By JOEL COLEMAN
Starkville Daily News
Mississippi State football saw its season end with a 38-28 loss to Louisville on Monday in the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee. Here are a few notable items from the game and the postgame media session with State head coach Joe Moorhead as the Bulldogs head into the offseason.
Hill comes up short
Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill was unsuccessful in his attempt to set the record for the most rushing yards in a single season in school history. Hill needed 45 yards on Monday to top the list, however he was banged up on the game’s first play from scrimmage and never really got going.
He finished the day with just three yards on seven attempts.
“Yeah, very disappointing,” Moorhead said of Hill getting hurt early on his way to trying to break the record. “Certainly a base run play, you’re not anticipating that happening, but he tried to fight through it. That’s a credit to him and his toughness and what he thinks of his teammates.”
Hill’s three yards of rushing against Louisville was his lowest output in any game this season. He concluded the year with 1,350 yards of rushing, which ends up as the fourth-most in a single season in school history.
Gibson, others miss first quarter
When running back Nick Gibson didn’t enter to take Hill’s place following Hill’s first-quarter injury, it was considered unusual. Gibson has served as Hill’s primary backup all season.
After the game, Moorhead provided clarity as to why he turned to freshman Lee Witherspoon in the first quarter instead of Gibson.
“We had Nick and a couple other guys that were on a one-quarter penalty (because of something that happened) back from when we were back in school,” Moorhead said.
It’s unclear what other player or players besides Gibson were on the one-quarter penalty, or what they did to be penalized.
Williams toughs it out
Senior center Darryl Williams fell to the ground in pregame warm-ups with an apparent right knee injury. He was eventually helped off the field by trainers and it seemed as though there was a chance it could impact his availability for the game.
However Williams ultimately started and played the whole way through.
“My knee just buckled a little bit on that turf,” Williams said. “They’ve got to do a better job on the field (at Nissan Stadium).
“This was my last game in maroon and white. I wasn’t going to let my seniors down or my teammates, who no doubt believe in me. I wasn’t going to let those guys down. I’m okay.”
Moving forward
Questions abound about the MSU program headed into the offseason. It’s unclear which, if any, MSU players might seek to enter the transfer portal. There are also still players who must decide on possibly entering the NFL Draft, as well as possible coaching staff changes.
It appears one of Moorhead’s first orders of business this offseason is to basically take inventory of his team and program.
“You know, we’re going to take a couple days off,” Moorhead said. “We report back on Sunday with a team meeting. Then class will resume on Monday and then I’ll have next week set up (with) the position coaches and meet with the players individually and have season-ending meetings and I’m going to meet with all the players individually next week.”
The Starkville Daily News Bulldog Beat 