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Inside the numbers: Mississippi State-Missouri first half stats

Paul Jones Mississippi State Bulldogsby: Paul Jones3 hours agoPaulJonesOn3
blake shapen33
Mississippi State QB Blake Shapen (Photo by Denny Medley, USA Today Sports)

Mississippi State and No. 22 Missouri have reached halftime in Columbia, Mo., and the host Tigers lead, 21-10.

After getting a three and out to start the game, Missouri’s offense wasted little time denting the scoreboard, largely in part to the running of Ahmad Hardy. Quarterback Matt Zollers capped off a 65-yard drive with a 26-yard scoring toss to Donovan Olugbode and the Tigers led 7-0 with 11:29 left in the opening quarter.

Thanks to a couple of major penalties on Missouri, including a targeting call, Mississippi State got on the board later in the quarter. Kyle Ferrie connected on a 47-yard field goal and the Bulldogs trailed 7-3 with 6:28 remaining in the first quarter.

But Missouri kept things clicking on offense and quickly responded with another touchdown-producing drive. This time Zollers hit Joshua Manning for a 34-yard touchdown pass and the Tigers led 14-3 with 4:52 left in the first quarter.

The offensive fireworks continued later in the first as Mississippi State found the end zone for the first time. After a holding call on Missouri on third down, Blake Shapen scored from two yards out and State cut the Missouri lead to 14-10 on the final play of the opening quarter.

In the second quarter, Mississippi State was poised to take the lead but were held out of the end zone after three failed plays at the Missouri two-yard line. The field goal attempt was then a botched snap and Missouri took over near the red zone after a long fumble return.

The Tigers were settling for a field goal but State jumped offsides to keep the drive alive. Hardy scored his second touchdown and his 10-yard score gave the Tigers a 21-10 lead with 2:35 remaining in the half.

In the opening half, State had 134 yards of offense with 99 passing yards. The Bulldogs were just 2 of 8 on third down and had four penalties for 20 yards. State also held the ball for 19:16 of the first half.

Missouri had 232 yards of offense in the first half and had 134 of that on the ground. The Tigers had seven penalties for 44 yards and were 3 of 5 on third down. Missouri had the ball for 10:44 of the first half and will receive the second-half opening kickoff.

Individually, Shapen was 11 of 15 for 99 yards and led State on the ground with 14 carries for 21 yards. Brenen Thompson had two catches for 60 yards in the half and Anthony Evans ha four catches for 16 yards.

For Missouri, Zollers was 6 of 10 for 98 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Hardy had 10 carries for 97 yards and one touchdown while Kevin Coleman led the Tiger receivers with three catches for 33 yards.

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