It was nowhere near pretty, but Mississippi State ended a three-game losing streak with Saturday’s 56-41 win against Samford.

The good news was the win. The bad news was the Bulldogs (3-5, 2-2) had to score 56 points to beat a team from the Southern Conference.

5 TAKEAWAYS

Ross’ record: Fred Ross had 107 receiving yards to mark his ninth career triple-digit game. That makes him the all-time leader in Mississippi State history.

Speaking of records: Mississippi State QB Nick Fitzgerald was responsible for seven touchdowns, tying Dak Prescott’s school record.

Fourth down: Mississippi State was 1-for-3 on fourth down, the one pretty big when Fitzgerald picked up five yards on 4th-and-5 at the Samford 25 on a scoring drive that made it 56-41 with 5:14 to play.

The Donald: Donald Gray set a couple of personal bests in yards and touchdowns. He had three scores on only four catches for a whopping 207 yards. Do the math, and that’s 51.8 yards per catch.

Needed that one: The defense barely handled Samford. Coming up is Texas A&M, Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss, four offenses that watch with saliva dripping.

REPORT CARD

Offense: A – How could it be anything else – 669 total yards with 417 through the air. The Bulldogs had five scoring drives of at least 70 yards, including a 99-yarder.

Defense: D – Samford QB Devlin Hodges threw for 468 yards on 42-of-69 yards, and the visiting Bulldogs totaled 627 yards. After taking a 49-26 lead late in the third quarter, the Bulldogs allowed Samford to stay in the game with a 75-yard drive in two plays and 26 seconds. The overall performance made the three interceptions look minute.

Special teams: D – Throw everything else out and focus on a missed 24-yard field goal that would have put it pretty much away with 8:56 to go.

Coaching: C – The fumblerooski at that point? The Bulldogs ran the classic inside six minutes to play. Against Samford.

Overall: C – A win is a win, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good win. MSU coach Dan Mullen said after the game (paraphrase) that all wins should be enjoyed. There will be very few things to enjoy watching tape of the defense.

GAME PLAN

Establish your SEC self. That’s what Mississippi State was unable to do against South Alabama, UMass and BYU. The Bulldogs sort of did that when they took a 21-7 lead on Fitzgerald’s short run in the first quarter. But Samford scored 13 straight to pull within a point. MSU up 49-26, Samford again responded with 15 straight to scare the Davis Wade faithful.

GAME BALLS

QB Nick Fitzgerald: Not only did he tie a Dak record, he again led the Bulldogs in rushing with 119 yards on 19 carries with 2 touchdowns. He totaled 536 yards and 7 touchdowns.

WR Donald Gray: Gray ran more than half a football field per catch. He caught 4 passes for 207 yards with 3 touchdowns. He hadn’t had a 100-yard game all season, much less a 200-yard outing.

WR Fred Ross: 9 catches for 107 yards and a touchdown.