Story from Mississippi State Athletics
MANHATTAN, Kansas – Saturday was a day to remember for Mississippi State sophomore running back Kylin Hill.
The Columbus, Mississippi, native led a potent Bulldog ground attack with 211 yards on 17 carries as No. 18 MSU defeated Kansas State 31-10. Hill found the end zone three times in the game—twice on the ground, and once on a 16-yard reception in the second quarter.
Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald added 159 yards on 19 attempts on the ground while throwing for 154 yards through the air with two scores.
Offensively, the Bulldogs tallied 538 yards of total offense, while stifling the Wildcats to just 213 yards.
State rebounded from a slow start in the first quarter to take a 17-3 halftime lead and never looked back, outscoring KSU 14-7 in the second half to cruise to victory.
10 Things To Note From MSU’s Win At Kansas State …
1. Have Yourself A Day, Kylin Hill
From the start, Kylin Hill made his presence known on the ground and through the air. The Columbus, Mississippi, native recorded his best performance as a Bulldog, rushing for 211 yards on 17 carries. Hill also scored as a pass-catcher, hauling in a 16-yard strike from Nick Fitzgerald early in the second quarter. Hill’s ground production was MSU’s ninth 200-yard rushing game in program history and the first by a running back in nine years.
2. Fitzgerald Continues To Climb MSU, SEC Record Books
With a five-yard run in the first quarter, quarterback Nick Fitzgerald re-wrote the MSU rushing records by breaking State’s career rushing yards by a QB mark of 2,521 set by Dak Prescott in 2015. Fitzgerald finished with 159 yards on the ground, moving him into fifth all-time at MSU in career rushing yards among all positions. The performance marked his 15th 100-yard rushing game and sixth of his last eight. His 159 yards was his highest output since 258 at Ole Miss in 2016.
In the SEC career QB rushing yards list, Fitzgerald is now second all-time (2,645). He needs 303 to pass Tim Tebow for the top spot.
Fitzgerald racked up 313 yards of total offense on Saturday, moving him into second place all-time behind Prescott.
Through the air, Fitzgerald connected for two touchdown strikes, putting him one away from tying Tyler Russell for second in the MSU charts.
3. Multiple 100-Yard Rushers
Hill and Fitzgerald both ran for over 100 yards, marking the first time since Nov. 4, 2017 that two Bulldogs did so in the same contest.
4. Record Day On The Ground
K-State had trouble keeping up with the Bulldogs’ potent ground game, with State rushing for 384 yards on 39 carries, led by Hill’s 211 yards.
5. Bulldog D Continues To Cause Problems In Backfield
A week after recording a staggering 17.0 tackles-for-loss, State’s stout defense continued to wreak havoc in the backfield, totaling 8.0 TFLs against Kansas State. Four Bulldogs also recorded a sack in Saturday’s win.
6. Rush Defense
On the defensive side, State stifled K-State’s traditionally strong running game, holding the Wildcats to just 113 yards on the ground on 35 carries for an average of just 3.2 yards per carry.
7. Offensive Line Dominance
Not only did MSU dominate the line of scrimmage on defense, but the Bulldogs’ offensive line proved to be just as dominant, not allowing a sack and only allowing one tackle-for-loss late in the game.
8. Red Zone Efficiency
The Bulldogs once again shined in the red zone, scoring all four times they were inside the Wildcats’ 20-yard line—three touchdowns and a field goal by Jace Christmann. One of those scores marked Austin Williams’ first career touchdown as a Bulldog, as he hauled in a 13-yard pass from Fitzgerald in the third quarter.
9. Chunk Plays
MSU once again saw success in plays of 20 yards or more, tallying six plays going for 20-plus yards.
10. Road Power-Five Wins
State’s victory against the Wildcats marked its first road win against a Power-5, non-SEC foe since 1995, when the Bulldogs won at Baylor.
Quotable …
“Our physicality showed up on both sides of the ball, rushing for almost 400 and holding a team that prides itself on running the ball successfully. In our attention to detail, I thought we were better today than we were against Stephen F. Austin.” – Joe Moorhead
Next Up For MSU …
MSU now returns home next Saturday, Sept. 15, to host Louisiana (1-0) in a third-straight non-conference affair to open 2018. It will be only the fifth meeting between the Bulldogs and Ragin’ Cajuns ever and the first since 1987. The game is set to kickoff at 6:30 p.m. CT at Davis Wade Stadium and will be televised by SEC Network (Alternate).
