Skattlebowled Over: Sun Devils run over the Bulldogs
The Mississippi State Bulldogs suffered a demoralizing defeat at the hands or, better yet, the feet of the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Bulldog defense gave up 346 yards to the relentless Arizona State rushing attack. The win was Arizona State’s first against an SEC opponent in six tries. Cam Skattlebo ran for 262 yards, and Sam Leavitt ran for 68 yards and two touchdowns. Skattlebo was also the leading receiver for the Sun Devils, as the only stat he did not have was a touchdown.
Not The Show We Needed to See
Showtime was nowhere to be found as the Bulldog offense had no answer for the Sun Devil Defense in the first half. The Sun Devils held Mississippi State to negative thirteen yards rushing in the first half. One positive note is that Bulldog QB Blake Shapen did have 95 yards passing in the first half. The Sun Devils would go into halftime with a 27-3 lead. It is no secret that the Sun Devils would be a tougher matchup than Eastern Kentucky, but I was surprised to see Mississippi State outmuscled in the trenches.
No Quit in these Bulldogs
As bad as things were for Mississippi State in the first half, it was good to see the Bulldogs fight back. Down 27 -3, Mississippi State won the second half. Arizona State opened the scoring with a field goal. Keyvone Lee scored on a six-yard run on fourth and three. Blake Shapen found Davon Booth for a 15-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Kevin Coleman caught a short pass, made a Sun Devil miss, and scuttled down the sideline for an eighty yard touchdown. Mississippi State had a chance to get the ball back, but the defense was unable to stop Skattlebo on third and short. Skattlebo would end any chance of a Bulldog come back on a thirty-nine yard run and the Sun Devils would run out the clock with kneel downs. Unfortunately, College Football games are four-quarters, and two-quarters of quality football will not cut it.
Next up for Mississippi State
The Bulldogs will host the Toledo Rockets next Saturday. Toledo is 2-0 on the season after defeating Massachusetts 38-23. The Rockets are a team that Mississippi State should be favored to beat. After tonight’s showing, I do expect Mississippi State to get back into the win column.
