Mississippi State starts fast, puts away Western Michigan

Field Level Media|published: Sat 7th October, 15:40 2023

Oct 7, 2023; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Mike Wright (14) runs the ball against the Western Michigan Broncos during the first quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. credits: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Will Rogers threw three touchdown passes and Mississippi State defeated Western Michigan 38-28 in a nonconference game Saturday at Starkville, Miss.

Rogers was 16-of-22 passing for 189 yards before going to the locker room with an apparent non-throwing arm injury in the fourth quarter. Mike Wright, who ran for a touchdown earlier in the game, finished at quarterback for the Bulldogs (3-3).

Hayden Wolff came off the bench to complete 27 of 35 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns for Western Michigan (2-4).

Mississippi State drove 61 yards on the first possession of the second half and Wright ran 3 yards for a touchdown that increased the Bulldogs' lead to 24-7.

Wolff's 23-yard touchdown pass to Blake Bosma trimmed the lead to 24-14.

The Bulldogs took a 28-yard field goal off the scoreboard after kicker Kyle Ferrie was brought to the ground for a penalty. On the next play, Seth Davis ran 5 yards for a touchdown and a 31-14 Mississippi State lead.

The Broncos' Zahir Abdus-Salaam ran 11 yards for a touchdown that cut the lead to 31-21 at the end of the third quarter.

Rogers' 36-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Roberson gave MSU a 38-21 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Wolff's 25-yard touchdown pass to Leroy Thomas on fourth-and-2 pulled Western Michigan within 38-28 with 10:48 remaining.

Nick Barr-Mira kicked a 49-yard field goal to increase the lead to 41-28 with 4:12 remaining.

Western Michigan turned the ball over on downs on the game's first possession when Abdus-Salaam was stopped for no gain on fourth and 1 at the Broncos' 47. That led to Ferrie's 31-yard field goal before Rogers' 15-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Mosley gave MSU a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Rogers threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Creed Whittemore in the second quarter for a 17-0 lead before Western Michigan turned the ball over again when Jack Salopek threw an incompletion on fourth-and-2 at the Bulldogs' 37.

Wolff replaced Salopek and threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Austin Hence to trim the Bulldogs' lead to 17-7 at halftime.

—Field Level Media