**This story was updated since its original posting**
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State waited 48 hours to find its next football coach.
The Dispatch has confirmed reports that Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead will be MSU’s next football coach. MSU confirmed the hire at 10:02 a.m Wednesday and set the press conference for 10 a.m. Thursday.
Earlier this season, Penn State head coach James Franklin called Moorhead, “one of the better play callers in college football.”
Moorhead has been at Penn State for two seasons after a four-year run as the coach at Fordham, his alma mater. Moorhead’s offenses at Penn State ranked 21st and 17th, respectively, in yards per play in the last two seasons. Penn State won the Big 10 last year and scored 49 points in a Rose Bowl loss to USC.
The Moorhead offense at the FBS level has meant copious amounts of big plays and points. This year, Penn State has three wide receivers with at least 13 yards per catch over 25 or more catches. Last season, that number was five. In Bill Connelly’s measure for explosiveness — IsoPPP, an adjusted measurement of points per play — Moorhead’s 2016 offense ranked second and this year’s ranked 20th.
Penn State’s offense is currently ranked 7th in the nation with 41.6 points per game.
Moorhead’s offenses have been known for their creativity. For instance, earlier this year against Michigan State, just before the snap Moorhead had running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Trace McSorley slide over just before the snap to invert a read option; instead of McSorley catching the snap and reading the defense, Barkley did it. The play resulted in a touchdown.
Moorhead has never worked in the Southeast. The closest he has come was a three-year stint at Georgetown and a five-year stint at Akron. None of those years were as a head coach.
Under Moorhead, Fordham went 6-5 in his first year before 12-2, 11-3, and 9-3 seasons that all featured appearances in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs. Fordham advanced past the first round in 2013 and 2014.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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