Big Plays Abound In Bulldogs' Opener
August 31, 2024 | Football
STARKVILLE – Jeff Lebby spent over two decades coaching on the offensive side of the football before earning his first head coaching opportunity at Mississippi State this year.
So it was no surprise on Saturday when the Bulldogs won the coin toss in their season opener against Eastern Kentucky that Lebby elected to receive the ball first in order to get his offense on the field immediately.
And fans didn't have to wait long to find out what the "Showtime" Lebby had promised since Day 1 was all about. On only the third play from scrimmage, quarterback Blake Shapen launched a pass down the left sideline to a streaking Jordan Mosley for a 65-yard touchdown that marked the first points of Lebby's tenure at MSU.
"The cornerback was flat-footed and I just ran by him and threw my hand up," Mosley said. "Blake threw a beautiful ball down the sideline. It was just pitch-and-catch really for us. I was just happy that we connected and brought some excitement on the first drive and our first big play. It was wonderful."
It was far from the only explosive play the Bulldogs enjoyed with Lebby calling the shots on offense. Shapen completed six passes that went for 15-plus yards and State had eight runs that were sprung gains of 10 or more yards. Those chunk plays accounted for 337 of the team's 450 yards on the rain-soaked evening.
Early in the second quarter, a jet sweep reverse with receiver Creed Whittemore popped for a 41-yard scoring scamper. After adding a rushing TD of his own, Shapen connected with Kevin Coleman on a 23-yard scoring strike and later Mario Craver on a 54-yard TD before the first half horn had even sounded.
"It's special watching those guys get the ball in their hands," Shapen said. "You look at guys like Kevin Coleman, Mario Craver, Jordan Mosley, Creed Whittemore and guys like that, you see what they can do with the ball in their hands and it's pretty special. It's my job to find the best way to get it to them. Tonight, we were able to do that."
Mississippi State averaged 7.9 yards per play offensively and were also able to maintain balance in doing do. The Bulldogs threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns while also chewing up 203 yards on the ground and three more scores.
"We can be as explosive as we want to be if we just execute and do the things that we need to do," Shapen said. "There's so many fun things that you can do in this offense. But it really boils down to the little things and we need to do those right. We have a lot of talent and if we execute and do the things that we're told to do, it'll be fun to watch."
But big plays weren't only limited to the offense. All three phases produced touchdowns in the opener.
Midway through the fourth quarter following another three-and-out, the Colonels were punting from their goal line. Veteran linebacker JP Purvis came charging off the left edge untouched and blocked a ball off Jacob Baker's foot that bounced into Craver's awaiting arms in the end zone for the freshman's second score.
The final quarter provided more unconventional fireworks as true freshman cornerback Elijah Cannon picked off Matt Morrisey at midfield and took the turnover back 51-yards for the game's final TD.
The defense also made three stops on fourth down and only allowed EKU into the red zone once the entire game.
"I saw guys playing the game the way we want them to play; flying around, hats to the ball and trying to get contact on the ball non-stop," Lebby said. "I'm proud of the way our defense finished. They were able to get off the field in the second half, had a pick-6 and had them punting the football out of their own end zone. Us being able to block it and then scoop and score, that was a credit to our defense finishing the way we needed to finish. That was really good to see."
Lebby promised and delivered "Showtime" to the Maroon and White faithful in Game 1. And although things went well in his first career victory as a head coach, there's still plenty of groundwork left ahead for the foundation Lebby is establishing his program upon as he builds towards the future.
"It's the first of many and I could not be more excited about where we are today," Lebby said. "But I'm a heck of a lot more excited about where we're going."
