STARKVILLE — Dan Mullen will be in familiar territory Friday when he steps off the plane in Providence, Rhode Island.
The Mississippi State football coach was raised in Manchester, New Hampshire, and played tight end at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. A huge New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox fan, Mullen will take his team to his old stomping grounds this weekend when MSU (1-2) plays Massachusetts (1-2) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday (WCBI) at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
“It’s a great place to grow up and a lot of great memories of growing up there,” Mullen said Monday at his news conference. “A beautiful time of year to be up there right now in the early fall. Foxborugh’s a little south, so I don’t know how much foliage we’ll get around the stadium. It’s a really neat experience. Fun for me to head back home and play a game.”
Manchester is about two hours from Foxborough, and Mullen, who was in Boston over the summer to compete in the Boston Marathon, said he will have family and friends on hand. Mullen said his wife, Megan, has spoken with some of his friends from the Northeast and they expect about 80 people to be on hand.
With a game to prepare for, Mullen said he hasn’t made any plans to do anything once he gets to New England. The Patriots will play host to the Houston Texans on Thursday and the Boston Red Sox will play at the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend and are off Monday. With MSU off next week, Mullen said he would have stayed in Boston to get a chance to see David Ortiz for the last time if the Red Sox had played at home Monday.
Mullen isn’t the only coach with ties to the Northeast. MSU co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach John Hevesy grew up in Madison, Connecticut, a little more than 100 miles southwest of Foxborough, and received a degree from Maine. Tight ends coach Scott Sallach spent 11 seasons coaching in the Ivy League and attended Ursinus with Mullen.
Senior offensive lineman Justin Senior is from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
“For most of the guys on our team if they do their state count, they’ll be able to check two states off because I guarantee you there’s very few people on our team that have been to Rhode Island or Massachusetts,” Mullen said. “I think some of our coaches will be able to check those two off, too, that haven’t spent a whole lot of time in the Northeast.”
MSU has played five games in the Northeast. This will be first time since the 1986 opener. MSU, led by first-year coach Rockey Felker, beat Syracuse 24-17 in the Carrier Dome. MSU beat North Carolina State in the 1963 Liberty Bowl in Philadelphia, Duquesne in Pittsburgh in 1938, and Army in West Point, New York, in 1935. MSU’s only loss in the Northeast came against Duquesne in 1938 in Pittsburgh.
The projected high for Saturday in Foxborough is 67 degrees with a low of 45. MSU will practice in 90-degree temperature to get ready for UMass.
“We’re going to have to get the heaters out even with how hot it’s been here,” Mullen said. “Even though it’s not that cool up there, we’ve got to be ready for (the temperature change).”
Fitzgerald the starter
Although Damian Williams took over for Nick Fitzgerald on Saturday and led two scoring drives against LSU, Mullen said Fitzgerald will remain the team’s starting quarterback.
Fitzgerald has started all three of the Bulldogs’ games, but Williams has spelled him twice and led the offense to points.
Against LSU, Fitzgerald was 12 of 24 for 120 yards.
“I didn’t think Nick struggled. I thought Nick played pretty well,” Mullen said. “He missed a throw a two here or there, but so did Damian. We’ve got to find a way to win and be better leaders. That’s the most important thing for the quarterback position, be a great leader.”
Williams was 5 of 8 for 94 yards and a touchdown. He scored a 2-yard rushing touchdown to begin a comeback that fell short.
Fitzgerald is 31 of 56 for 298 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He has 32 carries for 219 yards. Williams is 25 of 36 for 237 yards and two touchdowns. He has 15 carries for 88 yards.
Mullen didn’t have to worry about a quarterback battle the last two seasons with Dak Prescott, who is now the starter for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. Prescott matured into a playmaker and a leader who finished his MSU career as the school’s most decorated player. He shattered 38 school records and led the Bulldogs to their first No. 1 national ranking.
Prescott was the first Bulldog drafted to play quarterback in the NFL since Dave Marler went in the 10th round to the Buffalo Bills in 1979. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected former MSU quarterback Don Smith to play running back in 1987.
“Hopefully they learn that from him. Hey, ‘You’re as good as your last play. You’re as good as your last game,’ ” Mullen said. “If you don’t like how things are or you don’t like what’s being said about you, then get to work and go change it. If you like how things are being said about you, then get to work so they keep saying even better things about you. Either way, you better strap it up, get back to work and improve if you want to have a chance to succeed.”
Mental focus
Clemson wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud strode into the end zone in week two thinking he had a touchdown.
But he didn’t have the ball. Returning a punt, McCloud broke several tackles and weaved his way through the Troy coverage team. Before he crossed the goal line, McCloud tossed the ball behind him and Troy recovered in the end zone for a touchback.
Releasing the ball before crossing the goal line has become a trend in college football. Mullen tells his players not to do it, but words don’t mean much when the whistle blows.
“It’s a mental focus and discipline type deal of just finishing a play and finishing everything we do,” Mullen said. “On the defensive side of the ball, it’s the same thing, pick up every ball. If there’s a ball on the ground, pick it up no matter what the situation is. I’ve seen a bunch of that. Those are just mental errors you just can’t make. You have to be focused.”
This past week, players from California and Oklahoma did the same thing. California running back Vic Enwere broke loose on what seemed like a 55-yard touchdown, but he dropped the ball before he crossed the goal line. Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon scored a 97-yard kickoff return touchdown, but he dropped the ball before he crossed the goal line. However, the officials and replay officials didn’t catch Mixon’s mistake and it was ruled a touchdown.
“Hopefully it helps when they see others make mistakes they can learn from that mistake and not make it themselves,” Mullen said.
New uniform
MSU will wear a new alternative uniform against UMass, as adidas unveiled a new uniform.
The uniform is white with maroon numerals outlined in silver, while the pants will be maroon. MSU will wear a silver helmet, similar to what the Patriots wear.
The uniform is similar to that of the Patriots, which are designed by Nike.
Injury report
Mullen said senior defensive lineman Will Coleman (back) is questionable for the game against UMass.
Coleman was expected to be out two weeks, but he didn’t make the trip to LSU last week. Mullen said they will have to see how the week goes.
“It would be nice to get him back, but we’ve got to see where he’s at with whether he’ll be back,” Mullen said. “We feel pretty confident he’ll definitely be back for the Auburn game.”
Mullen said the Bulldogs hoped to get cornerback Cedric Jiles (broken right arm) back this week, but he expects him to be ready to play against Auburn on Saturday, Oct. 8. Mullen said in August Jiles was expected to be out until the middle of the season.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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