2003 GAME RECAPS
August 30, 2003
Davis Wade Stadium · Starkville, MS
Oregon
42
Mississippi State
34
Opening up the 2003 slate, Mississippi State looked to start the season off strong
against the Oregon Ducks, just a year removed from a Pac-10 championship. The
rematch of last year's opener did not swing in State's direction, as the yellow-and-
green Ducks from Eugene took home a 42-34 victory.
Oregon got off to a fast start, scoring four touchdowns before the first quarter
ended. Kellen Clemens threw two TD passes before 10 minutes ticked off the game
clock. The first went to Samie Parker for a 55-yard TD strike, while the second was
caught by Demetrius Williams, covering 86 yards for the score. In between, Terrance
Whitehead scampered nine yards for another TD. The opening period scoring was
capped by Matt Floberg's two-yard recep-
tion from Jason Fife. Jared Siegel kicked
four PATs to give the Ducks a 28-0 lead.
State clawed its way back into the
game with two scoring drives in the sec-
ond quarter. Quarterback Kevin Fant
scored on a one-yard sneak for the
Bulldogs' first points. He later connected
with Justin Jenkins for State's second
touchdown before halftime. Brent Smith
hit both PATs to cut the lead in half, 28-14
in favor of the Ducks at intermission.
The teams swapped turnovers as well
as punts to start the second half. The
Maroon and White finally scored first, as
Nick Turner broke away for a 44-yard
touchdown run with 9:09 left in the third
quarter. Smith's kick put the Dogs down
by only seven points and a comeback
was seemed to be brewing.
But State could get no closer, as
Oregon went 73 yards in seven plays on
their very next possession. The drive
ended with a 12-yard TD pass from
Clemens to Floberg. Siegel's kick made it
35-21 in favor of the visiting Ducks.
After State's third turnover of the
game, Oregon finished their scoring that
night with a 6-yard run by Fife. The
PATput the Ducks ahead for good 42-21.
State made a valiant effort in the
fourth period, with Fant throwing two TD
passes, the first a 14-yard completion to
Tee Milons and the second also from 14
yards to McKinley Scott. The Dogs, how-
ever, failed on the first score's two-point
conversion try. Smith put through the
other PAT, ending the scoring at 42-34.
The Maroon and White came very
close to an onside kick recovery after the
last touchdown, but Oregon recovered to
cap their victory.
Oregon
28 0 14 0 = 42
Mississippi State
0 14 7 13 = 34
UO - Parker 55 pass from Clemens
(Siegel kick), 13:02, 1st
UO - Whitehead 9 run (Siegel kick), 9:41, 1st
UO - D.Williams 86 pass from Clemens
(Siegel kick), 5:06, 1st
UO - Floberg 2 pass from Fife
(Siegel kick), 1:10, 1st
MSU - Fant 1 run (Smith kick), 13:49, 2nd
MSU - Jenkins 2 pass from Fant
(Smith kick), 1:00, 2nd
MSU - Turner 44 run (Smith kick), 9:09, 3rd
UO - Floberg 12 pass from Clemens
(Siegel kick), 6:46, 3rd
UO - Fife 6 run (Siegel kick), :24, 3rd
MSU - Milons 14 pass from Fant
(pass failed), 7:39, 4th
MSU - Scott 14 pass from Fant
(Smith kick), 3:04, 4th
UO
MSU
First Downs
27
21
Rushes-Yards
51-198 22-124
Passing Yards
358
285
Passes (C-A-I)
22-29-0 23-40-1
Total Offense
556
409
Fumbles-Lost
3-2
2-2
Penalties-Yards
13-129
8-45
Time of Possession
37:10
22:50
RUSHING: (UO) Shaw 16-84, Whitehead 20-
76 TD, Vincent 7-49, Floberg 1-3, Fife 3-(-3), Team
2-(-4), Clemens 2-(-7). (MSU) Turner 7-74 TD,
Norwood 9-41, Fant 5-9, Reid 1-0.
PASSING: (UO) Clemens 14-21-0-247 3TD, Fife
8-8-0-111 TD. (MSU) Fant 23-40-1-285 3TD.
RECEIVING: (UO) Parker 8-128 TD, Williams 6-
135 TD, Whitehead 4-61, Floberg 3-21 2TD, Day
1-13. (MSU) Bivines 6-98, Jenkins 6-61 TD, Milons
3-36 TD, Scott 3-27 TD, Turner 2-2, Reid 1-52,
Jones 1-10, Norwood 1-(-1).
Attendance: 52,856.
GAME NOTES
· The crowd of 52,856 was the second-largest in
Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field history.
· Justin Jenkins moved into ninth place on
MSU's all-time pass receptions list.
· Kevin Fant tied his career highs for pass
completions (23) and touchdowns (3).
· Ray Ray Bivines matched a career best with
six receptions in the contest.
