QUICK RECAP: Mississippi State holds off Western Michigan 41-28

Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers tossed three touchdown passes before leaving the game with an injury as the Bulldogs (3-3) held off Western Michigan, 41-28, on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium.

Western Michigan backup quarterback Hayden Wolff threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns as the Broncos (2-4) had 413 yards of offense on the day.

Seth Davis led State’s ground game with 54 yards rushing and one touchdown.

Leading 17-7 at the half, Mississippi State quickly marched 61 yards on its first drive of the second half. Quarterback Mike Wright finished off the drive with a three-yard touchdown run as State led 24-7 with 12:18 remaining in the third quarter.

The Broncos quickly answered, however, as Hayden Wolff hit a wide-open Blake Bosma for a 23-yard touchdown, cutting the State lead to 24-14 with 8:57 left in the third quarter.

State pushed the lead to 31-14 with Seth Davis scoring from five yards out, his first career touchdown. But Zahir Abdus-Salaam answered that with an 11 yard scoring run as Western Michigan trailed 31-21 with 3:23 remaining in the third quarter.

State and Western Michigan then swapped touchdown passes as Rogers hit Freddie Roberson from 36 yards away and Wolff responded with a 25-yard scoring toss to Leroy Thomas on fourth down. The Bulldogs then closed out the scoring on the day with a 49-yard field goal by Nicholas Barr-Mira as State closed out a 41-28 victory.

In the early going, Mississippi State dented the scoreboard first after the Bulldog defense stopped Western Michigan on fourth and shot in Broncos’ territory. State recorded a couple of first downs on its first drive but had to settle for a Kyle Ferrie 31-yard field goal with 10:09 remaining in the first quarter.

Later in the quarter, State used another short field to its awdvantage and drove 54 yards for the first touchdown of the day. Quarterback Will Rogers hit Jordan Mosley for a 15-yard touchdown pass, Mosley’s first career touchdown, as State extended its lead to 10-0 with 6:04 remaining in the opening period.

After both offenses struggled with consistency on the ensuing drives, Mississippi State found the end zone late in the second quarter. Rogers connected with freshman receiver Creed Whittemore for a 16-yard touchdown to cap off a 53 yard drive, giving State a 17-0 lead with 4:03 left in the half.

The visiting Broncos finally got on the board and produced an impressive 14 play, 75 yard drive. Wolff tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Austin Hence and the Broncos trailed State 17-7 with 52 seconds remaining in the half.

Western Michigan had a chance to draw closer. State fumbled the ensuing kickoff but Palmer Domschke missed a 42-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.

Mississippi State has an open date next weekend before returning to SEC play in two weeks at Arkansas.

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