By Elijah Klepczyk
Emmerich Newspapers
STARKVILLE — Vanderbilt’s Brock Taylor single-footedly gave Mississippi State’s bowl hopes a brutal kick in the teeth Saturday afternoon, hitting all six of his field goal attempts as the visiting Commodores claimed a crucial 25-23 SEC road win.
The Bulldogs’ attempt at last-minute heroics fell short when A.J. Swann’s pass on a potential game-tying two-point conversion sailed well over Marquis Johnson’s head in the back of the end zone.
The loss was Mississippi State’s fifth straight and may have been the most painful of the bunch, as it was the Bulldogs’ first loss as the favorite this season.
The absence of Kamario Taylor has seemingly sunk State’s offense, which had seven three-and-outs against a Commodores defense that came into the matchup ranked last in the SEC in total defense.
“Everything for us is incredibly hard,” head coach Jeff Lebby said of the Bulldogs’ offense. “We can’t sustain right now.”
Swann got the start at quarterback after leaving last week’s Texas game midway through. A former Commodore, he threw for 254 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Lebby said Swann is struggling to “stay on the same page” with his receivers and other offensive personnel, and that it will take a group effort to get the offense back on track.
The Bulldogs will have their work cut out for them once again this week, as they host the 5-4 Auburn Tigers on Saturday morning.
The Tigers have struggled at times this season but have also looked incredible, most notably in their massive upset win over Georgia. Auburn enters the matchup with a new look under first-year head coach Alex Golesh. Quarterback Byrum Brown followed Golesh from South Florida and has become the centerpiece of the Tigers’ offense.
“Their entire offense runs through him,” Lebby said of Brown, noting that he will pose a difficult challenge for State’s defense.
The struggling Bulldogs offense faces another tough test against an Auburn defense led by the highly respected D.J. Durkin. Lebby said the Tigers’ defense, although seemingly struggling this year, has been able to create turnovers and negative plays at a high clip.
“Clean football” is what State’s offense will have to produce this weekend, according to Lebby. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. at Davis Wade Stadium, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2. Mississippi State trailed wire-to-wire against Vanderbilt, extending a brutal streak of five consecutive games without holding a lead.
The Bulldogs did not cross midfield in the first half, and their only promising drive ended in a turnover on downs at their own 49-yard line. The Commodores took what the defense gave them, hitting three field goals and one touchdown en route to a 16-0 halftime lead.
State seemed to have some life after halftime, putting together a nice drive capped by a 65-yard touchdown reception by Sanfrisco Magee.
The momentum only grew when Tyshun Willis dropped Jared Curtis for a sack on third-and-long, jarring the ball loose. Will Whitson scooped it up and carried it 12 yards to the end zone, breathing new life into Davis Wade Stadium on homecoming.
The Commodores kept chugging away, though, as Taylor remained steady and hit two more field goals to build a 22-14 lead in the fourth quarter.
Mississippi State kicker Kyle Ferrie helped cut into the lead with a field goal of his own, but Vanderbilt marched down the field and answered with its sixth field goal of the game to retake an eight-point lead.
With two timeouts and 1:46 left, Swann put together his best drive of the game, going 5-for-6 passing and finding Magee again on a 30-yard touchdown with 32 seconds left to give State a chance to tie it.
On the two-point try, Lebby elected not to take a timeout, saying he “loved the picture” the defense was giving him and wanted to let it roll. Swann missed his intended target, Johnson, who was well covered, effectively ending the game.
It was State’s first home loss to Vanderbilt since 1971 and the second time in three years the Bulldogs have lost five or more games in a row under Lebby.
