Saturday night’s 29-24 homecoming win over UAB may have been a little too close for comfort for some Bulldog fans, but at the end of the night, head coach Dan Mullen’s squad had secured bowl eligibility for the first time since 2007. Along with reaching the six-win plateau, the win also moved the Bulldogs up to number 21 in the BCS standings and 23 in the Coaches’ and Associated Press polls.
Led by place kicker Derek DePasquale’s five field goals, special teams played a key role in the victory. True freshman Michael Carr clinched the game in the fourth quarter by forcing a fumble on the kickoff following DePasquale’s final field goal. Nickoe Whitley recovered the fumble, and the offense ran out the clock to preserve the win.
After playing one of the best games of the season last weekend against Florida, the Bulldogs (6-2, 2-2 SEC) had an uncharacteristic sloppy game, giving up 78 yards on 11 penalties, some of which extended Blazer drives. For defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, the fact that the Bulldogs won despite not playing their best is a good sign for this team.
“Good teams find a way to win when they don’t play their best, and that’s probably the take-away from tonight,” Diaz said.
Offensively, redshirt freshman LaDarius Perkins lead the Bulldogs with a career-high 168 total yards and two touchdowns while filling in for injured running back Vick Ballard. Defensively, middle linebacker Chris White once again led the charge with 14 tackles, a career high for the senior.
The win gives MSU a perfect 4-0 slate in conference play for the first time since 2000, with three of those victories coming against Conference USA opponents. The Bulldogs will face Kentucky next week before a much-needed bye-week going into the final stretch of the season.
“Coming out of this game will allow us to refocus as a team and take care of business,” Mullen said. “It’s great that we can go and clean up after a win and not have to address it after a loss.”
The Bulldogs and Blazers were stuck in a 10-10 tie going into halftime, but for the fifth time in eight games, MSU scored on its first possession of the second half. Perkins capped the 60-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run to give the Bulldogs a 17-10 lead early in the third quarter, though it did not last.
UAB responded with a touchdown of its own to tie the game at 17-all, but two DePesquale field goals had the Bulldogs up by six early in the fourth quarter. A one-yard touchdown run by the Blazers’ Ellis Bryan put UAB up 24-23 and in position to pull off the upset with 10:16 left in the game.
Two more DePesquale field goals put MSU ahead by five with less than two minutes left in the game. UAB lost its chance for a game-winning drive when Starkville native Pat Shed fumbled the ball on the kickoff return and the Bulldogs recovered and ran out the clock.
After missing his only field goal attempt of the season against Alcorn State, DePasquale found a rhythm early in his career night. His five field goals tie the MSU record for field goals in a game. Brian Hazelwood accomplished the feat against Arkansas in 1998.
“My first extra point was perfect, right down the middle,” DePasquale said. “That first field goal, I squeaked it on the left post, and after that I was really confident.”
Adding to the normal postgame excitement, snapper Aaron Feld got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend, Blakely Bailey, after the game. Feld recovered a fumble during the game, and Bailey accepted his offer on the video board and in front of thousands of fans — not a bad night for the long-snapper.
The win marks another check-point reached in Mullen’s goal of rebuilding the MSU program. The Bulldogs have now surpassed last season’s win total and will be playing in the post-season for the first time since 2007.
“I think it’s a great feeling for our kids, a great feeling for me and a huge boost for our program,” Mullen said.
However, with four games left in the season, Mullen and the rest of the Bulldogs are looking for much more than bowl eligibility. Sophomore defensive back Corey Broomfield said the good feeling of being bowl eligible will only last one night before the Bulldogs focus on next week’s matchup with Kentucky.
“If we’re set on being bowl eligible, we’re gonna end up 6-6, and nobody wants that,” Broomfield said.