• Makinghissecond-careerstart,NickFitzgeraldshatteredtheMSUquarterbackrushingrecordwith195yards.TherecordwaspreviouslyheldbyJohnBond,whorushedfor163againstOleMissonNov.22,1980.

• Fitzgerald’s195yardsonthegroundwerethemostbyanMSUplayersinceJoshRobinsonrushedfor198againstKentuckyonOct.19,2014.

• Withareceivingtouchdowntoday,FredRossmovedintoatieforninthplaceinMSUhistorywith11.• Withsixcatchestoday,FredRossmovedintoatieforfourthplaceinMSUhistorywith139careerreceptions.• FredRosstossedhisfirstcareertouchdownthroughtheair,a17-yardstriketoDonaldGray.• MakinghisMSUdebut,JeffreySimmonsforcedafumbleandrecorded1.5tacklesforlosswithfourtotaltackles.• JamalPeterssnaggedthefirstinterceptionofhiscollegiatecareer.• MakinghisMSUdebut,JordanThomasscoredhisfirsttouchdownonthefirstreceptionofhiscareer.

• Today’swinwasthefirstagainstSouthCarolinaintheDanMulleneraandthefirstsince1999,endingaseven-gamewinstreakfortheGamecocks.MSUhasnowdefeatedeveryteamintheSECEastintheDanMullenera.

• MississippiStatehasnowwonfiveinarowagainsttheSECEast,allbydouble-digitsandisoutscoringitsoppo-nentsbyacombined196-74duringthatstretch.

• UnderDanMullen,theBulldogsare14-4againsttheSECEast.• MSUhasnowwonthreeofitslastfiveSECopeners.• Thevictorybroughttheall-timeseriesrecordbetweenthetwoteamsto7-9.• TheBulldogsheldSouthCarolinato34yardsontheground,thefewestallowedinanSECgamesinceholding

LSUto30Sept.26,2009.• MississippiStateheldSouthCarolinato90totalyardsatthehalf,thefewestyardsgivenupinthefirsthalfsince

allowingjust31toTroyOct.10,2015.• Sofarin2016,theBulldogsareoutscoringtheiropponents41-0inthefirsthalf.• MississippiStatehasnowrecorded330yardsoftotaloffensein29straightgames,astreakthatdatesbackto

the2013LibertyBowlagainstRice.• Therehavenowbeen101MSUstatistialrecordsbrokenintheDanMullenera.• TwoBulldogsmadetheirfirst-careerstarts;CoryThomasandJustinJohnson• TwoBulldogssawthefieldforthefirsttimeintheircareers;JefferySimmonsandJordanThomas• Today’sattendancewas57,763• Playresumedafteraonehour,threeminutelightningdelayathalftime.

POSTGAME NOTESGAME 2 • SOUTH CAROLINA (1-1, 1-1 SEC) AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (1-1, 1-0 SEC) • SEPT. 10, 2016 • DAVIS WADE STADIUM

