The BG football team nearly did something it hasn’t done since 1985— beat a Southeastern Conference school.
The Falcons fell short to the Mississippi State University Bulldogs 21-20 on Saturday night.
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t win, but that’s the only thing I’m disappointed with,” head coach Dave Clawson said. “Our effort was outstanding, our preparation was great. Our kids played their heart out and we came up one point short.”
The Falcons started the game rough by giving up a touchdown on Mississippi State’s first drive down the field. BG came back and kicker Tyler Tate hit a 35-yard field goal to make the score 7-3. However, the Bulldogs answered again with a 75-yard rushing touchdown by MSU quarterback Dak Prescott.
The Falcons started the second quarter by forcing a punt on the Bulldogs’ drive and then running back Andre Givens ran for a 7-yard touchdown on the following drive.
The next drive became a turning point for BG as it marked the first time a player has been ejected. Defensive back BooBoo Gates was ejected from the game with less than five minutes left in the first half for targeting. Gates hit Prescott in the head during the tackle, which by rule is an automatic ejection.
Prescott would run the ball 10 yards for his second rushing of the game on the following play.
BG got the ball back with 1:04 left on the clock and was able to drive the ball down into field goal territory. Tate made a 45-yard field goal as time expired to end the first half with Mississippi State leading 21-13.
The third quarter began with BG receiving the kickoff but the Falcons were unable to produce a point after Tate missed a 45-yard field goal on their 6:02 long opening drive.
Though that drive might have been disappointing on the offensive side, the Falcon defense forced Mississippi State to throw three-straight incomplete passes and forced the Bulldogs to punt.
On the next drive, the Falcons drove the ball down the field and after a 17-yard pass from quarterback Matt Johnson to wide receiver Ryan Burbrink, the Falcons got a big momentum swing. Burbrink caught another pass, this time for 24 yards, but on the tackle the Mississippi State defender took a hold of Burbrink’s facemask resulting in a personal foul. This resulted in a 39-yard gain on the play and gave the Falcons the ball inside Mississippi State’s red zone. Running back Travis Greene ran the ball in for 11 yards before Johnson ran the ball twice, resulting in a 2-yard rushing touchdown that made the score 21-20.
“I thought at halftime we had a lot of momentum,” Clawson said. “We came out in the second half and we went right down the field, missed the field goal, and then we got the ball right back and we scored a touchdown.”
Though there may be a second loss in the record book, there were upsides to the Falcons performance in Starkville.
BG did not commit any considerable turnovers during the game. Its turnover came on the final play, in which BG players were lateraling the ball to each other like the infamous final play of the 1982 California-Stanford game. Also, Gates recorded the Falcons’ second interception of the year halfway through the first quarter.
BG’s defense was dominant the entire second half by not giving up a single point during the 30 minutes of play.
There are a couple of notable facts following the loss against Mississippi State: BG has not allowed a field goal this season. Two opponents, including Mississippi State, were able to hit the uprights but there has not been a team able to hit a successful field goal this season.
Another impressive stat that the Falcons have to boast is their .500 red zone defense percentage, which is the best in the country after seven games. BG is in front of defensively dominant teams including Louisville, Baylor and Clemson, who are all ranked in the national top 25 polls.
BG hosts the University of Toledo on Oct. 26.
