STARKVILLE — “Embarrassing”
That was the word Mississippi State University football coach Dan Mullen used during his halftime interview session.
Through the first quarter, No. 23 MSU (4-0) had just one first down and four punts. Through the first 30 minutes of MSU’s 30-10 victory against the University of South Alabama, Mullen didn’t have the look of a content fourth-year coach.
“It was just sloppy,” Mullen said. “When you get these games, you want to come out and play sharp and play crisp, and we didn’t do that in the first half at all. We went backwards a lot.”
Quarterback Tyler Russell looked confused and frustrated as passes continued to fall incomplete.
For the second straight week, Russell was not made available following a victory. The fourth-year junior took to his Twitter account late Saturday night in an attempt to calm a restless fan base after his 13-for-27 performance that included no touchdowns and just 171 yards.
“A win is a win, 4-0,” Russell tweeted. “We have to get better, and we will. This team is to special not to.”
The only touchdowns from the quarterback position came from the ground Saturday night, as Russell and backup Dak Prescott scored on goal-line carries.
“Tyler was just off a little bit tonight,” Mullen said. “We put a lot on him. When we’re not throwing the ball well, to come up with a win is still big.”
The running game, which bailed out MSU last week after a slew of dropped passes at Troy University, wasn’t close to mid-season and had only one player with double-digit carries (LaDarius Perkins with 11).
Before getting intercepted in the second quarter, Russell tied Wesley Carroll’s school record of 137 straight attempts without an interception set in 2007. Chris Smith, Russell’s former Meridian High School teammate, said it was a matter of the receivers not making Russell feel comfortable with their separation from the defensive backs.
MSU has scored 144 points this season, its highest point total through the first four games of the season since the 1944 squad had 159.
However, MSU hasn’t played the Southeastern Conference’s top teams.
“Not everything going to be perfect for him all the time,” Smith said. “Nobody is asking for Tyler to have a perfect game every time.”
Prescott, who had hoped to get more playing time, completed one pass for 29 yards in the fourth quarter. He is 1 of 6 this season and hasn’t had a lot of time behind center.
“I didn’t feel like I was very good throwing the ball against Jackson State in the opener, so when I was given a passing play I wanted to make the most of it,” Prescott said.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.