Mississippi State head coach Sylvester Croom is constantly preaching that his young team needs time to grow and become winners.
Saturday a few of his youngsters took the team on their backs and did just that.
The Bulldogs (2-5, 0-3) got big games from sophomores Derek Pegues and Brandon Thornton to secure a 35-3 Homecoming victory over the Division 1-AA Jacksonville State Gamecocks (3-3, 3-1).
The 35-point output is the highest for MSU this season.
“It was good just to get a win,” Croom said. “It was good to get some of these younger guys into the ballgame and to see what they could do. We came out with some energy in the first five minutes of the second half, and that is something we haven’t done.”
Thornton had a huge second half for the Bulldogs, rushing for 88 yards and two touchdowns after getting the ball only once in the opening two quarters.
“Coach Croom has been saying he wanted a playmaker to come into the game and step up,” Thornton said. “So I went to him and told him that I felt like if I got the ball in my hands I can help the team.”
Thornton-who has missed most of the season with an ankle injury, but returned to action last week with a 19-yard effort against West Virginia-averaged 5.5 yards per carry in the contest and looked more like the back Croom expected to see this season.
“He had a lot to do with us winning the ballgame,” Croom said. “He came to me during the week and said he thought he could carry the ball 15 to 20 times, and I told him his chance was going to come. I said be ready. And we put the saddle on and rode him those first couple of drives [of the second half].”
Pegues, a sophomore cornerback from Batesville, intercepted JSU quarterback Matt Hardin’s pass on the first play of the game and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown, the Bulldogs’ first touchdown in the first quarter all season.
“It’s big anytime you can get that,” Croom said. “I’d have liked to have that in the South Carolina game. Hopefully we can use that as a jumpstart for the second half of the season.”
“I got beat on that play in practice,” Pegues said. “Coach told me just to keep my eyes in the right spot, and I did.”
The Gamecocks pulled to within four points of the Bulldogs before the end of the first quarter on a 28-yard Zach Walden kick.
But in the second quarter, Pegues broke an 81-yard punt return to put MSU up 14-3 and in control of the contest.
The return was the longest for any Bulldog since Kevin Prentiss’ 83-yarder in the 1998 Southeastern Conference Championship game against Tennessee.
Coming into the game, Pegues ranked second in the SEC in punt return average, averaging just over 10 yards per return.
Pegues is now tied for the Bulldogs’ lead in touchdowns.
“That’s just a blessing,” Pegues said.
The Bulldog defense dominated the Gamecocks, allowing only 201 yards and 13 first downs. Hardin managed to complete only 12 passes for 149 yards.
Quarterback Mike Henig struggled early in the contest but finished 11-for-25 for 183 yards in his first start since suffering a broken collarbone in the Bulldogs’ season opener against South Carolina.
He completed his first touchdown pass of the year on a 16-yard pattern to tight end Eric Butler in the third quarter.
“I didn’t think he played as well as he practiced,” Croom said. “We had some things open, and we just weren’t clicking well in the passing game in the first half.
“He did come back in the second half and make some plays.”
Sophomore Aubrey Bell played in his first game of the season and had three receptions for the Bulldogs, giving him a game-high 62 yards.
Junior Tony Burks, the team’s leading receiver, had two receptions for 52 yards.
Mississippi State will return to conference play next weekend against the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens.