#23 Mississippi State Football Falls to Florida

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Despite a 6-3 halftime lead, the #23 Mississippi State football team fell to the Florida Gators 13-6 Saturday evening at Davis Wade Stadium.

The Bulldogs fall to (3-2, 0-2 SEC), while the Gators improve to (4-1, 2-1 SEC). Florida outscored State 10-0 in the second half to hold on for the Southeastern Conference win.

Senior quarterback Nick Fitzgerald completed 11 of 26 passes for 98 yards. He added 20 rushes for 40 yards. Florida’s strong defensive effort was good for six sacks on Fitzgerald.

MSU was held to just 202 total yards of offense—104 rushing yards and 98 passing yards. Sophomore running back Kylin Hill led the rushing attack with nine rushes for 41 yards.

The Bulldogs’ defensive effort kept Florida in check for most of the game, but a third quarter touchdown pass from Florida’s Kadarius Toney proved to be the game-changer. The Gators added a field goal in the fourth quarter to end the scoring for the game.

Defensively, sophomore linebacker Erroll Thompson tallied 14 tackles to lead State’s defense. Senior defensive backs Johnathan Abram and Mark McLaurin added eight and seven tackles respectively.

MSU remains at home for an SEC contest with No. 10 Auburn on Saturday. The game is set to kickoff at either 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. CT at Davis Wade Stadium.