Mississippi
Texas Defense Credited for ‘Putting Out Fires’ vs. Mississippi State
Throughout its first four games of the season, Texas football has been nothing short of productive on both sides of the ball. The defense had allowed just two touchdowns from its opponents, while the offense was averaging over 500 total yards per game.
But that same team was unable to bring its usual efficiency and dominance against Mississippi State on Saturday. A messy first half left fans and spectators to do a double take as the Longhorns nearly rolled into halftime with a mere one-point lead, extended with less than a minute left in the second quarter due to a 49-yard touchdown pass caught by sophomore wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr.
A fumble in the first and third quarters highlighted an offense plagued by self-inflicted wounds, including eight offensive penalties for a loss of 65 yards. The Longhorns were only able to convert on 41.7 percent of third downs, and a failed 4th-and-3 attempt after taking a successful field goal off the board in the third quarter left Texas stuck with an eight-point lead.
Texas was still able to pull off a 35-13 win over the Bulldogs, finding offensive rhythm in the second half of the game as quarterback Arch Manning completed all but one of 12 pass attempts.
Although the Longhorns gave up two field goals in the first half and a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, head coach Steve Sarkisian praised one of the crucial elements that went into their first SEC victory during his post game press conference.
“[I give] a lot of credit to our defense to put out those fires when some of those miscues occurred on the offensive side of the ball,” Sarkisian said. “They were on the field a ton in the first half of this game. They had 21 minutes that they were on the field, and then we were able to kind of even it out a little in the second half. But a credit to those guys to keep us kind of just hanging in there like a total team at halftime.”
The Texas secondary recorded six sacks, the most in a game this season, and 72 total tackles. Despite giving up a total of 150 rushing yards and 144 passing yards, Mississippi State was unable to turn those into scoring opportunities until its first touchdown came in the fourth quarter due to a communication error.
The Bulldogs were held to just 28 offensive yards in the third quarter and 95 in the fourth, and Texas was able to even out the time of possession to be in its favor.
“I think right now we’re playing a really good team defense, and I think the run defense is complimenting the pass defense, and vice versa,” Sarkisian said. “This is a challenging offense that we played today because of the big splits that they put you in. And we kind of went in saying, we’re going to make these people earn it.”
Senior defensive back Jahdae Barron said the team understands that when the scale of production is uneven, the other side of the ball knows to pick up the work load.
“Sometimes the defense may slack, the offense may slack. That’s what the team’s for, you’re there to pick up your brothers when things are not going their way, so they can get on board,” Barron said. “So at the end of the day, I think it was a good win for us. We finished out the right way.”
Texas will enter a bye week before traveling to Dallas for the program’s annual Red River Rivalry game against Oklahoma on Oct. 12, giving it ample time to clean up mistakes and come back ready for another SEC win.
Mississippi College baseball has won the series against West Florida for the first time ever
The Choctaws have been playing UWF since 2015
MC won the first two games and put on a bit of a comeback in game 3
Next: GSC at Delta St., then Conference Tournament
GEORGE COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) — A George County High School senior is dead after an SUV hit him while bicycling on Highway 26 Friday night.
Mississippi Highway Patrol (MHP) officials said at 8:15 p.m. the MHP responded to a fatal crash on Highway 26 in George County.
Those officials said a Ford SUV traveling west on Highway 26 collided with 18-year-old Tyree Bradley of McLain, Mississippi, who was bicycling.
Bradley was fatally injured and died at the scene, MHP officials said.
The crash remains under investigation by the MHP.
See a spelling or grammar error in this story? Report it to our team HERE.
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Some losses feel like they drag on longer than the box score suggests, and Mississippi State’s 3-1 opener at Texas A&M fits that category.
It wasn’t a blowout. It wasn’t a game where the Bulldogs looked outmatched.
It was just one of those nights where the early mistakes stuck around and the offense never quite found the swing that could shake them loose.
The frustrating part is how quickly the hole formed. Two solo homers and a wild pitch in the first two innings put Mississippi State behind 3-0, and that was basically the ballgame.
Against a top tier SEC team on the road, spotting three runs that early is a tough ask. The Bulldogs didn’t fold, but they also didn’t cash in when the door cracked open.
“I liked our fight. I think we’re really just working through some things offensively, and trying to stay together,” Mississippi State coach Samantha Ricketts said. “This team still believes, and we’re going to battle and fight every chance we get, and I think I saw a lot of that. I’m encouraged for what that means for us moving forward, but, you know, they’re a good hitting team, and we’ve got to be able to shut them down early. I don’t think Peja [Goold] had her best stuff, but she continued to battle out there and find ways to get outs.”
They had chances. Two runners stranded in the fifth. Two more in the sixth. Another in the seventh. Des Rivera finally got the Bulldogs on the board with an RBI single, but the big hit that usually shows up for this lineup never arrived.
It wasn’t a lack of traffic. It was a lack of finish.
If there was a bright spot, it came from the bullpen. Delainey Everett gave Mississippi State exactly what it needed after the rocky start.
“That was just a huge relief appearance by Delaney to keep us in it,” Ricketts said. “It’s really good to have her back and healthy these last few weeks because these are the moments where we really need her and rely on her. We know that she’s going to be a big part of the remainder of the season going forward as well.”
Three hitless innings, one baserunner, and a reminder that she’s quietly putting together a strong stretch.
There were individual positives too. Nadia Barbary keeps climbing the doubles list. Kiarra Sells keeps finding ways on base.
But the bigger picture is simple. Mississippi State is now 6-10 in the SEC, and the margin for error is shrinking. Nights like this one are the difference between climbing back into the race and staying stuck in the middle.
They get another shot this morning with the schedule bumped up for weather. The formula isn’t complicated.
Clean up the early innings, keep getting quality relief, and find one or two timely swings. The Bulldogs didn’t get them Friday. They’ll need them today.
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