COLUMBIA, Mo. — Kivon Coman understands what’s expected of him and his teammates in the fourth quarter.
The Mississippi State safety has been a part of a defense that has gotten better as a game goes on. The final quarter has been the Bulldogs’ best.
That trend continued Thursday, as No. 24 MSU didn’t allow a point in the second half in a 31-13 victory against Missouri at Memorial Stadium.
“We don’t like getting scored on anytime, but the fourth quarter, we know that’s crunch time, and we’ve got to play our game, and it’s been very successful all year,” Coman said.
MSU (7-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) hasn’t allowed a touchdown in the fourth quarter, and has surrendered only 12 points in the final quarter.
The Tigers (4-5, 1-5) came close to scoring a touchdown in the final minutes, but Coman broke up a pass from quarterback Drew Lock to J’Mon Moore in the back of the end zone on fourth-and-goal.
“I got the pass interference, so I had to make it up,” said Coman, who pointed to the cluster of Bulldog fans in the back of the end zone after the play. “As long as they didn’t get in the end zone, we were fine with that.”
Coman had seven tackles (one for loss) and the first interception of his career.
Missouri has 322 yards (215 rushing and 107 passing). It scored its first touchdown since Oct. 3 against South Carolina in the second quarter on Russell Hansbrough’s 14-yard touchdown with 1 minute, 50 seconds left in the first half. Andrew Baggett added field goals of 31 and 35 yards.
Mullen’s dominance
MSU coach Dan Mullen has had a lot of success against the SEC Eastern Division.
With the win, the seventh-year coach won his fourth-straight game against the teams from that division and improved to 13-4.
He also improved to 25-1 when the Bulldogs hold opponents to 14 points or less.
The Bulldogs won their 14th-straight game when scoring first (4-0 in 2015) and their 18th-straight against an unranked team.
No shows
Redshirt freshman running back Dontavian Lee and freshman wide receiver Malik Dear didn’t travel with the team. A team spokesperson said both players are injured, but their injuries aren’t severe. Mullen said they happened in the short week. … Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins made the trip, but he didn’t dress because of an undisclosed injury. … Senior left tackle Rufus Warren left in the second half and had a brace on his left leg after the game. … Mullen doesn’t expect Lee to play next week against Alabama, but he said Dear should be able to go. There was no word on Jenkins or Warren.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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