Mississippi State (4-7, 2-5) lost their chance at bowl eligibility last night in a 58-42 loss to Arkansas (7-4, 3-4).  
It was an emotional night as MSU’s senior class played in Davis-Wade Stadium for the last time.  However, it was not the night they hoped for as MSU’s defense had their worst performance of the season.
Senior Safety Kivon Coman said it hurt to play his last game in Davis-Wade like that.
“I am hurt. I am sad we had to go out like that,” Coman said.  “We gave it all we had and we came out short so it hurts, a lot”
Arkansas’ punter Toby Baker got the night off Saturday night. IT was not because he was injured or Arkansas Head Coach Brett Bielema was resting him, but because MSU’s defense did not force a single punt all night. Arkansas’ offense only failed to score twice, once on a missed field goal early in the game and when they ran the clock out to end the game.
MSU Head Coach Dan Mullen said the defense executed poorly.
“There was a combination of different things there, obviously,” Mullen said. “When you give up that many yards, it isn’t one thing. It’s several different things.”
That was putting it lightly. Arkansas had 661 total yards of offense, 357 of which were rushing yards. They were 7-11 on third down and averaged 9.9 yards per play.
MSU’s offense did not play poorly though. The Bulldogs filled up the stat sheet like a team that would normally win the game. Sadly, that was not the case. MSU totaled 533 yards of offense. They were led by quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, who dominated throughout the game.
Fitzgerald went 23-33 passing for 328 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 17 times for 131 yards and four touchdowns. During the game, he became the second player in MSU history to surpass 3,000 yards of offense in a season. The other was former MSU QB Dak Prescott, who did it twice.
After the game, Fitzgerald was more worried about what he didn’t do to try and win instead of what he did do.
“Missed opportunities, missed plays, missed reads, missed throws, missed blocks,” Fitzgerald said. “We have a lot to work on, still.”
With bowl eligibility out of the picture, MSU has little to play for next Saturday. The Bulldogs will take on arch-rival Ole Miss in “The Battle for the Golden Egg”. Ole Miss will be playing for their season as they lost to Vanderbilt last night. That put them at a 5-6 record on the year, meaning they will need to win against MSU to make a bowl.