By By Austin Bishop / EMG Regional Sports Director
Sept. 15, 2002
STARKVILLE Perhaps the memories of last year's 21-9 loss to Troy State were not erased on the turf of Scott Field Saturday night, but maybe they were at least smudged over a little.
MSU thumped an outmanned Jacksonville State team 51-13, in a game that was a little hairy for the Bulldogs in the early going. But, in the end, State was just too much for the NCAA Division I-AA Gamecocks.
There is no doubt that going into Saturday's home opener that the Bulldogs were reminded over and over by coaches, fans and each other about what happened last year when Troy upset MSU on Homecoming and sent an already troublesome season nose-diving into what became a 3-8 nightmare.
After clinging to a 19-13 lead with five minutes left in the first half against JSU, MSU reeled of 32 unanswered points to take the win.
Was the game always pretty from the MSU vantage point. Well, honestly, no.
There were tons of mistakes early in the game. Junior quarterback Kevin Fant looked like he hadn't played in 100 years. He was slow to pull the trigger on a couple of pass plays and then missed wide-open receivers on a couple of others.
But anybody watching the game knew it was just a matter of time before Fant got it going and the yards started piling up.
Jacksonville State couldn't even begin to cover the speedier MSU wide receivers.
Fant wound up passing for 336 yards and three touchdowns as the Bulldogs scored at will over the last 35 minutes of the game. It was the sixth-most yards ever passed for in a game by an MSU quarterback.
But this game is over and the rest of the season is staring Mississippi State square in the face.
First, let's hand out some applause.
Fant did get himself up off the turf to turn what could be a lousy game into an outstanding one.
The Bulldog defense stepped it up after Jacksonville State's first drive in the third quarter and pretty much snuffed out any hopes of Jacksonville State putting any more points on the board.
The receivers looked solid. When Fant got the ball to them, the receiving corps, most notably Ray Ray Bivens and Terrell Grindle, made the plays. Grindle had three catches for 118 yards, including a 50-yard scoring reception, while Bivens had two catches for 109 yards, including one for an 89-yard score.
Now, let's share some concerns.
Jacksonville State found it way to easy to move the football against MSU over the first two quarters of the game.
Gamecock quarterback Anthony Mayo looked like Florida's Rex Grossman early in the game, picking part the MSU defense when he had time to look over the Bulldog defense.
Mayo tossed two touchdown passes, both of which MSU head coach Jackie Sherrill said should have been picked off.
Jacksonville St. was also able to run the ball against the Bulldogs. Rondy Rogers finished with a game-high 73 yards rushing for the Gamecocks on 14 carries.
In fact, during the first drive of the second half Jacksonville State simply ran the ball down the throat of the MSU defense. The Bulldogs finally stiffened and held JSU on fourth down at the 13.
Another area of concern was the tackling. Past MSU defenses have been known for their outstanding one-on-one tackling. On Saturday night Jacksonville broke several tackles to pick up extra yards.
Sherrill was somber in his postgame press conference.
Yes, he was pleased with the win, but he was far from being jubilant.
The Bulldogs played a lot of players, including several freshman along the offensive line. Nine different Bulldogs carried the football at least once in the game, with Dontae Walker leading the way with 62 yards.
But all of that really doesn't matter.
What does matter is this: MSU beat a team they should have beaten by a score they should have beaten them by.
Now comes the next task: improving enough from week two to week three to beat an SEC West Division foe when Auburn comes calling on Thursday.
At that point, the loss to Oregon to open the season or last night's win over Jacksonville State won't matter.