) and now has 10 career receiving scores.
- MSU is leading all Power 5 teams in yards after catch (1,704) after leading the nation in 2021.
- WR Caleb Ducking's eight receiving touchdowns are tied for second in the SEC and tied for 10th in the FBS.
- Four current Bulldogs are now among the top 10 in MSU career history for total receptions: RB Jo'quavious Marks (2nd, 179), WR Austin Williams (6th, 140), RB Dillon Johnson (8th, 137) and WR Jaden Walley (10th, 128).
- The Bulldogs have a 90.2 special teams grade from PFF, which ranks third in the FBS.
- The Bulldogs have collected at least one takeaway in 26 of 33 games under defensive coordinator Zach Arnett with 49 total takeaways in that span.
- CB Emmanuel Forbes leads the nation with five interceptions and is second with 11 total passes defended. He boasts the No. 4 coverage grade (84.7) in the conference per PFF, and his 83.3 overall defensive grade ranks eighth.
- LBs Nathaniel Watson and Jett Johnson lead MSU in tackles with 78 stops this season, which is third in the SEC.
- Watson now has seven career double-digit tackle games, which is tied for ninth-most by a Bulldog since 1988. Johnson boasts six career games with 10 or more tackles, which ranks 12th.
- LB Tyrus Wheat is tied for fifth 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.
- Since their freshman year in 2020, RBs Jo'quavious Marks and Dillon Johnson are the only active SEC players with more than 1,000 career yards after catch.
- Under Mike Leach, the Bulldogs are 13-0 when scoring at least 30 points and 13-4 when scoring first.
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