Stephen Guidry lunged forward for the pylon, and the official threw his arms up to signal touchdown as Mississippi State University jumped in front of Louisiana Tech University early on in MSU’s victory.
Moorhead said the offense needed to start the game off quickly and strong in order to follow through with a win. This made Nick FItzgerald’s, a senior quarterback from Richmond Hills, Georgia, pass to Guidry, a junior wide receiver from New Roads, Louisiana, for an 11-yard touchdown pass, beneficial to the team’s initial momentum.
“That was one of the things we talked about last night while preparing before today’s game,” Moorhead said. “We needed to start fast, and knock the belief out of these guys. The longer you let them in the game, the harder it is going to be to win the game.”
Fitzgerald then found Deddrick Thomas, junior wide receiver from Memphis, Tennessee, down the right sideline for a 36-yard touchdown pass. Thomas split two defenders and dove into the end zone, making the game 14-0.
However, Thomas made a bigger impact at the punt returner position, as his 14-yard return helped set up the touchdown drive. Moorhead said it was a point of emphasis for the team to have a good night on special teams, and Thomas followed through with 61 return yards in total to add to his 70-yards receiving.
“That was coach Jones’ number one point of emphasis,” Moorhead said. “He thought with how they punted the ball, with the speed, distance and trajectory, so we could get our returns set up. I think we did a really nice job.”
Special teams were not the only well-executed aspect of MSU, as Fitzgerald also started to click in the game. He continued his phenomenal start with a beautiful throw to Kylin Hill, a sophomore running back from Columbus, who caught a 23-yard pass to get MSU to a 21-3 lead.
“I think he (Fitzgerald) is playing with a lot more confidence,” Moorhead said. “Making sure that he was playing fast and utilizing his skill set to the best of his ability. It was exciting to see him come out and build off of last week’s performance.”
It was a career night for two players, as a 47-yard field goal made by Jace Christmann, a sophomore from Houston, Texas, set his new career long at MSU. Not to mention Jesse Jackson, a senior from Petal, who caught his first career touchdown.
Jackson said he had been waiting about five years to make that catch, and he described how he felt after catching the 10-yard slant route pass from Fitzgerald for his first MSU touchdown.
“First of all, I just want to say I thank God for giving me the opportunity,” Jackson said. “I have been dreaming of that moment for about five years now, and to be able to finally cross that milestone, every little detail counts when it comes to scoring.”
Aeris Williams, a senior running back from West Point, also found the promised land as he raced into the end zone on a 29-yard run up the middle. The score put MSU up 38-3 with four minutes left in the second half. Williams did not play the first half, due to an accountability problem according to Moorhead.
“There was an accountability issue during the week,” Moorhead said. “That is part of developing a championship culture. He understood, he knew the reasons why and he sat out a half, then we got him involved in the third quarter.”
Keytaon Thompson scampered a 19-yard touchdown run to put MSU up 45-3 in the fourth quarter. The defense also came up with a stop at the 7-yard line to deny LA Tech a score, forcing a turnover on downs.
As Jack Cristil’s immortal words, “ Wrap it up in Maroon and White,” rang out over the stadium loudspeakers, the Famous Maroon band played the alma matter as the MSU family celebrated a homecoming victory over LA Tech.
MSU picked up steam to face the No. 1 ranked University of Alabama. Moorhead said it is important the Bulldogs continue to play well going into this next week.
“That is what is ahead of us,” Moorhead said. “We will enjoy this victory tonight and watch the film, make the corrections in practice and then get a jumpstart on Alabama. But certainly, when you are heading on the road to play the No. 1 team in the country, you want all the momentum you can get.”