Tested, But Not Overtaken
September 10, 2023 | Football, Joel Coleman
State’s OT win shows Dawgs have the mettle to weather storms that come their way.
STARKVILLE – You learn a lot about a football team on nights like Mississippi State endured on Saturday.
By now, you of course know the end result.
MSU 31, Arizona 24 in overtime.
The contest was ultimately wrapped in Maroon and White.
But the story goes far beyond that. What no highlight reel or final score will ever show you is what was revealed about the character of this year's State squad under the Davis Wade Stadium lights: the Dawgs refuse to allow trying circumstances to crush them.
It was without question at times a frustrating evening. There were missed chances. There were squandered leads. Headaches and heartburn were likely common ailments for the Bulldogs on the field, as well as the MSU family supporting them off it.
Despite the State defense forcing turnovers on the first four Arizona drives of the game, the Bulldogs found themselves in danger late in the contest. They hadn't pulled away. The night's result hung in the balance.
Yet when all was said and done…the Dawgs won again.
"Winning ain't easy," State head coach Zach Arnett said. "There are plenty of teams out there that would have the kind of success in the first half [like we had], have that kind of turnover margin…then the way the momentum shifted, there are plenty of teams out there that would've found a way to lose that game."
Plenty of teams would've lost it, but not this team. Not this group of Bulldog veterans and special newcomers that seem to have just the right mix of talent and internal drive to keep the foot on the gas, even when the road becomes filled with potholes and speedbumps.
"There was every opportunity to quit or throw in the towel," Arnett said.
But there was also the opportunity to just find a way. That's precisely what MSU did.
Offense. Defense. Special teams. Every phase of State's game got punched hard, but then threw haymakers of their own right back.
Kicker Kyle Ferrie, fresh off a Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week honor after booming two long field goals through the uprights last week, missed for the first time in his career late in the first half. All the youngster did to respond was trot back on the field in the fourth quarter and drill a critical 36-yarder with the pressure on. Talk about mental toughness.
Then, how about the State offense? After gaining only 146 yards in the second half – just 45 in the fourth quarter – the group rallied in overtime. They overcame a holding call on the first play of the extra period to eventually get in the end zone courtesy of a 29-yard reception by Jeffery Pittman on a pass from quarterback Will Rogers, who was determined to carry his team over the finish line in triumphant fashion.
"When things don't go your way, sometimes guys can just sit on the sideline and kind of stare into space," Rogers said. "I took it upon myself [and was thinking], 'We're not going to do that. We're not going to sit down and be looking for somebody else to make a play. We're doing this. We're going to score. We're going down to win the game.'"
State's defense benefitted from the same type of attitude when putting together a bit of a redemption story of its own.
Arizona was able to hit several big plays to get the game to overtime. Plus, all told Saturday night, MSU's defense allowed 431 total yards including four different Wildcat drives of 75 yards or more.
Yet, with the game on the line in overtime, the Dawg D delivered. State quickly got Arizona into a fourth-down situation, then stopped Wildcat quarterback Jayden de Laura only inches shy of the first down marker on a scramble attempt. Ballgame.
Any earlier miscues didn't matter. State's defense did what it had to do to win (likely making a late pirate proud in the process, too).
"You have to forget the last bad play and make a good play; play the next play is what Coach [Mike] Leach always said," shared linebacker Jett Johnson. "Have a short memory. I think we did a good job of that."
Arnett was pleased as well – even as he admitted aggravation with himself.
"I didn't have a good enough game plan as a coach, so that's my fault," Arnett said. "The players overcame my coaching in this game. They earned it…I'm incredibly proud of the resiliency of this football team."
Despite Arnett's personal criticism, Saturday was another shining example of what he mentioned just seven days prior when State won its season opener: winning typically comes down to the players. Players are ultimately the ones who decide games.
Saturday night, Mississippi State's players showed they know how to win, even on the nights the path to a triumph is filled with turbulence. It's a trait that makes the Bulldogs incredibly dangerous in the gauntlet that begins next week as SEC play kicks off.
"We just lean on each other and keep on fighting," running back Jo'Quavious Marks said. "We're not fixing to just sit back and take an L."
