Mississippi St upsets No. 7 Texas A&M 35-28

Texas A&M tumbled three spots to No. 10 while the top six teams remained intact in the Associated Press college football poll released Sunday. The Aggies senior transfer quarterback would go on to re-injure the same shoulder in the second quarter before being officially ruled out for the game.

With Mississippi and Louisiana State still to come, Knight could make the difference between a New Year’s Six bowl bid and a pedestrian mid-tier bowl should he return in timely fashion. Fitzgerald and running back Aeris Williams each topped 100 rushing yards on the day, including a 74-yard scamper on the first play of the game.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, and they never relinquished it. A&M’s Christian Kirk returned a punt 93 yards for a touchdown just before halftime to cut into the lead, but it still left the Aggies down 28-14 as they headed to the locker room.

Fitzgerald’s bruising 4-yard touchdown run was one of the many highlights for Mississippi State’s running game, which finished with a season-high 365 yards.

The Wildcats’ only score was a 13-yard second quarter touchdown pass from quarterback Clayton Thorson to Austin Carr.

Mississippi State opened as a 30-point underdog heading into the matchup. Though Fitzgerald’s second series ended on an interception in the end zone, he kept cool and came back with a 65-yard drive to double the margin. First, quarterback Trevor Knight ran 19 yards and vaulted the left pylon for a first quarter touchdown.

MS quarterback Chad Kelly will miss the rest of the season because of a torn ACL and a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee. Dante Pettis had eight catches for 104 yards and three scores and also threw a 39-yard touchdown pass.

But the Rebels stormed back behind Kelly, who ran for a touchdown and closed out the first half with 38-yard touchdown pass to tight end Evan Engram that gave Ole Miss a 31-21 lead at the break.

In Miami Gardens, Fla., Brad Kaaya passed for 356 yards and four touchdowns, and Miami snapped a four-game losing streak.

Simply put, Texas A&M doesn’t have the depth to withstand major injuries to its stars, and doesn’t have the ability to adapt mid-game or during practice-which it could have done while Garrett battled that ankle injury for the last month. For the second time this season, the Aggies were held to under 200 yards on the ground, picking up just three more yards than their season low of 114 against Alabama. The Saturday after Thanksgiving might be better than championship weekend this season.

Saturdays performance followed his recording setting game the prior week when Fitzgerald tied a Mississippi State record with seven total touchdowns and led the Bulldogs to a 56-41 win over Samford. After a bye week, the Razorbacks’ defense rebounded in a big way.

Jesse Ertz ran for 153 yards and three touchdowns, but he was just 12 of 18 for 87 yards through the air, as the Wildcats finished with 345 yards rushing.

“As long as I get the carries, I get stronger and stronger as the game goes on”, Williams said. Clemson (2) 3. MI 4.

Fitzgerald played well despite the two interceptions, throwing for 209 yards and rushing for another 182.

Dan Mullen has taken the Mississippi State Bulldogs to new heights since his arrival in 2009. The Gamecocks led 28-21 heading into the fourth quarter.

Kelly’s college career started at Clemson, but he was kicked out of the program in 2014 for conduct detrimental to the team.

Clemson (9-0, 6-0 ACC) pounded Syracuse 54-0 and is within a victory of clinching consecutive Atlantic Division titles. Tennessee Tech, which managed only 204 yards of total offense, fell to 3-6.