Embarrassing losses have been a trend the last three seasons at Mississippi State (1-2), but Saturday night’s 9-7 loss to Division 1-AA Maine (2-1) tops the list.
The loss to Maine was the first loss to a Division 1-AA squad by a Mississippi State football team in 109 years on the gridiron.
Head coach Sylvester Croom had said that in order to win, the Bulldogs could not afford to beat themselves. Well, the Dawgs beat themselves Saturday night in front of a less than pleased 43,000 at Scott Field.
“We moved the ball up and down the field,” Croom said. “We had opportunities to score–plenty opportunities to win the game, and we didn’t take advantage.”
State was inside the Maine 20-yard line five times, and four times the Bulldogs walked away without a point.
The first time the Bulldogs drove into the red zone they scored.
On a third down and 12, MSU quarterback Omarr Conner was flushed from the pocket. He rolled right and found tight end Eric Butler for an 18-yard touchdown strike. Conner finished the night with a career-high 250 passing yards and completed 62 percent of his passes.
Early in the second quarter, Mississippi State put together an eight-play, 76-yard drive that set the Bulldogs up with a first and goal nine yards from pay dirt. But after two rushes by Fred Reid for a loss of one yard and a third down sack of Conner by Maine linebacker Jermaine Walker, the Bulldogs were forced to attempt a 32-yard field goal.
Sophomore kicker Keith Andrews hooked his first career field goal attempt wide left.
MSU defensive back Jeramie Johnson cut Maine’s ensuing drive short with his first of two interceptions. Johnson returned the interception to the Black Bear 11-yard line.
On third and six from the Maine seven, Conner completed a short pass to Butler. As Butler moved toward the end zone he had the ball ripped from his grasps by Maine linebacker Agean Robinson.
“We didn’t take advantage of opportunities,” Croom said. “And I knew that if we did not, that there was a strong possibility coming into the game that this could happen, if we didn’t put this team away early because they are a dangerous football team.”
The saying goes “statistics do not lie,” but Saturday night that proved false. The Bulldogs bettered the Black Bear’s by 148 total yards and picked up twice as many first downs. Without points, statistics mean nothing.
“During the course of the ball game when we really started to move the ball well offensively, and we shut them down defensively, I thought we were in pretty good shape,” Croom said. “But when you don’t put points on the board in the red zone, it’s a dangerous thing.”
After the fumble by Butler Maine took over at their own two-yard line.
The MSU defense, which played well until late in the game, held Maine to three plays and out, forcing a punt. The Dawgs got the ball at midfield.
Mississippi State went to the ground game on the ensuing drive. Conner handed the ball off to running back Jerious Norwood five consecutive times for a total of 36 yards.
After Norwood carried for barely two yards on the last two handoffs the Bulldogs were faced with a third and eight from the Maine 14.
Conner spotted Will Prosser, who led MSU with 117 receiving yards, on a quick slant. He threw the ball a hair ahead of Prosser and Black Bear cornerback John Baumgartner intercepted the ball two yards away from the end zone.
State had yet another red zone opportunity late in the fourth quarter.
Mississippi State put together another massive drive, this time going 70 yards on 12 plays. Reid, who led State with 72 rushing yards, took a handoff on second and goal. He dodged Maine defenders and scampered to the two-yard line.
As he approached the goal line, Reid fumbled the ball out of the side of the end zone. Instead of scoring a touchdown for a 14-3 MSU lead, Maine took over at their own 20.
“That was one of the worst calls I’ve seen in my life,” Conner said about Reid’s fumble with a yard to go.
The Bulldog defense held Maine to under 150 yards for the first 53 minutes of the game. But the Black Bears mounted an eight-play, 80-yard game winning drive.
State’s secondary eerily resembled last year’s, allowing 20, 25 and 17 yard passes on the deciding drive.
The last was the winning touchdown Maine quarterback Ron Whitcomb to Kevin McMahan.
“There was a feeling of disbelief,” Whitcomb said.
“It was the greatest feeling and a lot of fun.
Whitcomb finished 10 of 19 for 124 yards with two interceptions.
Bulldog defensive lineman Michael Heard blocked the extra point attempt by Maine kicker Mike Mellow to keep the score 9-7 with less than three minutes in the game.
The Dawgs began their next drive at their own 22-yard line.
Following two first downs, Conner was sacked and called for intentional grounding placing the Dawgs in a horrible situation: second and 28 from their 29-yard line. After two incomplete passes, Sylvester Croom decided to punt the ball with 1:10 left in the game, drawing a shower of boos from the crowd.
“It was the only logical choice at that point,” Croom said about his choice to punt. “Our odds of making that fourth down were very miniscule.”
Conner was sacked only twice Saturday night, but he was continuously hurried out of the pocket.
The lack of depth on the offensive line continued to be a problem. The Bulldogs have only one legitimate substitute for the entire line. That means one guy for five different positions. This is the cause of the sacks, hurries and poor running game.
The Mississippi State defense held Maine to another three and out, their eighth of the night. The Black Bears had to punt the ball back to MSU with 15 seconds left.
Conner completed a 20-yard pass to Brandon Wright. On the next and final play, with two ticks left, Connor heaved a hail mary pass to the end zone to watch it fall to the turf.
“Sad, disappointed, a lot of heads down,” MSU linebacker Clarence McDougal said about the locker room atmosphere after the game. “It is not a good feeling. We lost to a 1-AA team.”
Rebounding doesn’t look good for State. The Bulldogs will travel to No. 13 LSU next week.