September 13, 2003
Louisiana Superdome · New Orleans, LA
Mississippi State
28
Tulane
31
Playing in the Big Easy for the first time in a decade, Mississippi State looked to
get back to their winning ways against Tulane. But a late surge from the Green
Wave toppled the Bulldogs 31-28 in front of 33,723 at the Louisiana Superdome.
Both teams went scoreless in the opening period, swapping punts after three
straight stalled drives. The Dogs would score on their first possession of the second
quarter, when Brent Smith put through a 31-yard field goal with 12:02 remaining in
the half to give State a 3-0 lead.
The advantage didn't last long, as Tulane drove 80 yards in 8 plays, finishing the
drive with a 9-yard pass from J.P. Losman to Tristan Smith. Barrett Pepper tacked
on the extra point, giving Tulane their
first lead at 7-3.
State gave Tulane the ball back
when Tee Milons fumbled on the TU 42.
The Wave drove down to the MSU 9
before stalling there. Pepper then
missed a 26-yard field goal attempt,
giving State a second chance.
The Maroon and White answered by
putting together a 13-play, 75-yard drive
to end the first half. Smith hit his sec-
ond three-pointer of the night, this one
from 22 yards out, cutting the Green
Wave lead to one at the half, 7-6.
The Bulldogs' first possession of the
second half was a long one, travelling 80
yards and seven plays in 2:27. Nick
Turner capped the drive with a 15-yard
run. Jerious Norwood ran for a two-point
conversion, giving State a 14-7 lead.
Tulane answered again, this time
with a 36-yard strike from Losman to
Chris Bush. Pepper's PAT kick tied the
score at 14 apiece with 10:11 left in the
third quarter.
After swapping punts, Bulldogs
Kevin Fant and Justin Jenkins took
over the next few minutes of the game.
On two straight possessions, the sen-
iors hooked up for touchdown passes,
first from 24 yards out and later on a
70-yard pass on the second play of the
fourth period. John Michael Marlin
kicked both extra points, giving State a
28-14 advantage that it would hold into
the late stages of the game.
But Tulane would rally hard, scoring
17 unanswered points in the final 4:50.
Losman threw two TD passes, from one
and 13 yards out, while State stalled on
three downs on the drive in between.
A State fumble then setup a Tulane
field goal with six seconds to go, Pepper
true from 32 yards for the win.
Mississippi State
0 6 15 7 = 28
Tulane
0 7 7 17 = 31
MSU - Smith 31 FG, 12:02, 2nd
TU - Smith 9 pass from Losman (Pepper kick),
8:57, 2nd
MSU - Smith 22 FG, :40, 2nd
MSU - Turner 15 run (Norwood rush), 12:33, 3rd
TU - Bush 36 pass from Losman (Pepper kick),
10:11, 3rd
MSU - Jenkins 24 pass from Fant (Marlin kick),
2:41, 3rd
MSU - Jenkins 70 pass from Fant (Marlin kick),
14:11, 4th
TU - Landry 1 pass from Losman (Pepper kick),
4:50, 4th
TU - Bush 13 pass from Losman (Pepper kick),
2:29, 4th
TU - Pepper 32 FG, 0:06, 4th
MSU
TU
First Downs
23
26
Rushes-Yards
37-225 31-112
Passing Yards
246
349
Passes (C-A-I)
16-33-0 29-47-0
Total Offense
471
461
Fumbles-Lost
5-3
0-0
Penalties-Yards
14-121
8-62
Time of Possession
29:00
31:00
RUSHING: (MSU) Turner 20-155 TD, Norwood
7-72, Reid 3-18, Bivines 1-(-4), Fant 6-(-16). (TU)
Moore 23-92, Losman 5-16, Coleman 1-5,
Jackson 1-0, Team 1-(-1).
PASSING: (MSU) Fant 16-32-0-246 2TD, Team
0-1-0-0. (TU) Losman 29-47-0-349 4TD.
RECEIVING: (MSU) Jenkins 9-164 2TD, Bivines
4-57, Lumpkin 1-17, Jones 1-9, Milons 1-(-1). (TU)
Williams 10-114, Moore 6-55, Bush 4-107 2TD,
Terranova 2-26, Davis 2-18, Narcisse 2-15, Smith
2-13 TD, Landry 1-1 TD.
Attendance: 33,723.
GAME NOTES
· Justin Jenkins had the best game of his career
with nine catches for 164 yards and two
touchdowns receiving...The 164 yards were the
10th-most in a single game in MSU history.
· Kevin Fant eclipsed the 4,000-yard mark in
passing, upping his career total to 4,011.
· Nick Turner's 155 yards rushing were the most
in a single game for MSU in three years.
· Brent Smith was 2-for-2 on field goals, moving
him into eighth place at MSU all-time.
