Cowbell Corner

One play away or a dozen? Mississippi State shows just how close games can be

Arizona State's coach thinks his team was one play away from an unbelievable comeback, but which play was it exactly?
Taylor Hodges|
Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham reacts toward an official during the second quarter against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field.
Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham reacts toward an official during the second quarter against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

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“Honestly, we’re one play away from this being an unbelievable comeback.”

Those were the words No. 12 (for now) Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham said after Saturday’s 24-20 loss to unranked Mississippi State.

Dillingham isn’t wrong. The question is, which play?

Was it Brenen Thompson’s game-winning 58-yard touchdown catch?

Was it Nic Mitchell hitting Kanye Udoh in the backfield on third-and-goal from the one-yard line for no gain forcing Arizona State to settle for a field goal? Or either of the two other plays in that three down sequence?

Was it DeAgo Brumfield making a touchdown-saving tackle at the three-yard line just before the two-minute warning?

Maybe it was a player earlier in the game, like the penalty flag that was picked up on Brenen Thompson’s first of touchdown catches?

Could it have been any number of plays that resulted in a timeout, false start or misalignment because Davis Wade Stadium was loader than it’s been since Dak Prescott was wearing maroon? Or Mike Leach was bringing pirate culture to Starkville?

The point of this isn’t to be critical of what Dillingham said. We’ve done that plenty this week and, in the first half at least, it looked like he actually did make a game plan like he booked hotels.

However, his quote does illustrate how close Saturday night’s game was.

In the lead up to the game this week, too many people on social media and fans I spoke with had seemed to forget how dominant Arizona State in last year’s game. Arizona State led 30-3 before the Bulldogs closed the gap to 30-23.

What happened Saturday night in Starkville was a truly close game.

Yes, Mississippi State led 17-0 at one point but there’s a big difference between a 17-point lead and 27-point lead.

That difference is the first is a three possession deficit and the second is five. Does anybody think Arizona State was going to score four touchdowns in the second half?

But what if something in the first half goes in a different direction? Maybe the flag on Thompson’s first touchdown isn’t picked up, but is instead enforced?

Does Mississippi State still score to make it 17-0? Or do the Bulldogs fail to score any points and only lead 10-0?

But, then again, what if Mississippi State doesn’t suffer a holding penalty that took the Bulldogs out of field goal range at the end of the first half?

You see the point?

Any number of things could go any number of different ways that would have a drastic impact on the outcome of the game.

So, I guess, maybe I am being critical of Dillingham’s comments…again.

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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