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Mississippi State

Bulldogs turn to the ground game to wear down Northern Illinois

Paul Jones Mississippi State Bulldogsby: Paul Jones09/21/25PaulJonesOn3
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Photo by Jared Thomas, Maroon and White Daily

For the second week in a row, Mississippi State’s offense went over the 200-yard rushing mark and nearly had 300 rushing yards Saturday (finished with 292) against Northern Illinois in a 38-10 win.

Entering the week, it was discussed often that Northern Illinois had a solid defensive front and a good run defense. But as the game got longer, State’s ground game wore down the visiting Huskies from the MAC.

Leading the way was former South Alabama transfer Fluff Bothwell with 17 carries for 101 yards for nearly six yards a carry.

“It was just initiating the fight,” recalled Bothwell. “Then having the details to execution and having the mentality of refusing to be out-hustled.”

But the Bulldogs got more than Bothwell involved. Sophomore Xavier Gayten had four carries for 45 yards and a touchdown in the second half. Davon Booth had a pair of rushing touchdowns and even Blake Shapen contributed with 51 yards rushing.

Afterwards, Lebby said Gayten had cemented himself into the running back rotation.

“He’s going to continue to be in the fold,” mentioned Lebby of Gayten. “When you really look at it, Davon (Booth), Fluff (Bothwell) and Zay (Gayten) will be the three guys we are really going to lean on.

“That was a huge point of emphasis for us today. We had to be able to run the football the way we wanted to, get that part of our game going. It was great to be able to get into a little rhythm today running the football. We have to continue that and build upon that for next Saturday.”

And in a game where State’s passing attack was hit and miss, it was needed to rely on the ground game to put the game on ice in the second half. It also makes Shapen’s job easier at quarterback.

“When we came out in the second half, we were able to run the football really well,” Shapen explained. “We have talked about it since the offseason about how we have guys like Davon Booth, Fluff Bothwell, Xavier Gayten, and the list goes on. Whenever you hand the ball off and you are getting six yards a pop, it is a pretty good feeling as a quarterback.”

For Bothwell, it was his second straight solid outing as he rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s easy win over Alcorn State. Much like he did at South Alabama, Bothwell used his physical nature to wear down Northern Illinois in the second half and also tipped his hat to the offensive line.

“It felt good knowing that is my type of play style,” Bothwell added. “I am being useful in the offense and being helpful and I am ready to help us win.

“It was great running behind (the offensive line). It all starts in the trenches. I always try to applaud those guys after a long run or a touchdown. I just want them to know I appreciate them.”

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