GWU Comeback Bid Falls Short, 31-15, At Mississippi State
September 22, 2007 | Football
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Gardner-Webb outscored Mississippi
State 15-3 in the second half, but left too many points on the
field in a 31-15 loss to the Southeastern Conference Bulldogs.
Gardner-Webb (1-2), playing its first ever SEC opponent in
football, had its chances in the final two quarters - but could not
find the end zone often enough against one of the Southeastern
Conference's most stubborn defenses in the early stages of the 2007
season.
"I am proud of them for not quitting after we got ourselves into
an early hole," said GWU head coach Steve Patton. "We've got to do
a better job in the green zone. You get it to their one after a
turnover and come away with nothing, and finish three more drives
inside their 20 with field goals. We fought hard, but you can't
leave points on the field against SEC teams."
GWU fell behind early after a 68-yard touchdown drive by MSU (3-1)
in the opening five minutes – and the hosts scored with its
defense on Gardner-Webb's first offensive drive, as De'Mon Glanton
picked off a Devin Campbell pass and raced untouched 60 yards for a
14-0 Mississippi State lead with 7:15 left in the first
quarter.
GWU settled down and began to catch some breaks, but could not get
on the board. Another turnover gave Mississippi State the football
deep in Gardner-Webb territory, but the hosts botched a field goal
attempt to leave the game at 14-0 midway through the second
quarter.
Gardner-Webb bogged down on its next drive, and Mississippi State
converted a key fourth down play on offense – allowing Anthony
Dixon to bull over the goal line for his second score of the game
and a 21-0 lead.
The hosts effectively put the game away after stuffing Gardner-Webb
again, as backup quarterback Scott Riddle hit Tony Burks on a
30-yard touchdown pass on first down with 1:18 to play before the
half – capping a seven-second drive that would wind up the
hosts' final touchdown of the game.
Gardner-Webb came out of the locker room in the third quarter with
much more poise, marching 64 yards in nine plays inside the MSU
15-yard line – before a penalty negated a gain inside the
five, and forced a 33-yard field goal by freshman Evan Kay.
Adam Carlson converted a field goal to put the MSU up 31-3, and
State would not score again in the game.
Gardner-Webb's tough effort in the final half forced Mississippi
State to leave its starters in until the game's final moments on
defense.
GWU got a 36-yard pitch-and-catch from Stan Doolittle to Duvaughn
Flagler on its next drive, and 13-yard completion from Doolittle to
rookie tight end Josh Miller to get the Bulldogs' a first-and-goal
at the Mississippi State five – but stalled and got another
short field goal by Kay to make the score 31-6 with 4:30 left in
the third quarter.
Gardner-Webb got some hard-charging runs from Philip Peoples on a
drive early in the fourth quarter, and Peoples bulled over for his
first touchdown of the season with 12:21 left. GWU's two-point
conversion failed, leaving the ‘Dogs down by 19.
Doolitte made another play later in the quarter, hitting Dobson
Collins on a 47-yard gain down the visitors sideline – and
getting the Bulldogs into first-down position inside the
Mississippi State 15-yard line with 7:00 left to play, and the
score still 31-12.
After two pass plays went just out of reach, Kay capped the 75-yard
drive with his third field goal of the game (29 yards) to trim the
State lead to 31-15 with 6:10 left.
The Gardner-Webb defense locked down again near midfield on
Mississippi State's next drive, and got the football back with 2:40
left inside its own 10-yard line. GWU was hemmed in, and a sack by
All-America end Titus brown with 1:40 forced a Gardner-Webb
punt.
Mississippi State regained possession near midfield with 1:06 left,
and ran out the clock to win for the third time in four games in
2007 – the team's first 3-1 start since 2000.
Gardner-Webb gained more yards against MSU than either Tulane or
Auburn Saturday night, grinding out 334 total yards –
including 203 passing yards against the Southeastern Conference
third-best pass defense. GWU wound up with more first downs (20)
than their BCS counterparts and controlled the clock well in the
second half.
Doolittle came off the bench to complete 19-of-33 passes for 191
yards, hitting Dobson Collins six times for 94 yards. Flagler added
six catches for 57 yards. Collins added a 27-yard run, and finished
with 131 all-purpose yards in the game (10 punt return yards).
David Montgomery paced the ground attack with 42 yards on 10
carries. Peoples had seven carries for 33 yards and a score for
GWU.
True freshman linebacker Jeffrey Williams finished with a
career-high 11 hits to pace Gardner-Webb's defense, and Mario Brown
posted eight tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a quarterback
pressure.
The Bulldogs limited Mississippi State to just 118 yards in the
second half (56 rushing) and just six first downs. MSU finished
with 379 total yards, with bruiser Anthony Dixon pacing the rushing
attack with 86 yards on 16 carries (two TD). Gabe O'Neal had 10
hits to lead MSU's defense.
Gardner-Webb will face another red-hot team next week in Boiling
Springs, as Austin Peay (3-1, 1-1 OVC) rolls into town for a 6 pm
ET kickoff. The Governors knocked off
UT-Martin Saturday night, 17-14, and have only an overtime loss to
Tennessee State as a blemish on their record to date.
