Tennessee-Martin vs. Mississippi State: Game Grades, Analysis for the Bulldogs

Mississippi State played down to its opponent for the third straight week and wasn't dominant from start to finish, but it kept its undefeated season alive with a 45-16 drubbing of Tennessee-Martin on Saturday.

The Skyhawks performed admirably despite falling to 1-18 all-time against FBS opponents, racking up 22 first downs to Mississippi State's 21. Their success is shown in the game grades, as you can see below. 

Positional Unit	1st-Half Grade	Final Grade
Pass Offense	B+	B
Run Offense	B+	B+
Pass Defense	B+	B
Run Defense	C+	C+
Special Teams	B	B
Coaching	B+	B+

Pass Offense: After some poor throws against Arkansas last weekend, Dak Prescott had no gaffes against UT-Martin. He went 14-of-23 with 206 yards and two touchdowns in limited time, but Damian Williams (2-of-3, 50 yards) struggled in replacement and lost a fumble before throwing a late touchdown.

Run Offense: Josh Robinson had just six carries for 33 yards on limited duty, but Brandon Holloway and Ashton Shumpert took care of things. Each had a touchdown run of 35 yards or more, and as a unit they racked up 254 yards.

Pass Defense: Being forced to commit more bodies to stop the run, the Bulldogs secondary performed well against the pass, allowing five yards per attempt. Other than a missed coverage on a play-action touchdown, Mississippi State was strong in this category.

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Run Defense: Mississippi State isn’t known for its run-stopping, and that weakness was exposed again Saturday. Abou Toure and Trent Garland both had more than 50 yards rushing for the Skyhawks, propelling them to 151 yards as a unit.

Special Teams: The Bulldogs gave up a couple of long kickoff returns, but a perfectly executed fake punt gave Mississippi State a boost in special teams. Still, you’d like to see more big plays on special teams against a FCS opponent if you’re a Bulldogs fan.

Coaching: A gutsy fake punt late in the first half allowed for the Bulldogs to add three points, and masterful use of the play action set up some long touchdown passes. It’s safe to say, however, that Dan Mullen saved his biggest tricks for next weekend.

Positional Unit	1st-Half Grade	Final Grade
Pass Offense	C+	B-
Run Offense	B+	B+
Pass Defense	B-	B-
Run Defense	C	C
Special Teams	C+	C+
Coaching	A-	A-

Pass Offense: Dylan Favre brought a spark to the offense in the first half, but the passing game took off when Jarod Neal was re-inserted. He went 14-of-27 for 159 yards, throwing a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns (one rushing) to stymie the blowout attempt from Mississippi State.

Run Offense: A consistent running game was huge in the Skyhawks’ efforts, as they ran for 151 yards as a unit and four yards per carry. Toure had a big day with 94 yards but didn’t have to be a workhorse with Garland (10 carries, 54 yards) toting the rock well.

Jim Lytle/Associated Press

Pass Defense: Other than one 55-yard touchdown pass given up, the Skyhawks did well to thwart Mississippi State’s passing attack. Prescott had 203 yards through the air, but nothing could be established aerially with Williams in the game—not that the Bulldogs were that set on establishing any more passing success with a big lead.

Run Defense: This was one aspect where UT-Martin was just too inferior to keep up. Even without Robinson for most of the game, the Bulldogs racked up 254 rushing yards including three rushing scores of 35 yards or more by three different players.

Special Teams: UT-Martin was a couple of big special teams plays away from actually making this a game, but those plays never happened. Mississippi State pulled off a big fake punt that the Skyhawks weren’t ready for, and UT-Martin didn’t take the same chances.

Coaching: The Skyhawks coaches obviously saw an advantage running to the left, making for some huge success on the ground. You can’t ask for more offensive success from a FCS opponent against the top-ranked team, and the players executed the coaching staff’s game plan well enough to hang with the Bulldogs.