Ad Disclosure
What Dan Mullen had to say after Mississippi State’s win over Troy
Here’s what coach Dan Mullen had to say after Mississippi State’s 45-17 win over Troy on Saturday in Starkville.
All week leading up to the game, Mullen preached playing with an extra chip, and he felt his Bulldogs delivered.
Dan Mullen is here. "We had a little edge to us to start the game off. We exploded into that game." Edge is the new buzzword.
— Bob Carskadon (@bobcarskadon) October 10, 2015
The team got a bit of a scare before kickoff as Dak Prescott was questionable with a stomach virus.
Mullen said Dak had been vomiting since 5 am this morning. Fitz ran all walk throughs today.
— Michael Bonner (@michaelbbonner) October 10, 2015
A bright spot on Saturday was the play of backup QB Nick Fitzgerald. The freshman finished 6 of 7 passing, 141 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions while rushing 8 times for 29 yards and a score.
Mullen says Brian Johnson and Dak Prescott have really helped in the development of Fitzgerald.
— Michael Bonner (@michaelbbonner) October 10, 2015
Mullen wasn’t happy with the way the Bulldogs’ ground game, finishing with just 125 yards on 33 carries, an average of 3.8 yards per carry. Mississippi State entered the week 11th in the SEC with an average of 155.0 rushing yards per game.
Mullen: "We've got to find more consistency in the running game."
— Bob Carskadon (@bobcarskadon) October 10, 2015
However, Mullen was very pleased with his defense, which held Troy to just 31 yards of total offense in the first half.
Mullen: That's the defense I want to play.
— Michael Bonner (@michaelbbonner) October 10, 2015
Mullen: We had 11 guys on the field playing nasty.
— Michael Bonner (@michaelbbonner) October 10, 2015
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.