Mississippi State Falls To Arkansas In Offensive Slugfest, 58-42
November 19, 2016 | Football
On a night highlighting his side of the ball, Bulldog sophomore quarterback Nick Fitzgerald became just the second quarterback in MSU history to compile more than 3,000 yards of total offense, joining Dak Prescott as the only two MSU players to accomplish the feat. Fitzgerald finished 23-of-33 for 328 yards and two touchdowns, also rushing for 131 yards and four touchdowns. Senior Fred Ross was the team's leading receiver in his last home game with 171 yards and two touchdowns on 10 receptions. Donald Gray hauled in seven receptions for 92 yards.
Despite MSU amassing 533 yards of total offense in the contest, Arkansas was equally proficient. The Razorbacks tallied 661 yards of their own, roughly half of it coming from running backs Rawleigh Williams and Devwah Whaley. Williams had a huge night with 205 yards rushing and four of his teams' touchdowns. Whaley added 112 yards and a score on the ground. Those two were complemented by a big night from quarterback Austin Allen, who hit on 18-of-23 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, MSU was led by senior safety Kivon Coman with a game-high 15 tackles. Senior Richie Brown added seven stops in his final home game as a Bulldog.
State will close out the 2016 regular season next Saturday, Nov. 26, in the annual Battle for the Golden Egg against arch rival Ole Miss in Oxford. The Bulldogs and Rebels, which will meet for the 113th time, will kickoff at 2:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
Â
Team Stats

AR 7, MS 0
AR - R. Williams 72 yd run (Adam McFain kick), 2 plays, 75 yards, TOP 0:48

AR 7, MS 7
MS - Nick Fitzgerald 58 yd run (Westin Graves kick), 4 plays, 73 yards, TOP 0:47

AR 14, MS 7
AR - R. Williams 42 yd run (Adam McFain kick), 2 plays, 71 yards, TOP 0:39

AR 14, MS 14
MS - Nick Fitzgerald 18 yd run (Westin Graves kick), 12 plays, 74 yards, TOP 5:58

AR 21, MS 14
AR - Keon Hatcher 5 yd pass from Austin Allen (Adam McFain kick) 8 plays, 85 yards, TOP 3:51

AR 24, MS 14
AR - Adam McFain 34 yd field goal 6 plays, 46 yards, TOP 1:40

AR 31, MS 14
AR - R. Williams 7 yd run (Adam McFain kick), 4 plays, 60 yards, TOP 2:09

AR 38, MS 14
AR - R. Williams 33 yd run (Adam McFain kick), 5 plays, 55 yards, TOP 1:55

AR 38, MS 21
MS - Fred Ross 40 yd pass from Nick Fitzgerald (Westin Graves kick) 7 plays, 70 yards, TOP 2:38

AR 44, MS 21
AR - Austin Cantrell 1 yd pass from R. Williams (Adam McFain kickfailed) 12 plays, 79 yards, TOP 7:05

AR 44, MS 28
MS - Nick Fitzgerald 2 yd run (Westin Graves kick), 6 plays, 76 yards, TOP 2:06

AR 52, MS 28
AR - Keon Hatcher 10 yd pass from Austin Allen (Keon Hatcher rush) 8 plays, 61 yards, TOP 3:42

AR 52, MS 36
MS - Nick Fitzgerald 1 yd run (Fred Ross pass), 7 plays, 71 yards, TOP 2:45

AR 58, MS 36
AR - Devwah Whaley 4 yd run (R. Williams passfailed), 9 plays, 44 yards, TOP 5:43

AR 58, MS 42
MS - Fred Ross 15 yd pass from Nick Fitzgerald (Nick Fitzgerald passfailed) 10 plays, 64 yards, TOP 3:05