Recapping Monday’s 2016 St. Petersburg Bowl between the Miami Ohio RedHawks and Mississippi State Bulldogs.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs held off a strong upset bid from the Miami RedHawks to win the 2016 St. Petersburg Bowl 17-16 on Monday morning at Tropicana Field.
Miami came out fired up and put together a lengthy opening drive that went all the way to the Mississippi State one, only to settle for a short field goal. Mississippi State could generate nothing against the hard-hitting RedHawks defense in the first quarter, although Miami couldn’t extend the lead any further thanks to a fumble deep in Bulldogs territory.
The RedHawks continued to move the ball effectively on the ground behind quarterback Gus Ragland, and pushed the lead to 9-0 on his six-yard touchdown pass to James Gardner at the 8:36 mark of the second. However, the extra point was blocked, which would come into play later in the game.
Mississippi State finally started to play with some energy midway through the second, and put together a long touchdown drive capped off by a short run from quarterback Nick Fitzgerald to make it a 9-7 game just before the half.
Fitzgerald, the SEC’s leader in total offense, was still held to just 108 yards in the first half, as Miami outgained the Bulldogs 205-143 as a whole. Most impressively, the RedHawks offensive line provided some blocking for Ragland after being one of the worst pass protecting units in the nation during the regular season.
Ragland continued to dominate early in the second half with a short touchdown pass to Ryan Smith following an impressive 85 yard drive to put Miami up 16-7. With nothing happening in the passing game, Fitzgerald took to the ground and ripped off a 44 yard touchdown run on the ensuing drive to get the Bulldogs right back in the game.
Another long Fitzgerald run set up a Mississippi State field goal early in the fourth, giving the Bulldogs their first lead of the game at 17-16. Miami drove deep into Bulldogs territory again on its next drive, only to be stopped on fourth down for the second time in as many possessions.
Mississippi State quickly moved into field goal range, but went for it on fourth down despite having backup quarterback Damian Williams in the game after Fitzgerald’s helmet came off the play before. Williams threw an incomplete pass, giving Miami the ball back with 3:29 to go.
RedHawks running back Kenny Young had his most effective sequence of the game with three long runs, and Ragland found Gardner on a 23-yard pass to put Miami in field goal range at the 17. Miami bizarrely decided not to get any closer despite struggling with field goals all season long, and Nick Dowd’s potential game-winner was blocked again to seal the 17-16 Mississippi State win.
While Ragland was efficient and didn’t make any mistakes –although, he did see his streak of not throwing an interception this season come to an end– Fitzgerald’s big play ability and the Bulldogs’ special teams unit made the difference.
Highlights
Three Stars
3. Fletcher Adams, DL, Mississippi State. Recorded three tackles and blocked Miami’s potential game-winning field goal, the biggest play of the contest.
2. Gus Ragland, QB, Miami. Continued his incredible run by completing 22 of 30 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns.
1. Nick Fitzgerald, QB, Mississippi State. Carried the ball 18 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns, as individual effort helped overcome drops and other mistakes by the Bulldogs offense.
Next Season
Following the St. Petersburg Bowl on Monday, Miami (OH) will begin the 2017 college football season against Marshall on Sept. 2. Mississippi State will also play on Sept. 2 in a non-conference matchup with Charleston Southern.