PLAYER NOTABLES

TEAM NOTABLES

SOUTH CAROLINA FOOTBALL GAME NOTES

South Carolina vs. Mississippi State September 10, 2016

GENERAL NOTES Mississippi State defeated South Carolina 27-14 at Davis Wade Stadium. The Gamecocks are now 1-1 on the year and 1-1 in the SEC with Mississippi State 1-1 and 1-0 in league play. Captains for South Carolina were: Hayden Hurst, Mason Zandi, Marquavius Lewis and Jonathan Walton Attendance at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field was 57,763 The loss snapped a seven-game win streak for South Carolina against Mississippi State. It is South Carolina’s first loss to Mississippi State since a 17-0 loss to the Bulldogs on Sept. 25, 1999 in Starkville. South Carolina leads the all-time series history 9-7. The Gamecocks have had 18 players start both of the first two games of the season: WR Deebo Samuel, WR Bryan Edwards, TE Hayden Hurst, LT Mason Zandi, LG Zack Bailey, G Cory Helms, QB Perry Orth, TB A.J. Turner, DE Marquavius Lewis, DT Taylor Stallworth, DT Kelsey Griffin, DE Darius English, LB Bryson Allen-Williams, LB T.J. Holloman, CB Rashad Fenton, S D.J. Smith, S Chaz Elder and CB Chris Lammons South Carolina is outscoring opponents this season 27-3 in the second half. OFFENSIVE NOTES Freshman quarterback Brandon McIlwain completed his first career touchdown pass in the 3rd quarter with an 18-yard completion to A.J. Turner. The reception was also Turner’s first career touchdown in a Gamecock uniform. McIlwain finished 11-for-22 in the air for 126 yards with two touchdown passes. Sophomore tight end K.C. Crosby’s 4-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter marked his first career touchdown in a Gamecock uniform. Crosby caught 3 passes for 14 yards. Sophomore tight end Hayden Hurst tallied a career-high eight receptions for a career-high 68 yards. DEFENSIVE NOTES Senior defensive end Marquavius Lewis has started all 14 games of his career at South Carolina. Lewis finished with four tackles. Senior linebacker T.J. Holloman’s second quarter interception was his first of the season and his sixth career interception. He had seven tackles in the game as well. Junior defensive tackle Ulric Jones led the Gamecocks on defense with a career-high nine tackles. Jones came in with just two career tackles from last week’s contest vs. Vanderbilt. Junior linebacker Bryson Allen-Williams finished with a career-high seven tackles surpassing his previous high of six last year at Georgia. He also finished with two tackles for loss.

Junior defensive back Jasper Sasser tallied a career-high eight tackles. The Gamecock defense has allowed just three points in the second half in the first two games of the season. SPECIAL TEAM NOTES Senior placekicker Elliott Fry has now made 126 consecutive PAT kicks, moving him into fourth all-time in the SEC surpassing Damon Duval of Auburn (1999-02). Senior punter Sean Kelly had a season-high 66-yard punt in the fourth quarter, just three yards shy of his career longest that he set last season. Kelly finished the game with seven punts for 344 yards for an average of 49.1 yards per punt. He also had two inside the 20.

HEADCOACHDANMULLENQUOTESSeptember10,2016SouthCarolinavs.MississippiState

Opening Statement “I like the effort our guys came out with and gave in the first half. That kind of looked like Mississippi State football. The effort and the strain our guys played with, the intensity our guys played with in that first half. We need to do a much better job in the red zone, especially in the first half. We had some missed opportunities there to get points. I think on two of our possessions in the first half, we came away empty. You cannot do that and win games. In the second half, we have young players and they need to learn to keep it cranked up for four quarters. I think the rain delay made them wait and wait, but they need to learn to crank it back up in the second half. We have to give South Carolina credit. They had those guys ready in the second half. The young quarterback comes in, makes some plays and they continue to battle and play hard for four quarters. That is what you are always going to get in Southeastern Conference games. On starting Nick Fitzgerald… “It was kind of what I saw based on last week. He had been graded a little bit higher all through training camp. That decision led him to play for a straight four quarters. I thought he came out and played fairly well. He has a couple of things in the throwing game, and managing and learning from reps. All of that just comes from more experience.” On how practice has been leading up to this game… “It has been pretty intense, I’ll tell you that much. That is what it is, that is who we are since I have been here as a head coach. This team plays with unbelievable passion and 11 guys playing as hard as they can when the ball snaps. I do not know if I saw that last week. We played football, but I do not think I saw that desperation. That is on me to set that standard; we have a lot of young guys and we are looking for leaders in our program. And if I do not have the desperate intensity, how can I expect them to have it. I want to make sure they know how hard we have to go. You have to do that for four quarters, and I thought we did.

HEAD COACH WILL MUSCHAMP QUOTES September 10, 2016 South Carolina vs. Mississippi State

Opening Statement...

“We just got physically beat on both lines of scrimmage. Defensively, we had guys at the point

of attack that didn’t want to tackle. It’s hard to understand at times. It seems like we are a decent

tackling team at times, other times we’re not. You got to get off blocks. You have to make

tackles. You have to be able to stick your face in there and tackle. Unfortunately, we just didn’t

do that tonight, especially in the first half. We settled down a little, played a little better in the

second half. I like the way our guys responded in the game and came out and fought in the

second half. There will be some bumps in the road. We said it last week, but we will continue to

move forward and improve our team.”

