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Mississippi State

Inside the numbers: Mississippi State-Northern Illinois halftime stats

Paul Jones Mississippi State Bulldogsby: Paul Jones09/20/25PaulJonesOn3
brenen thompson8
Photo by Jared Thomas, Maroon and White Daily

Mississippi State and Northern Illinois have reached halftime at Davis Wade Stadium and Mississippi State holds a 14-10 advantage.

Northern Illinois got off to a solid start on the game’s opening possession and moved the ball quickly into the red zone. However, the drive stalled there and the Huskies settled for a 30 yard field goal by Andrew Glass with 9:41 remaining in the first.

The Bulldogs also cashed in on their first possession of the game but State managed to find the end zone. Brenen Thompson capped off a 13-play, 75-yard, drive with a 10-yard touchdown run and State lead 7-3 with 3:48 left in the first quarter.

After both teams exchanged punts, Northern Illinois took advantage of a shanked Bulldog punt and started the drive inside the State 30. Josh Holst connected with DeAree Rogers for a 24-yard touchdown and the Huskies regained the lead at 10-7 with 14:53 left in the half.

State quickly responded later in the quarter and needed just 49 yards to regain the lead after a failed onsides kick attempt by the Huskies. Blake Shapen hit Seydou Traore for a one-yard touchdown pass and the Bulldogs led 14-10 with 11:31 left in the half.

Neither team could sustain another drive the rest of the half as State kept the 14-10 halftime advantage.

In the first half, State managed just 148 yards of offense with 113 coming on the ground. The Bulldogs were 2 of 7 on third down and 2 of 2 on fourth down. State had four penalties for 29 yards and held the ball for 12:16 of the first half.

The visiting Huskies had 170 yards of offense with 86 in the air and 84 on the ground. NIU was 1 of 5 on third down and held the ball for 17:44.

Individually, Shapen was 6 of 12 passing for 35 yards with one touchdown and also led State with 43 rushing yards. Thompson and Anthony Evans each had two catches for 13 yards for the Bulldogs in the first half.

For the Huskies, Holst was 9 of 12 passing for 86 yards with a touchdown. Telly Johnson led the ground game with five carries for 42 yards while Rogers had four catches for 56 yards and a touchdown.

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