Final from Starkville: Mississippi State 49 Charleston Southern 0

[jbcarol]

 DJournalnow‏ @DJournalnow 22h22 hours ago

New staff makes Charleston Southern a tough scout for MSU

http://www.djournal.com/sports/new-staff-makes-charleston-southern-a-tough-scout/article_56f16b3f-955f-567e-92cb-2733561de9d4.html ...

State hasn't had much to go on as far as scouting for its season-opening opponent Charleston Southern.

The Buccaneers have won back-to-back Big South championships but are breaking in a new head coach in Mark Tucker this season.

Tucker had served as CSU's quarterbacks coach the previous four years and has eight new assistant coaches on his staff.

"It's a tough challenge with the team we have coming in," said MSU coach Dan Mullen. "They've got a first year head coach and a new staff so there's nothing to watch. You can watch a little bit of it trying to piece together what they might do."

The Buccaneers return two of the top FCS players in the country in sophomore quarterback Shane Bucenell and senior defensive end Anthony Ellis.

Bucenell started eight games as a redshirt freshman last season leading the Big South in passing touchdowns (15) and total offensive yards per play (7.1). He finished the year completing 59.3 percent of his throws for 1,100 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Ellis, a three-time All-American and Preseason Big South Defensive Player of the Year, topped the conference with 16 tackles for loss and seven sacks.

Charleston Southern is currently ranked 14th in the FCS poll and coming off a 7-4 season that ended in the first round of the playoffs. The Buccaneers return 16 starters including four offensive linemen to plow the way in their option offense.

No Vegas odds for this FCS-FBS game

[jbcarol]

ChSo 0  MS 7  4:10 1st

[jbcarol]

State scored on a Fitzgerald TD pass to Gabe Myles.

They recorded a safety on the ensuing kickoff.

They returned the free kick into the red zone and subsequently scored another TD.

ChSo 0  MS 23  1:24  1st

[jbcarol]

Mizzou should have scheduled Charleston Southern.

They have -10 total yards with 11:00 in the 2nd

[jbcarol]

ChSO 0  MS 26  6:00 2nd

[jbcarol]

Halftime in Starkville

Charleston Southern 0  Mississippi State 35

[jbcarol]

 Will Sammon‏Verified account @WillSammon 44m44 minutes ago

Mississippi State beat Charleston Southern 49-0.

I don't think Charleston Southern ever crossed the 50.

Keytaon Thompson not only plays today but throws a TD. has looked good running the ball, too, as Brett Elliott said he would.

[jbcarol]

State's opening drive was everything the Bulldogs hoped it would be. MSU scored a touchdown after running only four plays in 58 seconds. The 75-yard drive featured Nick Fitzgerald finding a wide-open Farrod Green in the middle of the field for a 62-yard completion that put the Bulldogs at the 2.

On the ensuing play, Fitzgerald shed a defender at the line of scrimmage and then rushed into the end zone. Oh, and then Tucker Day made the all-important extra point attempt, allowing MSU fans to take a brief sigh of relief over the kicking game.

The opening drive accomplished three things besides MSU taking the lead. The Bulldogs ran 86 total offensive plays and this drive showed MSU was going to be up-tempo and play fast, as expected. The drive was balanced with two rushing plays, including a 5-yard carry by Aeris Williams. The Bulldogs were balanced throughout despite the score with 36 pass attempts. Most importantly, MSU proved that getting the tight ends involved wasn't all talk during camp as evidenced by Green's grab.

Memorable: freshman Kylin Hill coming out on the field — when we didn't even know until an hour before game time if he would be playing — and getting four straight carries in the first quarter.

He certainly looked good, taking those first three carries for 34 yards, but it was him jogging off that I will remember.

The crowd got as loud cheering for Hill coming off after a nice four plays as it did for just about anything all game. It just stood out, because these fans are eager for Hill to be the next big star.