August just isn’t the time to go duck hunting in Mississippi.
The Oregon Ducks exploded in the first quarter with 257 total yards and four unanswered touchdowns due to poor defensive coverage by the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State answered with three touchdowns to set the game score at 28-21 with 9:09 left in the third quarter. On their next two possessions Oregon scored two touchdowns.
The MSU offense never went away, marching down the field two consecutive times. Senior quarterback Kevin Fant delivered two touchdown passes to make it 42-34 with 3:04 remaining. The Ducks recovered Brent Smith’s onside kick and the Bulldogs grabbed their first loss of the season at Scott Field in front of a diminished home crowd.
In the first quarter sophomore quarterback Kellen Clemens and his receivers played pitch and catch. All night the Bulldogs gave Samie Parker, Oregon’s top returning wideout, a five-yard head start. The first pass from scrimmage went to Parker for six yards. The second pass from scrimmage went to Parker for 55 yards and a touchdown.
“The first touchdown we were still in Cover 3 and that shouldn’t have happened,” head coach Jackie Sherrill said. “We should have had a safety-we should have had a corner.”
Oregon’s third touchdown of the first quarter was on a third-and-23. Clemens scrambled out of the pocket and found Demetrius Williams wide open behind the entire Bulldog secondary for an 86 yard score.
Sherrill also commented on this secondary mistake: “We turned a receiver loose to come up when the quarterback scrambled. You don’t turn a receiver loose-that was a big mistake.”
Between Clemens and Jason Fife the Ducks posted 358 passing yards and both quarterbacks combined for an incredible 75.8% completion percentage, helped along by Fife’s perfect eight out of eight passing. Neither quarterback threw an interception.
“Our QB’s played well,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. “We weren’t sure when we were going to take Kellen out. We weren’t sure when we were going to take Jason out. I don’t know if the snaps were equal-that’s not what we’re concerned with.”
Oregon ran the ball by committee with three backs rushing for more than 45 yards. The Ducks netted 198 rushing yards. Junior RB Ryan Shaw led the charge with 84 yards including a 42-yard scamper late in the third quarter that set up the Ducks’ fifth touchdown.
Trying to match Oregon’s offensive potency, senior QB Kevin Fant completed 23 of 40 attempts for 285 yards and threw three touchdowns. Sherrill praised Fant’s heart and desire.
“Kevin is a good player,” Sherrill said. “This game meant a lot to him. Kevin is going to help us win games and help pull everyone else together.”
Nick Turner led the Dawgs’ running attack with 77 yards on only seven carries, including a 44-yard touchdown run on an option pitch from Fant. With a big deficit, the Bulldogs could not run the ball as frequently as they had planned.
On the other end of Fant’s completions were Ray Ray Bivines and Justin Jenkins. Bivines racked up 98 yards, including a 43-yard reception deep in the second quarter that set up the Bulldogs for the late first half score. Jenkins totaled 61 yards and one touchdown.
McKinley Scott added a miraculous reception in the back of the end zone for the Bulldogs’ final touchdown. Scott totaled 27 yards on three receptions.
“We got off to a slow start,”Jenkins said. “A 28-point deficit is hard to overcome. This time last year we probably would have given up, but we didn’t. I think we gave people something to watch out for because we do have the offensive power to put up points.”
The Bulldog comeback effort earned respect from the other sideline.
“I give credit to Mississippi State. They battled back. That’s a better team than last year,” Bellotti said.