Familiarity helped Mississippi State pick-up its second win of 2003 Saturday when Memphis defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn’s made his first visit to State since being fired.
The MSU offensive coaches took a look back at Dunn’s schemes at MSU and found two key weaknesses.
Dunn’s defenses:
1. Rarely pick up the fullback coming out of the backfield.
2. Leave the tight end open. The Bulldogs (2-4, 1-1) exposed both of these weak spots in the Memphis defense on their way to a 35-27 victory over the Tigers in front of 45,329 at Scott Field.
“We knew we could get them with some misdirection plays,” tight end Aaron Lumpkin said. “Passes to the tight end and fullbacks had been wide open in years past against us (when Dunn was here).”
Quarterback Kevin Fant only went to Lumpkin twice, but both were touchdown receptions. On a third and goal from the one-yard line Fant rolled left and found Lumpkin in the back of the end zone for the tight end’s first career touchdown and the first score of the game.
“That’s a play-action that we work on all the time. Kevin found me. I caught it with one arm,” Lumpkin said. “The right call came at the right time.”
Memphis countered when wide receiver Darron White lined up in the backfield and took a hand-off 40 yards for the score.
The Bulldog offense capped a seven-play, 80-yard drive with Lumpkin’s second and final reception. Fant rolled right and threw back across the field to a wide-open Lumpkin who coasted into the end zone. Fant completed 16 passes out of 34 attempts for 245 yards and two touchdowns.
“Our receivers have helped us a lot and they have helped Kevin,” MSU head coach Jackie Sherrill said. “Aaron Lumpkin played very hard. He hurt his arm at the beginning of the game but was able to play the whole game.”
Fullback Darnell Jones is known as a bruising lead blocker, but in Saturday’s game State used him as a receiver. Jones pulled in three catches for 55 yards, including a 33-yard reception that set up Nick Turner’s 19-yard touchdown run that put MSU up 28-17 at halftime.
“We knew that Joe Lee didn’t cover the fullback, so we put some plays in this week,” Jones said. “We did a good job in the first half and we lost a little focus in the second half.”
The Mississippi State offense lacked production in the final two quarters of the game. The Dawgs gained only 31 yards passing and a disturbing 10 yards rushing in the second half. Their only score came off of a botched punt by Memphis, which gave State ball possession at the Memphis four-yard line.
Despite the low numbers in the second half, the Bulldogs put up 381 total yards (136 rushing).
The MSU defense continued its struggles. They allowed 568 total yards including 170 on the ground and 398 through the air.
On the stat sheet Memphis (3-3, 0-2) blew State out, but the Tigers had too many mistakes including a missed field goal, a botched snap on a punt, and an incomplete pass on a fake punt.
Mississippi State had only one 100 hundred yard kick-off return for a touchdown in its history, until Fred Reid took Memphis’s second kick-off the length of the field to pay dirt. The touchdown swung the game’s momentum, one play after the Tigers tied the game at 14.
“I thought we played really hard, but made critical errors: the kick-off return in the first half and the points right before the half,” Memphis head coach Tommy West said. “We came out to start the second half and moved the ball well, but missed the field goal. Then we had an interception and fumbled the punt snap.”
The Bulldogs hurt themselves by racking up 13 penalties for 132 yards, including two personal foul penalties. In the past two games the Dawgs have had 24 penalties for 244 yards and a total of six personal fouls.
Memphis, led by quarterback Danny Wimprine, had chances late in the game. Trailing 35-27, the Tigers comprised a 12-play, 86-yard drive that ended on an incomplete fourth down pass at the MSU 10.
After the Bulldog offense went three-and-out, Memphis got the ball back with just over a minute to play.
Wimprine found holes in the Dawg secondary on the way to leading his Tigers down to the MSU 29-yard line.
On fourth and 10 with six seconds left in the game Kevin Dockery intercepted Wimprine to close out a three-game home stand in which the Bulldogs finished 2-1.
Dunn did not specifically say how the Tiger defense made its turnaround in the second half.
“We just told them to come out in the second half and play harder,” Dunn said.
The return was not quite what Dunn was looking for, but it did bring back memories.
“Seven years is a long time (talking about his time at State)–probably the longest I’ve ever spent in any place, except when I was growing up,” Dunn said.
With the wins over Vanderbilt and Memphis, Mississippi State has two consecutive wins for the first time since State defeated Troy State and Memphis last year.
The Bulldogs will travel to No. 25 Auburn Saturday.