Josh Reed caught 10 passes for 146 yards as the Louisiana State University Tigers rolled over the Mississippi State University Bulldogs 42-0 Saturday night. “The first half compared to the second half were two completely different ballgames,” MSU head coach Jackie Sherrill said.
At halftime, MSU trailed the Tigers 14-0 but had outgained them 217 yards to their 170 yards.
Though senior quarterback Wayne Madkin earned the start Saturday, backup quarterback Kevin Fant received much of the playing time in the first half.
Both quarterbacks put up decent numbers in the first half. Madkin completed three passes in six attempts and had three rushes for 12 yards. Fant completed eight passes in 15 attempts, threw one interception and ran for 12 yards on one carry.
Fant was pleased to have the chance to play more against LSU, saying that “driving down the field’s fun.”
He said he told the other offensive players in the huddle that “all this fun don’t mean nothing if you can’t put it in the end zone.”
The increased playing time did not wear on Fant physically.
“I’m not exhausted physically, that’s for sure,” he said after the game.
He also said that he would support the coaches’ decision, no matter who the quarterback is.
“I’m going to go with the coaches whether it’s Wayne (Madkin) in there or me,” Fant said.
Despite MSU’s numbers in the first half and the fact that the Bulldogs had nearly twice as much time of possession in the first half, LSU led the Bulldogs 14-0 at the intermission.
The second half was not nearly as balanced, and the score reflected that.
The Bulldogs only managed to gain 105 yards in the last 30 minutes of play, while allowing the Tigers to put up 28 points.
“The bottom line is you’ve got to score points,” Sherrill said. “That’s something we’re not doing.”
“I think we played hard,” Fant said. “It’s just the little things didn’t go right for us.”
Tailback Dicenzo Miller returned to action for MSU. He missed the game against Troy State with an ankle injury that he has been nursing since the South Carolina game.
Miller was a major factor in what offense the Bulldogs did manage. He rushed 15 times for 50 yards and caught 3 passes for 72 yards.
MSU fullback Justin Griffith is out for the season, and Miller wore No. 31 instead of his normal No. 12 to honor Griffith.
“I played my heart out; the whole team played their heart out for him (Griffith),” Miller said. “We just came up short.”
Though he was pleased with the effort in the first half, Sherrill said he was dissapointed with the effort in the second half. He also said he that for the fourth game in a row the receivers did not catch the ball well enough.
“You’ve got to throw and catch,” Sherrill said. “You’ve also got to cover.”
Despite the five-game skid, Fant has not given up hope.
“I just hope this team keeps its spirit up,” he said.