A Great Day To Be A Bulldog

STARKVILLE – Every day is a great day to be a Bulldog and Saturday was no exception.

Mississippi State posted its longest rush, kick return and field goal of the year while the defense held its opponent to season-low 250 yards in a 45-14 rout of Bowling Green.

Oh and quarterback Will Rogers completed 39 of 50 passes for 409 yards and tied his own single-game school record with six touchdown passes too.

"It was a good game for everybody," Rogers said. "I think we bounced back well obviously from what we did last week. I think it was key that we came out and started fast."

The Bulldogs certainly started swiftly, racing out to a 17-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. MSU outgained the Falcons 172-19 during the opening frame, maintaining possession for nearly 11 minutes and forced Bowling Green's offense into three consecutive three-and-outs to start the game.

"We hogged the ball a good chunk of that quarter," said head coach Mike Leach. "We wanted to start fast and we did start fast on offense and defense and did some good stuff on special teams. I think when teams are playing good together on all three sides, that's when they're playing their best."

Ben Raybon booted a 53-yard field goal through the uprights during the first quarter. It tied four others for the second-longest field goal in MSU history and was only one yard shy of Artie Cosby's mark that was set in 1985. Raybon's 53-yarder was the Bulldogs' first over 50 yards since Leach's arrival in 2020.

State went into the locker room leading 31-7 at halftime and had only punted once at that point. But even the Bulldogs' lone drive that did not produce points in the opening half resulted in positive field position as George Georgopoulos pinned Bowling Green at the 3-yard line on the first play of the second quarter.

To add to State's solid special teams performance, Lideatrick Griffin returned a kickoff for a season-long 42 yards in addition to gaining a season-most 124 all-purpose yards.

"I thought maybe the brightest part of our play was the special teams because I thought we were pretty solid in all phases," Leach said. "We had some really good punts, made some good tackles and hit a long field goal. I think this was one of the better special teams games that we've had."

The Bulldogs finished with 465 yards on offense, 420 of which came through the air. It was the 10^th time Mississippi State has eclipsed the 400-yard passing plateau under Leach. Dillon Johnson also ripped off the longest run of the Leach era with his 40-yard jaunt during the third quarter.

"I think when we're in attack mode like that, I think that's when we're at our best," Rogers said.

A total of 13 different players caught passes for the Bulldogs led by Caleb Ducking's career-best seven catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns.

"I'm just going to go to practice and work every day to keep adding to my game so that I can put on a show for the team on Saturdays and help this team get wins," Ducking said.

Of Rogers' six touchdown throws, five went to different receivers. Jaden Walley hauled in his second score of the season while Griffin, Jamire Calvin and Simeon Price corralled their firsts.

"Guys were getting open and I think we had a pretty good plan coming in," Rogers said. "Guys did a great job getting open, the coaches did a great job and the offensive line played really well. It's a credit to everybody else. I just got to sit back there and throw it."

The 32-yarder that Price caught out of the backfield was the first career touchdown for the 6-foot, 205-pound redshirt freshman from Pensacola, Florida.

"He hasn't really been a secret within our team because he had a really good camp and has really good practices," Leach said. "I think before it's all over, you'll see quite a lot of him. He's a good player, has really good hands and also runs with power. Even though he's a fast guy, he runs with power."

Not to be outdone, the Mississippi State defense also showed up and showed out. The Bulldogs held Bowling Green's offense to three-and-out on its opening three drives and five of the first seven possessions.

Nathaniel Watson tallied 10 tackles and a sack to lead the way for MSU defensively. Collin Duncan also added a sack, Shawn Preston Jr. provided an interception and the rest of the defense helped stack up five tackles for loss and held the Falcons to just 79 yards on the ground.

"I think we were playing together," Leach said. "The offense, defense and special teams were complimenting each other's performance."

Mississippi State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Jamire Calvin

Caleb Ducking

Collin Duncan

George Georgopoulos

Lideatrick Griffin

Dillon Johnson

Shawn Preston Jr.

Simeon Price

Ben Raybon

Will Rogers

Jaden Walley

Nathaniel Watson

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