STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen preaches to his team every day to fight for that inch.
MSU’s 14-12 loss to the No. 15 University of South Carolina on Saturday was a matter of six inches — the height difference between wide receiver Alshon Jeffrey and MSU defensive back Corey Broomfield.
Coming out of a timeout with 3 minutes, 50 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and trailing 10-7, quarterback Connor Shaw floated a jump ball to the corner of the end zone that the 6-foot-4, 229-pound All-America wide receiver went up and grabbed for the game-winning touchdown to help the Gamecocks (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) escape Davis Wade Stadium.
Throughout the game, MSU used 6-2 defensive back Johnthan Banks and 6-1 DB Darius Slay to hold Jeffrey in check. However, after having
time to go over the goal-line options, South Carolina isolated arguably the league’s best wideout against Broomfield, MSU’s shortest cornerback (5-10) who was playing with his broken right thumb in a cast.
“They move him around a lot, all over the field to try and create mismatches and they got a good matchup on us,” Mullen said.
The game-winning play was only the fourth catch and 24th receiving yard for Jeffrey, but South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said it was a play the team’s most dynamic offensive player always makes.
“Somehow or another Connor found Alshon (Jeffrey) on the jump ball,” Spurrier said. “We had been trying to get the jump ball thrown all day and he finally threw it perfect instead of out of the ballpark like earlier ones.”
For one of MSU’s leading tacklers on the afternoon, it took only four words to describe what went wrong in those few seconds the ball was in the air.
“He made a play,” MSU junior linebacker Brandon Wilson said. “Give all the credit to him. He went up and got the ball.”
Once the pass was let go all Wilson, who had eight tackles and a half sack, could do was fight a uncontrollable feeling of helplessness.
“He’s what, 6-foot-4 and can jump,” Wilson said. “He just made a great play in front of not just one but two people.”
Of the 289 yards of offense by South Carolina, 159 came on two touchdown drives in either half. Without those possessions, the Gamecocks didn’t manage another single drive of more than 35 yards.
“It wasn’t real pretty game for us, but we managed about two 80-yard drives and our defense was super,” Spurrier said.
The loss marks MSU’s first 0-4 start in the SEC since 2006, and third defeat under Mullen in 17 games when the team has entered the locker room at halftime tied or with the lead. All three losses have been at Davis Wade Stadium (2009 vs. Houston, 2010 vs. Arkansas, 2011).
“I don’t see us very far off as a team,” Mullen said. “We’re not far off from where we want to be. We have to finish these games out and find a way to make the big play to win the game when the game is on the line in the fourth quarter.”
After he rallied MSU (3-4, 0-4) last weekend at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Mullen handed the offense to sophomore quarterback Tyler Russell. The former Parade All-American was 11 of 30 for 165 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. Mullen said he made his first in-season quarterback change and ended senior Chris Relf’s 19-game starting streak under center because Russell was noticeably better this week in practice.
South Carolina, which led the SEC in sacks entering the game, got in Russell’s face on nearly every throw. Senior defensive lineman Devin Taylor had three tackles, a sack, and a tackle for loss from his right end position.
“They’ve got a great defensive line, and I was pretty much getting hit the whole game,” Russell said.
With the score tied at 7 in the second half, MSU had back-to-back drives end on missed field goals by Derek DePasquale. The senior failed to connect on a 53-yard attempt that landed wide right of the target and at least 3 yards short to begin the fourth quarter. DePasquale’s longest successful field goal entering the game was 48 yards, and the tailwind Mullen referenced in his postgame explanation had died by halftime.
“It was probably a little bit out of Derek’s range from where we feel a little bit comfortable with him going, but Derek came up and said, ‘Coach, I feel great,’ ” Mullen said. “He’s a senior we have a lot of faith and trust in. I don’t have any thoughts or regrets making that decision.”
MSU has a bye week before it travels to the University of Kentucky. MSU hasn’t lost in Lexington since 2005.
“We got some time to self-scout ourselves and evaluate where we are and what we need to do to improve,” Mullen said. “It’s my job to make sure we’re in the best position possible to win a football game.”
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