Turning the Corner: Mississippi State QB Will Rogers Proved Something Big With Win Over Texas A&M

Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers had the game he needed to have on Saturday night as the Bulldogs took down the Texas A&M Aggies, 26-22 in College Station.

The sophomore signal-caller completed some 46-of-59 passes (78%) for 408 yards with three touchdowns on a turnover-free night. With this, Rogers is the only quarterback in the Southeastern Conference this season to have a 400-yard, three-touchdown performance -- and he has two of them.

It's his sixth career 300-yard passing game, which is second in second in MSU history behind only Dak Prescott, who totaled nine of those (2012-15).

Rogers was pleased with the performance overall, but was a bit frustrated with the failure to turn safety Fred Peters' early interception into a touchdown, and took the blame upon himself for it.

“It was better, but I think it can be even more better,” Rogers said. “I was very frustrated. We get a turnover on what, the second play of the game? And then we come away with three points? That’s on me. That’s on nobody else but me. I’ve got to do a better job of getting us into the right play on the right down, things like that, so I take full blame for that.”

With this game in books, Rogers has completed 75.7% of his passes for 1,862 yards with 14 touchdowns and two interceptions after completing 69.1% of his passes for 1,976 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions in limited action last year, coming off the bench at certain times and then ultimately taking the starting job from graduate transfer quarterback KJ Costello late in the season last year.

Rogers has received his fair share of criticism this season at the helm of the Bulldogs offense, largely for not getting the ball out fast enough on some occasions. But Rogers looked improved not only in that area but all-around, looking like a quarterback who can deliver at the highest stage. His poise and leadership ability was on full display, as was his decision-making, accuracy and ability to read the field well.

Leach noted several different aspects of Rogers' game that had taken a step forward this weekend.

"I think he just needs to continue to elevate and adjust to the players around him and what they're going to do," Leach said. "It's tough because it's a moving target. I think he did a better job of mastering some things as far as being aware of the back side, being aware of their leverage, being aware of their numbers and not forcing plays into bad looks."

When asked if this was Rogers' best performance this season, Leach's answer was simple.

"Yeah, probably."

It also helped that Rogers' supporting cast did its job -- the most notable of his targets was wide receiver Makai Polk, who caught 13 of the 18 passes he was targeted on for 126 yards with two touchdowns.

"I think the guys around him (helped Rogers to be successful)," Leach said. "I thought they protected him pretty good. I see they have him down for three sacks. We only gave up two, one of them should have never happened. I thought we protected him pretty good. I thought receivers got better at making plays."

There's a tough road ahead for Rogers and this team with an undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide next on the schedule after the upcoming open date, but it's hard not to get the sense that there's something special brewing in Starkville -- and Rogers is a big part of it.