Bulldogs Cruise Past BYU, 35-10

Saturday, October 14

Starkville

11:00 AM

Mississippi State

4-2

BYU

1-6

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

BYU

Mississippi State

Bulldogs Cruise Past BYU, 35-10

October 14, 2017 | Football

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes & Quotes Photo Gallery VIDEO: Game Highlights VIDEO: Postgame Press Conference Replay

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Back in action after an off week and at home for the first time in a month, Mississippi State (4-2) defeated BYU (1-6) by a final score of 35-10 in Davis Wade Stadium Saturday.

The Bulldogs scored the first points of the game on a 15-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Nick Fitzgerald on their first possession, securing a lead MSU held throughout the game. In fact, MSU scored the first four touchdowns of the game, each of them secured by Fitzgerald via either air or ground as the Bulldogs raced out to a 28-3 lead on the Cougars.

Fitzgerald finished his day 19-of-30 passing for 241 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 103 yards on 15 carries, scoring two touchdowns. Sophomore Keith Mixon was the quarterback's leading receiver on Saturday afternoon, catching 5 passes for 69 yards, while Donald Gray added four receptions for 41 yards and a score. Junior running back Aeris Williams was the team's leading rusher with 23 carries for 114 yards and one touchdown as the Bulldogs racked up 306 yards on the ground, 546 overall.

The State defense had one of its best days of the year, holding the BYU offense to 176 total yards, including only 29 rushing yards and only eight first downs. The Bulldogs were paced defensively by linebacker J.T. Gray who had eight tackles, though it was a pair of forced turnovers that helped drive home the win. A first-half forced fumble by sophomore defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons was recovered by sophomore linebacker Marquiss Spencer, and a fourth-quarter interception by junior safety Brandon Bryant in the end zone squashed a late BYU comeback threat.

The Bulldogs stay at home next Saturday, Oct. 21, hosting SEC foe Kentucky for Homecoming. The game will kickoff at 3 p.m. CT and be televised by the SEC Network.

MSU HEAD COACH DAN MULLEN QUOTES

Opening statement...
"I like the approach our guys had today. They came out with a real workman like attitude. We did some silly things and made some mistakes that didn't make me happy, obviously turning the ball over in the red zone. We had a couple of silly penalties. We missed a couple tackles on defense. Those are things we have to get corrected. Overall, I like the performance our guys came out with despite coming off a bye week and the early kickoff. BYU is team we talked about being very physical on both lines of scrimmage. I thought we came out and played hard on defense. We made plays; holding them to 10 points. We were able to control the line of scrimmage on offense and wear them down. I don't think it was this warm in Provo, and it was a hot week of practice. We were able to get the tempo going offensively and run the ball. We stayed pretty well balanced. Now we have to get ready; we have a lot of things we have to improve on. I want to thank all the fans for coming out today. We need a wilder environment next week as we enter back into SEC play. We need to make sure we have that home field advantage that we need to make it really hard on opposing teams."

On Aeris Williams...
"Aeris is a guy who we knew was going to be a good player for us. You can see it. It is just him growing into the position, growing into the reads, patience in his runs, understanding how plays are going to hit, understanding pass protection and understanding the routes. People get lost on that sometimes. It is not about just handing him the ball and him running. You can see how he has matured. His big plays today were picking up pass protections and coming out of the backfield to catch passes and keep the drive alive. You look at the 23-114. Grinding out between the tackles. Some of the other plays you don't really see a lot, that's what he has really grown into."

On BYU's screen game...
"We adjusted to it. They hadn't shown that a lot coming into the game. Their quarterback is a little bit banged up. They wanted to help him out early in the game by getting the ball out of his hands and get us mixed up. I thought Todd (Grantham) and the staff, in addition to the players, did a really nice job adjusting to that defensively."

On the wide receivers...
"They did well. We are trying to get that depth where we can roll those guys through. I think each guy did a little something different to make plays down the field. I thought we did a decent job blocking on the perimeter. Donald (Gray) made some nice contested catches with guys draped over him."

On the offensive line play...
"Obviously, I'm pleased with those guys. Especially having to play the two freshmen tackles, with Martinas (Rankin) and Michael Story being out again this week. The first guy in the game is out, and one of your starters is out. You are pretty thin but they stepped up. BYU is a tough, physical group. You are always going to get tough, physical guys inside. We were able to block them. I was pretty pleased with that. BYU gave us some different looks they hadn't shown a lot, but our guys handled it well."