Defensive back Derek Pegues scored the first two touchdowns for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, which led the team to a 35-3 victory.
Pegues opened the game by returning an interception following the game-opening kickoff.
Prior to this touchdown, the Bulldogs had not scored in the first quarter of play this season.
“It was good to come and start the game with a lead,” said Pegues. “We got on board and stayed on top the whole game.”
Pegues sprinted for the end zone in the second quarter for an 81-yard punt return.
This was Pegues’ third touchdown this season and put him in a tie for leading the team in touchdowns with Anthony Dixon.
“I had to make a couple of guys miss,” said Pegues. “I was able to do that, and the punt return team gave me some good blocks.”
Pegues leads the SEC in punt return yards with 228 and 14.2 yards per return.
Pegues is not the only defensive player for the Bulldogs that is listed on some of the SEC leaders’ lists.
Linebacker Quinton Culberson is ranked No. 4 for most tackles with 59.
Culberson was happy to see the defensive line step up and make some tackles before he could reach the ball carrier even though it meant fewer tackles for him.
“Our defensive line shut their running game down,” said Culberson. “They got a lot of tackles today. It kept me from making tackles, which is a good thing, and I hope it continues.”
When Culberson isn’t stopping the run and making tackles, he is breaking up passes.
Culberson is only two pass deflections away from the SEC leader.
Another SEC leader for the Bulldogs is defensive end Titus Brown.
Brown is ranked fourth in the SEC for sacks.
Brown added another sack against Jacksonville State.
His sack put the Gamecocks in a third-and-long position just before the half.
The defensive unit has put up some big numbers in the SEC rankings, but the offense is a different story.
The Bulldog’s offense has only one touchdown in the first quarter of a game all season.
The offense will have to find a way to score early to continue to win games.
“Coach Croom preaches about getting off to a good start,” Pegues said. “We have not been able to do that this year.”
Quarterback Michael Henig admittedly overthrew some balls that should have been completed.
However, Henig led the Bulldogs to three touchdown drives in the second half of play.
“I was terrible [in the first half], and the balls were sailing on me,” said Henig. “In the second half I felt a lot better and thought I improved tremendously.”
State will try to carry over the momentum from last week’s win to the beginning of this week’s game.
Head coach Sylvester Croom emphasized the importance of taking any given opportunities of the opposing defense.
“We cannot allow missed opportunities and expect to win ballgames,” said Croom. “It is still obvious we have a lot more work to do.”