At the half in Starkville, No. 16 Texas A&M holds a 10-7 lead over Mississippi State.
Mississippi State’s best drive was its first one, moving 79 yards in 12 plays over six and a half minutes. The drive was mostly all Nick Fitzgerald, as is the entire Bulldogs offense, and he hooked up with Stephen Guidry for a 25-yard touchdown on a 3rd-and-12 to put the home team on the board.
Texas A&M put together two 40-plus yard drives but saw them both come up empty, one on a missed Seth Small field goal from 49 yards and another on a punt off a drive that began on their own goal line.
The Aggies’ third such drive finally resulted in points, a 34-yard Small field goal.
After a curious decision by Joe Moorhead to throw deep on a 4th-and-3 inside the final minute of the first half, Texas A&M took over on its own 36 with 44 seconds and two timeouts. Kellen Mond‘s first three passes of the drive were incomplete, but the Aggies still moved 30 yards thanks to a facemask and a pass interference call on the Bulldogs. Finally, Mond found Quartney Davis on a screen pass, who raced 34 yards to the end zone to put the Aggies on top at the break.