The Mississippi State Bulldogs absolutely manhandled the Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday, winning 31-10 in Manhattan, Kan. While they were awfully impressive most of the time, they were still far from perfect.

Here are five things I liked about the Bulldogs’ dominating win, and three things I didn’t like.

Things I liked

5. Stifling defense

Coming into the season, we knew Mississippi State had a very talented defense, arguably the best in Starkville since 1999. So far, the ’18 squad is living up to the billing. It completely shut down the Wildcats offense on the road, allowing just 213 total yards of offense – 100 through the air and 113 on the ground. Now, KSU isn’t exactly Oklahoma on offense, but State looked fast and physical, constantly harassing Wildcat QBs and blowing up rushing lanes behind the line of scrimmage. This is a defense that continues to look like a championship-caliber unit.

4. Fitzgerald’s wheels are still there

After the gruesome ankle injury Fitzgerald suffered in the Egg Bowl last year, we didn’t really know how well he’d move once he came back healthy. After all, running the ball is one of Fitzgerald’s greatest strengths and a key to the offense. Well, go ahead and put those worries to bed, because Fitzgerald moved very well with the ball, not showing any loss of speed, power or lateral quickness, and crucially didn’t show any hesitation, either. Against Kansas State, he led the team in carries with 19 and rushed for 159 yards, averaging 8.4 per carry. It’s clear his mobility is going to be a big part of the State offense this year.

3. Winning on third down

A big aspect to winning a game is winning on third down – converting on offense and holding on defense. State was very good in both regards on Saturday as they converted 7 of 12 third downs (58 percent) and held KSU to just 3 of 12 (25 percent). The Mississippi State offense was able to stay on the field for extended drives, which in turn kept the Kansas State defense on the field and wore them down as the game went on. The State defense was able to stay fresh throughout the game as it forced the Wildcats into numerous three and outs and third-and-long situations.

2. Offensive line continues to look strong

The linemen struggled at times picking up the stunts and blitzes up the middle in pass protection, but you can’t argue with their ability to generate a push in the ground game. They simply mauled the Wildcats front seven with overpowering physicality, opening up enormous holes for both Fitzgerald and Kylin Hill. Anytime you can rack up 384 rushing yards on the road against a Bill Snyder-coached defense, you know you’re winning at the line of scrimmage.

1. Kylin Hill is a beast

Holy smokes, Hill is an absolute monster. The 5-11, 215-pound sophomore running back for the Bulldogs gashed the Wildcats defense for 211 yards on just 17 carries (12.4 per carry) and found the end zone twice on the ground and once through the air. He displayed tremendous speed, power and balance, finding the seam and exploding into the second level, where he punished the defensive backs who tried to tackle him. Everyone assumed the Heisman candidate on offense was Fitzgerald, but maybe it’s actually Hill, especially if he continues to play like this.

Things I didn’t like

3. Penalties, penalties, penalties

One of the few negatives in the Bulldogs’ Week 1 thrashing of Stephen F. Austin was the number of penalties, as they accumulated 7 for 80 yards. Well, not only did they not improve in this regard, but they actually regressed. State racked up 11 penalties for 84-yards against Kansas State and really looked undisciplined at times. Kansas State, on the other hand, committed just 2 for 15 yards. The penalties ultimately didn’t hurt the Bulldogs in the long run on Saturday, but they can’t shoot themselves in the foot like that against elite SEC teams and expect to win.

2. Fitzgerald taking shots

Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

I know one of the primary weapons of the Bulldogs offense is Fitzgerald’s ability to run the ball, but he took an awful lot of shots in this game. He’s a big guy at 6-5, 240 pounds, but you really don’t want to see him take so many hits like that over the course of four quarters. Fortunately, nothing bad happened against KSU, but against defenses like Alabama, Auburn and LSU, those hits are eventually going to start adding up. Joe Moorhead is too smart of a coach not to capitalize on an obvious asset like Fitzgerald’s rushing abilities, but ideally, you’d like to see him avoid hits better by sliding more and stepping out of bounds.

1. Downfield passing woes continue

Last year, Fitzgerald really struggled to pass the ball effectively downfield. Part of the blame was an injury-riddled receiving corps that struggled to get separation and catch the ball, but his ball placement was below average. There were very high hopes that with an improved receiving corps and a renowned QB guru like Moorhead at the helm, his mechanics would get cleaned up and his downfield passing would improve. It has only been one game, but similar to last year, Fitzgerald really struggled with his downfield throws. The velocity and arm strength were quite evident, but he was erratic with his accuracy.

If State is going to beat teams like LSU, Auburn and Alabama this year, they’re going to have to be able to take advantage of overloaded boxes and effectively take shots downfield. You can’t nickel and dime elite defenses to victories – you have to be able to win one-on-one matchups over the top, and that all starts with the QB.

Overall

State fans have to be pleased overall with the performance of the Dawgs in this game. Beating Kansas State on the road is never an easy task, and to dominate them from start to finish like this is an accomplishment to be proud of. The defense looked outstanding. The rushing attack was a force to be reckoned with. The passing game, however, is still very much a work in progress. The offense looked an awful lot like last year’s – an efficient and effective rushing attack, but a passing game that is limited to short and intermediate routes with an inability to throw the ball deep. Still, it was the first game back for Fitzgerald, so everyone needs to have some patience. There’s plenty for State to work on, but it was a damn fine nonconference road win.