Early MSU Offense Produces Before Defense Takes Over
State's first offense moved 56 yards on seven plays on its initial possession and capped the drive against the top defense with a 41-yard Adam Carlson field goal. That surge was spurred by halfback Anthony Dixon, who rushed four times for 56 of the yards, including a 46-yard dash.
But as impressive as the first offense was on its opening drive, the second offense was even more so against its second-team defensive counterparts. The second offensive unit went 80 yards on eight snaps, producing six first downs along the way. Junior college transfer quarterback Josh Riddell completed all three passes on that possession for 48 yards and Christian Ducre carried five times for 32 yards, including the 7-yard touchdown rush.
But from that point until the offense benefited from short-yardage situations late in the scrimmage, the defense took over. A combination of offensive personnel ran 48 plays and gained just 128 yards on its next 11 possessions. Another Adam Carlson field goal and a second Ducre rushing TD were all the offense had to show for their efforts. The defense did score during that stretch, however, when safety Keith Fitzhugh returned a fumble 96 yards for a score. The remaining scores came in goal-line or short-yard situations.
I saw some good things today, MSU head football coach Sylvester Croom said. We were certainly better this week than we were last week. We still have to develop more mental toughness. We kept them out there a lot today just to see where we were.
SCORING
Carlson 41 FG
Ducre 7 rush (Moore kick)
Fitzhugh 96 yard return (no attempt)
Ducre 2 rush (no attempt)
Carlson 18 FG
Stallworth 1 rush (no attempt)
Ducre 11 rush (no attempt)
Ducre 11 rush (no attempt)
Stallworth 1 rush (no attempt)
Smith 11 pass from Riddell (no attempt)
Williams 3 rush (no attempt)
Sherrod 3 pass from Henig (no attempt)
Williams 3 rush (no attempt)
RUSHING ??“ Ducre 19-100 4TD, Dixon 6-51, Williams 13-31 2 TD, Bell 1-14, Stallworth 6-3 2TD, Henig 3-(-27).
PASSING ??“ Riddell 7-10-0 86 TD, Henig 4-25-1 43 TD.
RECEIVING ??“ Smith 3-43 TD, McRae 2-29, Bell 2-23, Burks 1-11, Shelton 1-11, Young 1-9, Sherrod 1-3 TD.
TACKLES ??“ Wesley 5, Pegues 5, Prince 4, Bobo 4, Hughes 4, Douglas 3, Stowe 3, Chaney 3, Glanton 3, T. Brown 3, Hannibal 3, Fitzhugh 2, Bailey 2, Bowman 2, M. Brown 2, O'Neal 2, Humphries 1, Love 1, McCraney 1, Lynn 1, Johnson 1, Odom 1, Jackson 1.
INTERCEPTIONS ??“ Glanton 1-0.
SACKS ??“ Hannibal 1-11, Johnson 1-9, T. Brown 1-7.
TACKLES FOR LOSS ??“ Prince 1.5-2, Hannibal 1-11, Johnson 1-9, T. Brown 1-7, Bailey 1-3, Wesley 1-1, Pegues 0.5-1.