Bowling Green Falcons vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs Pick & Prediction SEPTEMBER 24th 2022
Diego Garcia
Mississippi State recorded a pair of impressive wins in its first two nonconference games.
The Bulldogs then a 31-16 loss at LSU in their Southeastern Conference opener last week. They will hope to get back on track when they host Bowling Green in a nonconference game on Saturday.
"We've identified plenty to improve on from the last game," Mississippi State coach Mike Leach said. "We need to get a week better this week."
The Bulldogs (2-1), who began the season by defeating Memphis 49-23 and Arizona 39-17, led LSU 13-0 before getting outscored 31-3 in the final 30:46.
They held the ball for an average of 39 minutes in the first two games but for just 27 against LSU. After averaging 30.5 first downs and 487 yards in the first two games, they had just 15 first downs and 289 yards against the Tigers.
"We've got to be consistent," Leach said. "On all three sides of the ball we interrupted ourselves of being inconsistent."
The Falcons (1-2) showed resiliency last week.
Coming off a 59-57 loss in seven overtimes against Eastern Kentucky, Bowling Green had to work overtime again vs. Marshall after overcoming two 14-point deficits. The Falcons needed just one extra period to prevail 34-31 against a Thundering Herd team that had just beaten Notre Dame on the road.
"There's some tenaciousness, no quit in this team," Falcons coach Scot Loeffler said. "It just shows you: Don't listen to the noise, don't worry about what emblem you have on your helmet.
"Anyone in college football can win. Every team that we play, you're going to have the chance to win or lose the game, plain and simple."
Bowling Green, which began the season with a 45-17 loss at UCLA, added five transfers to its roster in June.
"We came out with a lot of new transfers, anybody that knows football, that's hard to do -- get a team together that doesn't have much chemistry in order to win," senior wide receiver Odieu Hiliare said. "You got to build chemistry, valor, resilience, and we've been doing a great job."
--Field Level Media
Bowling Green Falcons vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs Recap SEP 24TH 2022
Will Rogers threw for 406 yards and six touchdowns as host Mississippi State routed Bowling Green, 45-14, in a nonconference game Saturday afternoon.
Rogers, who completed 38 of 49 passes and tied his school record for single-game touchdown throws, connected with five different receivers for scores as the Bulldogs (3-1) bounced back from a 31-16 loss at LSU in their SEC opener.
His most frequent target was Caleb Ducking, who finished with seven catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns. He had one touchdown pass each to Simeon Price, Jamire Calvin, Lideatrick Griffin and Jaden Walley.
Camden Orth, starting in place of Matt McDonald, completed 17 of 28 for 172 yards with two touchdowns and one interception for the Falcons (1-3).
Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler did not make the trip because of a "personal health matter," according to the school. He is expected to return to the sideline for the game at Akron next Saturday.
Rogers threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Griffin on MSU's first possession of the third quarter to increase the lead to 38-7 at the end of the period.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Orth threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Harold Fannin Jr. to trim the lead to 38-14.
Rogers answered on the ensuing possession with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Walley for a 45-14 lead, then was replaced during the next possession by Sawyer Robertson.
Rogers threw touchdown passes on the Bulldogs' first two possessions -- a 22-yarder to Ducking, followed by a 32-yarder to Price, who scored his first career touchdown.
Ben Raybon added a 53-yard field goal, one yard short of the school record, to increase the lead to 17-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Orth threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Tyrone Borden, but Rogers and Ducking answered with a 26-yard score and Rogers connected with Calvin for a 2-yard touchdown to give MSU a 31-7 halftime lead.
--Field Level Media