Mississippi State
Arizona
Dawgs Take 39-17 Win Over Arizona
September 11, 2022 | Football
TUCSON, Ariz. – Facing its first road test of the season, Mississippi State emerged from the desert with a 39-17 win over Arizona.
Bulldog quarterback Will Rogers threw for 313 yards and four touchdowns and running backs Dillon Johnson and Jo'quavious Marks combined to rush for 113 yards and a score to power the MSU offensive attack. Defensively, State forced three Arizona turnovers with three different Bulldogs recording interceptions as MSU kept the Wildcats at bay.
Jalen Green, Emmanuel Forbes and Nathaniel Watson all had picks that halted Arizona drives. Two of the three interceptions led to Bulldog touchdowns on the ensuing possessions.
A pair of Mississippi State receivers had a couple of touchdown receptions as Austin Williams and Caleb Ducking had two apiece.
Ducking ended the game with a team-best seven receptions. Rara Thomas led the way in receiving yardage with 63.
In all, 10 different Bulldogs caught passes with half of them racking up more than 30 yards.
State led the way for most of the evening. After Arizona found the end zone on its first possession, MSU responded with 15 unanswered first-quarter points.
Marks put the Bulldogs on the board with a nine-yard rush midway through the first quarter and just over four minutes later – after Green's interception – Rogers delivered a nine-yard scoring toss to Ducking. Though MSU missed both extra point attempts on its first two scores, the Bulldogs were able to add a first-quarter field goal courtesy of Ben Raybon's 39-yarder.
Raybon added a 22-yarder just before halftime. It gave Mississippi State an 18-10 lead at the intermission.
The Bulldogs ultimately pulled away in the second half as they outscored the Wildcats 21-7 over the final two quarters.
Rogers found Williams on touchdown passes in both the third and fourth periods. Williams' first score was a five-yard catch ahead of a four-yarder in the game's final quarter that came on a possession that started via Watson's pick.
Ducking put the exclamation point on the victory with a two-yard touchdown reception with just over three minutes to play.
Next Up for MSU…
Mississippi State opens up Southeastern Conference play. The Bulldogs travel to LSU and will face the Tigers in a 5 p.m. CT game in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Saturday, September 17. The contest is scheduled to be televised by ESPN.
