Inside the numbers: Mississippi State-Eastern Kentucky first-half stats
Mississippi State and Eastern Kentucky have reached halftime at Davis Wade Stadium and the Bulldogs hold a commanding 35-7 lead.
The Bulldogs wasted little time getting ‘Showtime’ underway on their first possession of the game. Quarterback Blake Shapen connected with Jordan Mosley on a 65 yard touchdown strike on the third play of the game, giving State a 7-0 lead just 32 seconds into the game.
After a three-and-out by the Colonels, State used a 32-yard punt return by Kevin Coleman and a personal foul to start its second drive deep in Eastern Kentucky territory. Shapen capped the drive with a five-yard scoring run and State led 14-0 with 11:07 remaining in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs extended the lead to 21-0 in the second quarter after receiver Creed Whittemore took a reverse 41 yards for a touchdown with 11:01 left in the first half. One series later, Shapen connected with Coleman from 23 yards out to increase State’s lead to 28-0 with 7:10 remaining in the half.
Later in the second quarter, Shapen tossed his third touchdown of the half with a 54-yard bomb to freshman receiver Mario Craver with 3:16 remaining in the opening half.
Eastern Kentucky finally got on the board with three seconds left in the half. On third and goal, Matt Morrisey connected with Ron Vann for a nine-yard touchdown pass and the Colonels cut the State lead to 35-7. Eastern Kentucky will receive the opening kickoff in the second half.
In the first half, State had 287 yards of total offense with 180 coming through the air. The Bulldogs were 2 of 5 on third down conversions and held the ball for 11:03 of the first half. State also had three penalties for 10 yards in the first half.
Eastern Kentucky mustered up 165 yards of offense with 104 coming through the air. The Colonels were 5 of 11 on third down and had two penalties for 20 yards in the first half.
Individually, Shapen was 10 of 12 for 180 yards in the first half with three touchdowns passing. Shapen also had five rushes for 26 yards and one touchdown in the half. Mosley led the Bulldogs with three catches for 87 yards and one touchdown.
For Eastern Kentucky, Morrisey was 14 of 23 for 104 yards with one touchdown. Joshua Carter and Brayden Lathan each had 30 yards rushing for the Colonels in the opening half.
Defensively, Isaac Smith led State with 10 tackles while Sam Robertson paced Eastern Kentucky with eight tackles.
