Sports
Mississippi State’s offense flounders against Oklahoma State
By Michael Bonner
Sept 1, 2013Running back LaDarius Perkins sat outside Mississippi State’s locker room under the concourse of Reliant Stadium. Moments before in that locker room, the Bulldogs spoke with excitement about moving forward after a 21-3 loss to Oklahoma State.
“We just talked,” Perkins said. “Everybody in the locker room is juiced up about practice this week.”
Aside from the opening drive of the season, Mississippi State’s offense proved it has plenty of work to do. The Bulldogs converted the opening kick into three points, and that was the sum of their scoring.
“I should’ve done a better job taking shots down the field to them,” coach Dan Mullen said. “We were trying to protect and slowly breaking in the wide receivers.”
The pregame buzz surrounded the Oklahoma State offense, but the Cowboys’ defense was the story. The Bulldogs’ defense held Oklahoma State to its fewest points since the 2010 Cotton Bowl, when Ole Miss won 21-7. The sub 30-point effort snapped a 30-game streak. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma State defense held Mississippi State to its fewest points since Mullen’s first season. (Alabama beat Mississippi State 31-3 in November of 2009.)
Bulldogs quarterback Tyler Russell left the game in the third quarter with a head injury. Ryan Simmons’s knee hit Russell’s head as the quarterback fled the pocket. The senior was motionless on the ground before rising and returning to the locker room. After the game, Mullen said he would be evaluated further.
“Everybody was down. That’s our starting quarterback. I mean it’s Tyler. He’s a great quarterback,” Perkins said.
Prescott took over for Russell and completed 7 of 17 passes for 89 yards and an interception.
