Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby warned his team during the week not to sleep on Northern Illinois – a MAC team that upset Notre Dame almost a year ago to the date – and with good reason. The Huskies took an early 10-7 lead in the first quarter on Saturday before the Bulldogs powered back to win the game, 38-10.
The win made for the perfect start through four weeks for Mississippi State (4-0) since 2014 when they started 9-0 with now-Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott leading the charge.
But it wasn’t easy for Lebby and company by any means. Here’s how the game played out in Starkville.
Scoring summary
Brenen Thompson, who scored the game-winning touchdown for Mississippi State to upset then-No. 12 Arizona State two weeks ago, found the end zone on a 10-yard jet sweep in the first quarter to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead. A field goal by Northern Illinois (1-2) followed by a 24-yard touchdown pass from Josh Holst to DeAree Rogers allowed the Huskies to take a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.
Mississippi State countered when quarterback Blake Shapen dumped a one-yard touchdown pass to tight end Seydou Traore to regain the lead, 14-10. The score would stick until halftime as both defenses proved tough.
The second half was a story of talent, with Mississippi State simply having more than Northern Illinois.
The Bulldog D upended any rhythm the Huskies had from the first half, forcing Holst to throw an interception and stopping Northern Illinois on downs twice. On offense, Mississippi State running back Davon Booth ran in two scores, running back Xavier Gayten had a short dive into the end zone, and a 48-yard field goal for Kyle Ferrie wrapped the afternoon in maroon and white.
What the coach said
Lebby used his postgame press conference to return to the fact that Northern Illinois has had success on the road in recent years against Power Four opponents, making for a tough nonconference game. In addition to the win in South Bend last season, the Huskies won at Georgia Tech in 2021 and then at Boston College in 2023.
“Northern Illinois was a genuine challenge at the line of scrimmage. There’s a ton of stuff we need to clean up now,” Lebby said. “The score was what it was, but there were a lot of things we got away with Saturday. That will not remain the same, [so] we’ve got to fix it.”
When asked about his defense, which held Northern Illinois’ wildcat offense scoreless in the second half, Lebby said a lot of it is natural growth from year one to year two since he and defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler brought a new system to Starkville.
“For a lot of guys, it’s year two in the system. People don’t think about how important that is – having a greater understanding of what are the shortcuts in our defense, what are the stresses, and how to protect the stress,” he explained.
Numbers never lie
Shapen threw a touchdown in his 19th consecutive game dating back to his time at Baylor, making for the second-longest active streak in the country behind Iowa State’s Rocco Becht (22 games). He finished 12 of 20 passing for 160 yards with the one touchdown pass.
Mississippi State had 292 rushing yards and converted on all six red zone trips. Fluff Bothwell led the running back corps with 101 yards on 17 carries.
Safety Isaac Smith led the defense with six tackles and an interception. Ray Thomas had a sack, while the unit accounted for six tackles for loss.
The Bulldogs were flagged 11 times for 104 yards.
Next up
Mississippi State will play its first SEC game against No. 15 Tennessee (3-1) next Saturday in Starkville. The game is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. and will be broadcast on the SEC Network and participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations. The Volunteers bounced back from an overtime loss at Georgia with a 56-24 win against UAB.
