The Mississippi State Bulldogs struggled defensively in a 47-34 victory over the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers, while the rest of the SEC looked impressive in the second week of the 2014 season.
The Bulldogs scored a touchdown within the first minute of the game. Junior quarterback Dak Prescott completed a 68-yard pass to senior wide receiver Robert Johnson. Prescott completed three more touchdown passes in the game, and finished the game with a total of 211 passing yards. Prescott also had 111 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. MSU junior running back Josh Robinson had a big game with 130 rushing yards and a 17-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter. With a 49-0 win over the University of Southern Mississippi last weekend, Saturday’s win over UAB marked the first time a Bulldog offense has scored 45 points or more in the first two games of a season since 1914.
The Bulldog defense did not repeat the dominating performance they had in their home opener against Southern Miss. Bulldog senior defensive end Preston Smith returned his second interception of the year for a touchdown in the first quarter. However, the UAB offense scored 34 points on the Bulldog defense and finished the game with 548 total yards. The Blazers scored three touchdowns on passes of 75 yards or longer. Head Coach Dan Mullen expressed his disapproval of the defensive performance in his post- game press conference.
“To give up over 400 yards passing is embarrassing,” Mullen said. “That is not what our team built on.”
The Bulldogs also struggled in the kicking game. Punter Devon Bell looked tremendous as he punted eight times for an average of 45.5 yards per punt, and he landed 3 punts inside the 20-yard line. However, MSU kickers Westin Graves and Evan Sobiesk missed back-to-back extra points in the first half that cost the bulldogs two points. MSU has failed to make a field goal so far in the 2014 season. Mullen said the inconsistency of his kickers can be corrected with practice and confidence.
“We just have to get them playing with confidence and kicking with confidence,” Mullen said. “Overall, I just want to see them take what their performance level is in practice and continually transfer it to be better in games.”
MSU improved to 5-1 all-time against UAB, and has won its last five games dating back to the 2013 season. The Bulldogs will prepare for their first away game of 2014 Saturday against the South Alabama Jaguars of the Sun Belt Conference.
The only in-conference SEC game this week was a dominant 41-3 Ole Miss Rebel victory over the struggling Vanderbilt Commodores at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee. Ole Miss senior quarterback Bo Wallace passed for 320 yards and a touchdown, as the Rebel offense scored on seven of their first eight possessions. Ole Miss punter Will Gleeson did not step on the field. This was Ole Miss’s first game without a punt since 2002. The Ole Miss defense held Vanderbilt to just 167 total yards and one fourth-quarter field goal. 
Alabama and Auburn bounced back from lackluster victories in their opening games. The Crimson Tide defeated Florida Atlantic by a score of 41-0. Junior wide receiver stand out Amari Cooper caught 13 passes for a total of 189 yards and a touchdown in the Alabama home opener. Led by senior running back Cameron Artis-Payne, Auburn defeated San Jose State 59-13. Artis-Payne finished the game with 112 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
Texas A&M quarterback Kenny Hill continued to impress fans in the Aggies home opener against the Lamar Cardinals. Hill threw for 283 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 73-3 Aggie victory. The Gamecocks of South Carolina earned their first win of the year 33-23 against the East Carolina Pirates. South Carolina now prepares for a showdown against No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs who are coming off of an open date.
LSU, Florida and Arkansas all defeated their non-conference opponents by over 50 points. No. 24 Missouri defeated the Toledo Rockets 49-24, Tennessee defeated Arkansas State 34-19 and Kentucky earned its second win of the season over Ohio 20-3.