On the success of the MSU defensive line…

“I credit those guys. I think that they whipped us twice on third down situations for sacks on the

first two third downs of the game. We had a hard time running it. They really jammed everything

up inside. We went to some of the perimeter running game in the second half that helped us. I

credit them. They whipped us.”

On problems with the South Carolina defense…

“You have to tackle. We had three guys at the point of attack, so we will work on tackling again

tomorrow. You have to like it, you have to actually like sticking your face in there and tackling

somebody. We are where we are. We are going to improve. We are going to get better. We are

going to do what we have to do. I can assure you. It’s hard to be a really good defensive player if

you don’t like to tackle. You have to learn how to stick your face in the fan and like it. Call it

like it is, we got some folks out there that do. We don’t really have a lot of options right now, but

we will have some.”

On switching quarterbacks in the second half…

“Well we weren’t doing anything in the first half so we needed a change up. At the end of the

day, we felt like we needed to change some things up. It’s no different than changing a receiver,

running back, tight end or offensive lineman.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE PLAYER QUOTES September 10, 2016 South Carolina vs. Mississippi State

DL – A.J. Jefferson – Sr.

On what the locker room atmosphere was like postgame…

“Smiles. Big smiles everywhere. From the coaches, to the players, to the equipment managers,

the trainers everybody was just, I mean, it’s like something that everybody wants to do, just win.

So I mean it was great, just a great feeling.”

On the concept of it feeling like a new team…

“Most definitely it did. Coach Mullen addressed that after the game last week and I mean it

payed off. We are still not satisfied with how we played in the second half, but I like the way we

are moving.”

LB – Richie Brown – Sr.

On this game being a redemption game compared to last week…

“Yeah, it’s a good victory. I think we are excited. I mean obviously we came out expecting to

win and we are trying to keep that trend going upward. This is a good game for us and we are

excited about it and I think we have a lot to learn from this game.”

On being a vocal leader …

“Obviously the coaches can lead a little bit, but if you don’t have leadership from within then

what’s it worth? You have to have guys inside the program, you have got to have your players

echoing the things your coaches are saying and the coaches echoing the players. I mean it’s got

to come from within.”

QB – Nick Fitzgerald – So.

On responding to being named starter…

“I took it very seriously. I knew I was going to get the snaps so I knew I had to prepare harder

than I did last week.”

On the previous week of practice…

“It was very intense. A whole new level. I don’t think you will ever see us like we were last

week, we played Mississippi State Football tonight.”

SOUTH CAROLINA PLAYER QUOTES September 10, 2016 South Carolina vs. Mississippi State

QB – Perry Orth – Sr.

On how hard it was to get into a rhythm…

“It was difficult. I am not sure what it was. They just had a good game plan and they had good

players, so sometimes it goes that way.”

On how QB Brandon Mcllwain played in the second half…

“Exceptional. He is a very talented kid and I was very proud of the way he came out and

played.”

On if this diminishes the confidence they have built…

“I am not sure. The guys seemed pretty up. We showed that we can play in the second half. We

just have to figure out a way to get it started early.”

On if they expected that type of push from Mississippi State’s defense…

“We knew they were good going into the game. I don’t know if we expected that much, but we

knew they had some size up front.”

LB – T.J. Holloman – Sr.

On missed tackles hurting them…

“We just have to put out face on the ball carrier. We didn’t really wrap up today. We were just

diving at them. We just have to go back and work on our technique.”

On if more is learned from winning games like last week, or losing games like tonight…

“I feel like you learn from both. You make mistakes in every game. No game is perfect, but

tonight we are really going to have to go back and watch the film to see what happened with our

mistakes today.”

On how he saw his team’s tackling…

“We did not tackle well in the first half. Second half we recouped and did a better job. In order to

win a game in the SEC you have to start fast and we did not do that today.”