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HawgBeat continues its summer preview series on Arkansas’ 2019 football opponents with a closer look at Mississippi State. The Razorbacks host the Bulldogs on Nov. 2. The kickoff time and television information for this game have yet to be announced.
2018 record: 8-5 (4-4 SEC)
Led by a loaded defense, the Bulldogs never allowed more than 28 points in a game and gave up 20 or more just three times. That 28-point game was at Kentucky and ended up being Mississippi State’s first loss of the season, starting a stretch in which it lost three of four games. The Bulldogs bounced back to win four of its final five regular-season games, with the lone loss coming at the hands of Alabama. Even that loss was somewhat impressive, though, as they limited the Crimson Tide’s powerful offense to only 24 points, including just three in the second half. Unfortunately for Mississippi State, it ended the year on a sour note, coming up short in a 27-22 loss to Iowa in the Outback Bowl.
Head coach: Joe Moorhead (2nd season)
A record-breaking quarterback at Fordham, all of Moorhead’s coaching career had been spent in the north or northeast before he took the Mississippi State job last year. Throughout the 2000s, he had stints as an offensive coordinator at Georgetown, Akron and UConn. In 2012, he landed the head coaching job at his alma mater and led Fordham to a 38-13 record and three FCS playoff appearances in four years. Moorhead left that job to become the offensive coordinator at Penn State, where he built a top-10 offense in just two years. Last year, he became just the second head coach in Mississippi State history - and first since 1939 - to win eight games in Year 1.
Key Returners
~QB Keytaon Thompson: Backup quarterback in 2018… Completed 18 of 39 passes (46.2 percent) for 458 yards, 6 TD and 1 INT… Also ran for 226 yards and 4 TD on only 24 carries (9.4 yards/carry)… Was 3 of 4 passing for 61 yards and a TD against Arkansas last season… Former four-star dual-threat quarterback
