BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen listened to his biggest fan and critic this week about getting senior tailback Vick Ballard the football.
Himself.
“That’s one thing that sticks out to me — boy, we didn’t get the ball to Vick enough,” Mullen said Monday.
MSU’s third-year coach said last week he was determined to make sure the Bulldogs leading rusher last season received enough touches to make a difference. It was obvious that idea was the focus of the play-calling Saturday in a 21-3 victory at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“At the key times in the game, we told him, ‘You’re going to be the key guy in there. You’re going to carry the load,’ ” Mullen said. “He kind of pounded the ball away in that second half a little bit.”
Ballard was effective early, gaining yards on option plays with Chris Relf and Tyler Russell at quarterback.
“It was open and coach (MSU offensive coordinator Les) Koenning called a great game to see that,” Ballard said. “The key with option plays is making the right reads, and Chris and Tyler did that all game.”
Ballard had a game-high 101 yards on 19 carries. He also had two catches for 24 catches.
“Vick’s a power guy and likes to pound it,” Mullen said, “so we did have some balance (with) our tailbacks overall running the ball well.”
Ballard, who owns the school’s single-season touchdown record, has rushed for more than 100 yards three times this season.
Injured Carmon called back to left tackle; Ferguson out with undisclosed injury
Senior offensive lineman James Carmon could barely stand for post-practice interviews Tuesday.
However, with the Bulldogs trailing 3-0 at halftime, the 320-pounder wasn’t satisfied with watching on the sideline.
“I went to (Mullen) and said, ‘Coach I can’t be watching any more. I’m a senior, so I got to go in to play,” Carmon said.
Carmon continues to battle a knee injury that kept him from being active throughout practice, but inserting Carmon for redshirt freshman Blaine Clausell produced instant run lanes in the option game and helped protect Russell’s blind side.
Before Saturday’s game, Carmon was working at right guard, but against UAB he was back at the position he trained for in the spring and fall workouts.
“I think they kind of felt comfortable because they know when I get in there I know what I’m doing,” Carmon said. “I feel like I know the offense like back of my hand. There’s definitely more chemistry.”
Junior defensive end Sean Ferguson wasn’t active Saturday due to an undisclosed injury. Junior Trevor Stigers earned his first career start in his place. The 245-pound rush end had two tackles.
Nick Griffin made it all of the ay back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the spring to make his debut. The redshirt freshman jogged on the field when MSU took its final possession with just a little more than three minutes left in the game. He had 25 yards on four carries.
Starkville’s Shed leads UAB in rushing
In his final attempt to beat his hometown team, UAB senior tailback Pat Shed had 73 yards on 16 carries. The former Starkville High and East Mississippi Community College standout had just 27 yards at halftime, but he led the Blazers in rushing yards for the fourth straight game.
Unfortunately, just like his fatal flaw last year at Davis Wade Stadium, Shed had a fumble turn the momentum toward the Bulldogs. UAB trailed 7-3 and was driving in the third quarter, but Shed had the ball pop loose and recovered by junior linebacker Brandon Wilson.
“It just felt like every time we had something good going, something negative would get in our way,” Shed said. “It’s a hard loss when you know you played your heart out.”
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