Despite all the hype over the quarterback position for both teams, it was a tale of two defenses when Mississippi State played host to South Carolina this weekend. In the end it was the Gamecock defense which came up with the big play it needed to take home the win.
Sophomore Tyler Russell’s standout performance in the second half against UAB earned him his first career start for the Bulldogs. Sophomore Connor Shaw drew the start for USC after the team dismissed senior quarterback Stephen Garcia earlier in the week.
Nearing the end of the first quarter, Russell led the Bulldogs down the field and capped off the drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to junior Chris Smith. However, the Gamecocks countered with a nice drive in the second finished by a four-yard touchdown run by Marcus Lattimore.
Three interceptions were thrown in the last six minutes of the first half, one by Russell and two by Shaw.
Shaw’s first interception was by junior cornerback Johnthan Banks. This was Banks’ fifth pick of the year and twelfth of his career, moving him into a tie for second most in school history. For the season, he is second in interceptions behind N.C. State’s David Amerson, who has one more than Banks.
Sophomore safety Nickoe Whitley picked off his third pass of the season on a ball that was tipped by Banks. The Bulldogs and Gamecocks then headed into the locker room knotted at seven.
Scoring came at a minimum in the second half as MSU senior place kicker Derek DePasquale  missed two field goals before converting on a 22-yard try. DePasquale’s second attempt came from 53 yards out, a call head coach Dan Mullen said he was not hesitant to make or regretful of.
“We had the wind at our back, and Derek came up to me and said ‘Hey coach, I feel great in making that kick,'” Mullen said. “He’s a senior, and we have a lot of faith and trust in him; he just got underneath the ball.”
On the other side of the ball, the MSU defense continued to make big stops on third and fourth down, but USC finally punched in a score late in the fourth on a four-yard pass from Shaw to standout wide receiver Alshon Jeffrey. Jeffrey had been quiet most of the game but made the big play when it was needed.
Down 14-10, MSU was making a game-winning drive and had moved the ball into USC territory when Russell lofted a pass and was picked off by USC safety D.J. Swearinger. Russell said he saw man-to-man coverage but failed to look off the free safety. Senior captain Vick Ballard said Russell was comfortable throughout the game and put the team in a position to win.
“That comes with playing quarterback; a quarterback is going to throw interceptions, and it just happened he threw one at a key moment in the game,” Ballard said. “But I still have faith in Tyler.”
South Carolina ran the ball out of the back of the end zone on the last play giving State a safety and running out the clock. The 14-12 loss moved the Bulldogs to 3-4 overall and 0-4 in SEC play.
Russell finished the game 11-29 for 165 yards while Shaw finished 20-28 with 155 yards. Both quarterbacks threw two interceptions and one touchdown on the day.
The positive note for the Bulldogs was, again, the play of their defense. Lattimore came into the game averaging 129.8 rush yards per game in the SEC and was held to just 39 yards. Jeffrey was averaging 64.4 receiving yards a game but only had 24 on the day.
Junior defensive linemen Fletcher Cox and Josh Boyd turned in very solid performances against the Gamecocks. Cox finished with six tackles, four of which were for a loss and two of which were sacks. Boyd had seven tackles on the day. Cox said the defense is getting better and better each game.
“We are getting after each other and beating the man in front of us,” Cox said. “The main thing we always talk about is stopping the run game; that’s the one thing you don’t want the offense to be is balanced. You don’t want them to be able to throw the ball and run the ball.”
Although progress is important, MSU is still void of an SEC win this year. Players and coaches alike are looking to make the next step to becoming an elite SEC team. Mullen said he does not see his team very far off from that goal.
“We have to finish these games out and find a way to make the big play when the game is on the line in the fourth quarter,” Mullen said. “We needed to make one more today. They made one more play then we did, and if we make that play, we win the game and are in our locker room celebrating.”
Senior linebacker Brandon Wilson echoed Mullen’s thoughts and said if the team plays with the right mindset, it can still turn the season around.
“There are a lot of games left, so we can go out and play to the best of our ability and get the wins,” Wilson said.