9 Sep 2023

Mississippi State survives in overtime against Arizona 31-24

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They say football is a game of inches. It was for Mississippi State on Saturday night at Davis Wade Stadium, as Arizona quarterback Jayden De Laura’s last ditch effort was ruled short of a first down after review, allowing the Bulldogs to escape with a 31-24 overtime win over the Wildcats.

It was a game that saw five Arizona turnovers that Mississippi State couldn’t take full advantage of, an offensive gameplan that limited Will Rogers to 17 pass attempts, and saw Woody Marks go over the 100 yard mark for the second consecutive week. In all that, Arizona game back from a 14 point deficit twice to tie the game on a 36 yard field goal with five seconds remaining.

In the extra time, Mississippi State overcame a holding penalty to put the ball in the end zone on a 29 yard touchdown catch by Jeff Pittman. Rogers finished the night 13-17 for 162 yards and three scores. On the ensuing possession, State forced the Wildcats into a fourth and 10, when De Laura took off trying to keep the play alive, at one point finding himself 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage. He broke free from there, diving to the marker, and originally being called first down. A long review followed, and it was ruled his elbow had come down short of the line to gain, handing the victory to the home team.

Mississippi State picked off De Laura four times in the game, with two coming from linebacker Jett Johnson. His fellow linebacker Bookie Watson added one, and safety Shawn Preston grabbed one as well on top of forcing a fumble that was recovered by Hunter Washington.

Mississippi State improves to 2-0 on the year, they’ll be back in action next Saturday, starting SEC play against LSU. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 AM.

Photo courtesy of Mississippi State athletics

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