The question many Mississippi State fans had coming out of a 31-10 win over Kansas State was a simple one: How good can quarterback Nick Fitzgerald be for this team after an up-and-down debut in Kansas.
That question was answered Saturday night, back home in Starkville.
He can be one of the best quarterbacks in the country.
Fitzgerald looked sharper than he has ever looked at MSU Saturday night, accounting for 350 yards and six touchdowns in a 56-10 win over Louisiana-Lafayette.
The game against ULL was never going to be close, as MSU out-talented the visitors at every position. But fans weren’t watching with only the final score in mind. Instead, MSU fans, who have big dreams on a special season this year, wanted to see a quarterback capable of delivering championship results.
That’s exactly what Fitzgerald gave them. Passing for 243 yards and two touchdowns, Fitzgerald displayed touch and the ability to push the ball down the field, two attributes that will push him into the upper echelon of the SEC.
If he can continue what he started against ULL, if he becomes a quarterback that can test defenses with his deep passing game, then this MSU team goes from good to potentially great. That’s been first-year coach Joe Moorhead’s motto all along. He’s shared the “good to great” mantra repeatedly, and his practices and the way he handles this team pushes MSU toward that goal on a daily basis.
The Bulldogs have been good. Now they’re aiming for great.
The Fitzgerald that led MSU Saturday night is the man who can get this team there.
Waiting his turn
Senior running back Aeris Williams was in the news last week for the wrong reasons. After rushing for 1,107 yards as a junior, Williams was nowhere to be seen over the first two weeks of the 2018 season.
He received only two carries in the season opener, then was held out entirely at Kansas State.
When asked, Moorhead shared that playing time is given to those who earn it during practice, with the implication hanging out there that Williams didn’t earn his spot heading into Kansas State.
Guess what? Aeris is back. The senior from West Point clearly responded to Moorhead’s ultimatum, and instead of pouting, instead of letting the moment get the best of him, Williams responded the right way. He came to work every day and earned his spot back.
Williams was the best runner on the field for MSU Saturday night, rushing for 111 yards and a touchdown, showcasing a burst into the secondary that he never showed last season.
With Kylin Hill, who earned the starting tailback job this summer, and Fitzgerald, who is a couple of games away from breaking Tim Tebow’s SEC record for rushing yards by a quarterback, MSU suddenly has one of the most potent rushing attacks in the country.
One more week
I want Florida. State fans want Florida. Everybody in maroon and white is ready to see Dan Mullen get handled in Starkville on Sept. 29.
But first things first.
At 3-0, MSU wants to be a contender in the SEC. To do that, there can be no off weeks, as the Bulldogs must take care of business in Lexington, Kentucky, against the 3-0 Wildcats. If State slips up here, the game against Mullen loses its luster.
So far, Moorhead has done everything right as coach at MSU.
I’m guessing he’ll continue that streak, and the Bulldogs will be ready to play come 6 p.m. Saturday night in Kentucky.
Around the SEC
I think LSU’s win over Auburrn on the Plains says more about Auburn than it does LSU. How do you blow a double-digit lead against Ed Orgeron two years in a row, Gus Malzahn? That’s embarrassing, and Mississippi State is better than both sets of Tigers in the SEC West.
I didn’t get to see the beatdown in Oxford, but I saw the stats, and it looks positively NSFW. I hope the women and children averted their eyes during the Alabama-Ole Miss game, because it wasn’t pretty.
I think Ole Miss will bounce back and be 5-2 heading into the stretch run come October, but that couldn’t have been fun.
