Mississippi State's ground game grinds out 41-20 win over Southern Miss

Mississippi State interim head coach Greg Knox was in familiar territory Saturday and he also experienced a familar result.

Behind a strong ground game and a Jett Johnson-to-Marcus Banks pick six, Knox and the Bulldogs rolled past Southern Miss 41-20 at Davis Wade Stadium. Knox, who also served as State’s interim head coach in the 2017 TaxSlayer Bowl game, moved to 2-0 all-time as the Bulldogs’ interim head coach. Knox took over the program earlier this week when former head coach Zach Arnett was fired.

“When Zach Arnett gave me the opportunity to come back here, it was like coming home,” Knox mentioned. “This place is like family. I got my Mississippi State family and I got my family. This place is family-oriented. Starkville is a place about family and I felt that all week long.”

Southern Miss took an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to a Frank Gore eight-yard touchdown catch. But State closed the first half on a 16-0 run to take a 16-7 halftime advantage.

Will Rogers tossed an eight-yard touchdown pass to Lideatrick Griffin to give State the lead for good at 10-7 with 13:51 left in the half. Kyle Ferrie kicked two more field goals in the second quarter, including a 41-yarder as the halftime buzzer sounded.

In the second half, State’s Woody Marks hauled in a 15-yard scoring catch from Rogers to extend State’s lead to 23-7. For Marks and Rogers, it was their first action since late October and both were productive in their return from injuries.

Rogers finished the day 12 of 27 passing for 144 yards with two touchdown passes and had three rushes for 15 yards. It was his first appearance in four games since being injured in the Western Michigan game last month.

“It was good, not great, but good,” said Knox of Rogers’ performance. “Knowing him, he’s going to come out Monday and he’s going to go to work. He just let the team know that in the locker room.”

Southern Miss did cut the Bulldog lead to 26-20 thanks to a 98-yard kickoff return by Jakarius Caston with 7:52 left in the fourth quarter. But the Bulldogs put the game out of reach with a 59-yard scoring run by Jeffery Pittman followed by a Jett Johnson 69-yard interception return. After Johnson made the pick, he flipped it to safety Marcus Banks who took it the rest of the way for the final points of the day.

Overall, Mississippi State had 382 yards of offense with a season-high 238 yards on the ground. State’s defense limited the Golden Eagles to just 246 yards of offense and just 105 rushing yards.

Pittman paced State’s ground game with 10 carries for 98 yards and one touchdown while freshman Seth Davis had 11 rushes for 49 yards.

“They knew we were going to run that ball,” said Knox said with a smile. “We were going to run the ball and I told them that. Hey, I am the head coach now so I can make sure we run the ball. And they loved that.

“With us running the ball and us stopping the run up front, that is how we were goig to win this game. And our Oline and Dline came to play today. I thought our defense played lights out today.”

Defensively, State senior linebacker Bookie Watson had a career-high 21 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss. Johnson also set a career high with 18 tackles, two tackles for loss and the game-clinching interception.

“It doesn’t surprise me because all week long, those two have been the two up front leading this team,” stated Knox. “They came to work every day this week and they took others with them. So it doesn’t surprise me when they play like that. When you work like that good things happen.”

The Bulldogs now turn their attention to Thursday’s Egg Bowl against rival Ole Miss. Knox expects the players to maintain the same focus they displayed this week, a focus he was proud of following Saturday’s victory.

“I thought the players and the coaches both responded well,” said Knox, who was also 1-1 as the Florida interim head coach in 2021. “They took the things that we went over day with them. As far as the motivational part goes, they bought into it. They had a really productive week of practice. I was very, very pleased with their attitude and effort.

“Coming into this game, they had lost two head coaches within a year. That is difficult when you think of 18, 19, 20-year old kids and the emotional side of that. So that is where I started the approach with the mental mindset. We watched a video this week by Inky Johnson that’s called ‘Go Heavy’. If you get a chance (to watch it), it’s only three minutes, to watch that video and you will understand the approach I had with these guys.”