For Mississippi State, Saturday’s game with Abilene Christian was marked as a guaranteed win years ago when the schedule was made. The 45-7 romp for the Bulldogs was nothing more than an opening act for their opponent on Thanksgiving night, the Ole Miss Rebels.

Mississippi State (5-6, 2-5 SEC) wanted to enter the game with the Wildcats and end it as fast as possible. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they could not rest their starters until the 4th quarter because of dropped passes, ineffective quarterback play and head-scratching offensive gameplay.

That was a nice way of saying that MSU didn’t give the ball to their best running back enough and the Bulldogs threw far too much. This team does not have quarterback with enough accuracy nor wide receivers who have proven they can catch the ball efficiently.

Still, MSU is 1 victory away from the postseason, a place it has been yearly since the 2011 season. Only the 4-7 in-state Rebels stand in the way.

Offense: C

To no surprise, Mississippi State head coach Joe Moorhead insisted on throwing the ball when all he needed to do was hand it to Kylin Hill.

On only 16 carries, Hill rushed for 153 yards and made history once again. With 1,215 rushing yards this season, Hill passed Josh Robinson for 4th place all time for rushing yards in a season for the Bulldogs. Hill is 10th in MSU history with 2,342 rushing yards in his career.

Starting quarterback Tommy Stevens finished with pedestrian numbers through the air, going 13-for-27 for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns, but he was more impressive on the ground, rushing for 88 yards and averaging 12.6 yards a carry.

The Bulldogs had rushing yards and it could have been 600 yards if they used the offensive weapons they have instead of trying to explore the passing game over and over.

Hill has 208 rushing attempts this season, far fewer than the 3 rushers before him in the record books.

The Bulldogs have glaring issues at wide receiver, as Stephen Guidry continues to drop passes. Saturday alone, 2 of the top 3 targets for Stevens were a running back and a tight end. Deddrick Thomas (3 catches, 28 yards and a TD) was the only wideout with more than 2 receptions.

Hill had 3 catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.

If you told me the Bulldogs have a special offensive plan for Thanksgiving night, I wouldn’t flinch. It’s a game MSU needs and wants on multiple levels.

Defense: B

While it wasn’t pretty at times, MSU limited the Wildcats to only 7 points and allowed only 27 rushing yards. Sophomore safety Shawn Preston, Jr. was thrust into action after MSU lost C.J. Morgan last week against Alabama. The St. James, Louisiana, native responded by leading the team in tackles with 8 on the night.

Both corners Tim Washington and Brian Cole stepped up for the injured Maurice Smitherman and Cam Dantzler. The duo finished with 7 tackles each. MSU held ACU to 255 passing yards and the Bulldogs had 2 interceptions.

It was a career day for Fred Peters. The Jones County Junior College transfer blitzed from the safety position all night, finishing with 4 tackles, a sack, 2 tackles for loss and an interception. Defensive linemen Nathan Pickering and Chauncey Rivers provided a spark as well, both contributing 4 tackles and a sack each.

With the exception of one scoring drive in the 2nd uarter, the Bob Shoop led unit played well and, most important, played some young guys down the stretch.

Special Teams: B

It was a good night for punter Tucker Day. His average (33.7 on 3 punts) took a hit because his job was to pin the Wildcats inside the 20-yard line twice. He did that and finished with a long of 45 yards.

Jace Christmann connected on his only field goal attempt, from 40 yards.

What’s next: Ole Miss

The Bulldogs will look to become bowl eligible for the 9th season in a row with a win over Ole Miss. The Rebels come in 4-7 (3-4 SEC) and have an outside shot at the postseason with a win, should the numbers work out in its favor with their APR (Academic Progress Rate) score.

Quotable:

“Heading into the game it was going to be a ‘do your job’ type of endeavor, play with great precision and great urgency and for four quarters. I thought we did at times but we must play much cleaner. At the end of the day, we got a win.” — MSU head coach Joe Moorhead