Mississippi State football, in their home opener, defeated Stephen F. Austin 63-6. MSU had 618 yards of total offense, the fifth-most in school history, and held SFA to just 254 yards on 78 plays during the night. Sophomore quarterback Keytaon Thompson threw for 364 yards and five touchdowns. He also ran for 109 yards and scored two TDs. Sophomore running back Kylin Hill rushed for 50 yards and one TD. A third sophomore, wide receiver Osirus Mitchell, caught two passes for 114 yards. He scored touchdowns on both receptions. Defensively, senior safety Johnathan Abram recorded eight tackles, while senior defensive end Montez Sweat accounted for six tackles, including 3.5 for a loss and two sacks. Senior defensive end Gerri Green had a sack and 1.5 tackles for losses.<doc-sep>STARKVILLE, MS - SEPTEMBER 01: A Mississippi State Bulldogs fan reacts during the second half against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks at Davis Wade Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) The Mississippi State football team dominated in their win over Stephen F. Austin, and Twitter reacted accordingly. We all knew that the Mississippi State football team was going to wallop the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. What ensued was exactly what we expected. The Bulldogs opened the 2018 season with a dominant 63-6 win. It was also the first game in the Joe Moorhead era for the Mississippi State football program. It was also significant because the Bulldogs played the game without their starting quarterback Nick Fitzgerald. He was suspended for one game due to breaking team rules back in March. Throughout the game, I made note of some of the things people were saying on Twitter while the game was being played. Here are the ones that caught my eye. Folks, not to alarm you or anything and this is just my initial reaction, But our D line is v good — Maroon&White Nation (@MandWNation) September 1, 2018 My SECOND initial reaction. Kylin Hill V GOOD folks — Maroon&White Nation (@MandWNation) September 1, 2018 So this is the Lumberjack mascot? I’m not going to him to chop wood. I’m going to him for craft beer and local coffee shop recommendations. pic.twitter.com/K8fyvVudvv — Ryan Nelson (@ryannel76) September 2, 2018 Raise your hand if you have more total yards than Stephen F Austin. You should all be raising your hand, by the way. — Justin M. Strawn (@Justin_M_Strawn) September 1, 2018 8 out the gate — Matt Wyatt (@RadioWyatt) September 1, 2018 Joe Moorhead has been Mississippi State’s head coach for about nine months now and he has NEVER called an offensive play that didn’t result in a touchdown. — Joel Coleman (@JoelTColeman) September 1, 2018 Kylin Hill is averaging 53 yards per catch this year, btw — Bob Carskadon (@bobcarskadon) September 1, 2018 84-yard TD pass. Keytaon Thompson to Osirus Mitchell. Second one-play TD drive of Joe Moorhead’s MSU play-calling career that is currently just 11 minutes and 16 seconds old. Not bad. 21-0 Dogs. — Joel Coleman (@JoelTColeman) September 2, 2018 Wow State sure is *accidentally picks up notes from Dan Mullen’s debut* Spreading the fun — cristilmethod (@cristilmethod) September 2, 2018 Too many Bulldogs on defense on that play. Probably feels like it on others too for SFA. — Logan Lowery (@loganlowery) September 2, 2018 I’m very much here for both running backs being used in the passing game — Ethan Lee (@leeethanj) September 2, 2018 I was the closest defender to Osiris Mitchell on that touchdown catch. — Brandon Walker (@BWalker_SEC) September 2, 2018 I’m REALLY nitpicking rn but I wish our maroon in the ESPN scorebox was a tad bit darker — Maroon&White Nation (@MandWNation) September 2, 2018 Are you watching this game on TV? So are the refs here pretty much. Review number 5 or 6 underway. — Joel Coleman (@JoelTColeman) September 2, 2018 Journey lives on at DWS — Logan Lowery (@loganlowery) September 2, 2018 If you’re thinking most of those tweets came during the first half of the game you’d be correct. The tweets got less interesting when the game was clearly put away for the Mississippi State football team’s first win of the season. We now turn our attention to the Kansas State Wildcats. The Mississippi State Football team will welcome Nick Fitzgerald back to the starting lineup, and we will see how he responds to sitting out a game due to his one game suspension. We will also find out how he has recovered and how he has adapted to the Joe Moorhead offense. I’ll try to do this each week when the Bulldogs play. If you see one on Twitter that should go here, tag me in a reply to it on Twitter at @Justin_M_Strawn.<doc-sep>The Mississippi State football team had little issue with Stephen F. Austin Mississippi State football passed its first test of the 2018 season. Well, technically it wasn’t much of a test. It was like a quiz. And on that quiz all the Bulldogs really had to do was write their names out on the paper and count to five. Okay, so maybe the “test” metaphor doesn’t work here. It’s not applicable to this situation at all. MSU had some minor moments where they were challenged, but the Bulldogs had no real significant issue in this game. The Mississippi State football team pushed right on through the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks with ease, clearing through their opponent and dominating just about every aspect of tonight’s game against SFA. From the get go, Mississippi State clearly looked like the better team. And, from start to finish, the Mississippi State football team imposed their will upon Stephen F. Austin and forced the visitors to leave with a deficit existing on the scoreboard. Mississippi State won and the Bulldogs certainly won big. And so, we’ve got some thoughts on the matter. Earlier this evening, I had five thoughts on the first half. You can go check those out right over here. Now, I’ve got five thoughts on the entire game. All stats via ESPN.com and StatBroadcast<doc-sep>Mississippi State Football is back Saturday evening. The long wait is finally over. Mississippi State's season opener has arrived and the Bulldogs host Stephen F. Austin at 6:30 p.m. to usher in the Joe Moorhead Era. Follow along here for pregame notes and in-game updates. Click here for the Mississippi State-Stephen F. Austin Live Game Thread.<doc-sep>
Led by a smothering defense, Mississippi State opened the Joe Moorhead era in style with a 63-6 win over Stephen F. Austin. In the first half alone, the Bulldogs had 11 different players record at least a half tackle for a loss, 13 total, highlighted by 3.5 from Jeffery Simmons. By early in the third quarter, they had four sacks and 14 tackles for a loss. They held Stephen F. Austin to 3-for-17 overall on third down, and just 44 rushing yards on 35 attempts. On offense, it was the big play that told the story in the first half, as QB Keytaon Thompson had touchdown passes of 53 and 84 yards. Then, he faked the entire defensive line on a read-option play to score on a nine-yard run as State led 21-0 after the first quarter. The Bulldogs didn’t need to punt until they were already up by 32. With Nick Fitzgerald out because of a suspension, Thompson didn’t allow as much as a hiccup for the offense. With a 25-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter, Thompson tied an SEC record for seven TDs responsible for in a game: five passing and two rushing. He joined notable company, too. The only other QBs in Mississippi State history with five TD passes in a single game are Dak Prescott and Fitzgerald. Thompson finished 13-for-31 for 364 yards passing, and 10 carries for 109 rushing yards. By halftime, State rang up 400 yards of offense, while Thompson was 9-for-19 passing for 263 yards, four touchdowns, and 75 yards with a TD. Ultimately, 12 different wide receivers caught passes. But Osirus Mitchell delivered the big plays, with his first two receptions, both touchdowns, accounted for 114 yards. Mississippi State will travel to Kansas State next week.