2003 GAME RECAPS
October 18, 2003
Jordan-Hare Stadium · Auburn, AL
Mississippi State
13
Auburn
45
Mississippi State traveled to the Plains to take on Tigers for the second straight
week. Auburn came in on a four-game winning streak, including wins in their first
three conference battles. The Bulldogs went in fighting to win their third straight
contest, but the homestanding Tigers rolled on, winning 45-13 at Jordan-Hare
Stadium behind a school-record six rushing touchdowns from Carnell Williams.
Auburn scored on the second play of their second possession of the game when
Williams broke away for a 72-yard score that put the Tigers on the board. John
Vaughn kicked through the PAT to give Auburn an early 7-0 lead.
The Tigers second drive lasted just three plays. The "Cadillac" found the end
zone again, this time from three yards out, to put Auburn up 14-0.
MSU showed a glimmer of hope on
their next possession. Nick Turner did
all of the work, rushing for 92 yards on
two plays, including a 77-yard score
which was the longest run in six years
by a Bulldog. Brent Smith made the
extra point to cut the deficit to 14-7,
where it would stay for the rest of the
first quarter.
Williams, however, scored two touch-
downs in the first 2:30 of the second
quarter. He finished off AU's first drive
of the period with a 22-yard run and put
it in from 17 yards out the next time for
his fourth score of the game. Phillip
Yost made both PAT's to give Auburn a
28-7 advantage.
AU scored on its third possession of
the second quarter as well, with
Williams posting his fifth score of the
afternoon, punching it in from two yards
out. Yost's kick put Auburn up 35-7. He
would hit a field goal from 42 yards out
as time expired to give the Tigers a 38-
7 halftime lead.
State kept fighting, as Willie Evans
forced a fumble in Tiger territory midway
through the third quarter. The `Dogs did
not capitalize, however, giving Auburn
back the ball on the next play on a
loose ball of their own.
The Tigers then put their final points
on the board when Williams crossed the
goal line for the sixth time in the after-
noon. The 6-yard run plus PAT put
Auburn up 45-7.
State would score once more on the
afternoon. Backup quarterback Kyle
York found Justin Jenkins four times on
a fourth-quarter drive, including an 18-
yard TD strike. State's two-point conver-
sion attempt failed, leaving Auburn
wiuth a 45-13 win.
Mississippi State
7 0 0 6 = 13
Auburn
14 24 7 0 = 45
AU - Williams 72 run (Vaughn kick), 10:39, 1st
AU - Williams 3 run (Vaughn kick), 8:09, 1st
MSU - Turner 77 run (Smith kick), 7:18, 1st
AU - Williams 22 run (Yost kick), 14:39, 2nd
AU - Williams 17 run (Yost kick), 12:33, 2nd
AU - Williams 2 run (Yost kick), 4:05, 2nd
AU - Yost 42 FG, 0:00, 2nd
AU - Williams 6 run (Yost kick), 3:01, 3rd
MSU - Jenkins 18 pass from York
(pass failed), 8:15, 4th
MSU
AU
First Downs
15
25
Rushes-Yards
29-102 56-405
Passing Yards
192
148
Passes (C-A-I)
15-30-1 12-19-1
Total Offense
294
553
Fumbles-Lost
4-2
3-1
Penalties-Yards
9-58
7-65
Time of Possession
26:23
33:37
RUSHING: (MSU) Turner 13-123 TD, Norwood
2-2, Reid 4-2, York 4-(-2), Fant 6-(-23). (AU) Jacobs
31-182, Williams 15-161 6TD, McIntyre 1-31,
Smith 5-20, Slaughter 2-8, Campbell 2-3.
PASSING: (MSU) Fant 8-22-1-73, York 7-8-0-
119 TD (AU) Campbell 12-18-0-148, Sullivan 0-1-
1-0.
RECEIVING: (MSU) Jenkins 7-113 TD,
Lumpkin 2-24, Turner 2-16, Conner 1-32, Bivines
1-7, Davis 1-3, Jones 1-(-3). (AU) McIntyre 2-37,
Taylor 2-34, Johnson 2-23, Smith 2-2, Jacobs 1-
34, Obomanu 1-14, Daniels 1-8, Slaughter 1-(-4).
Attendance: 86,063.
GAME NOTES
· With his seven receptions for 113 yards in the
game, Justin Jenkins moved into second and
fourth place, respectively, on MSU's career
charts for receptions and receiving
yardage...Jenkins' TD catch in the game gave
him eight for the year, tying the school's
single-season record he set in 2001.
· Nick Turner amassed 190 yards of all-purpose
output in the game, including a 77-yard TD run
that was the longest by a Bulldog in six years.
· Auburn's 38 points in the first half were the
most allowed by MSU in one half under head
coach Jackie Sherrill.
In the 31st meeting between the Wildcats of Kentucky and the Bulldogs of
Mississippi State, both teams were looking for a spark to finish the last month of the
season on a high note. While in the first half it looked like MSU would be that team,
Kentucky scored 42 unanswered points to win 42-17 at Commonwealth Stadium.
State struck first, driving on their second possession to the Kentucky 6 before
stalling. Brent Smith nailed a 22-yard field goal to give MSU an early 3-0 lead.
The Bulldogs scored again in the first quarter when Jerious Norwood took a pitch
around the left side 58 yards for a touchdown. Smith's PAT was good, putting State
up 10-0.
The Maroon and White capitalized on a Kentucky fumble at the UK 26 early in
the second period, when Marvin Byrdsong recovered the ball. The `Dogs ended up
scoring in six plays, capped by Kevin Fant finding Ray Ray Bivines in the end zone
for a 11-yard TD strike. Smith put through another extra point to make the score 17-
0 MSU with 12:10 left in the first half.
Kentucky finally got on the board just
before halftime, scoring its first touch-
down on a 7-yard run by Ronald
Johnson with 38 seconds left before the
intermission. Taylor Begley made the
PAT to cut the score to 17-7.
The Wildcats scored to start the sec-
ond half as well, receiving the opening
kickoff and travelling 80 yards in nine
plays. Arliss Beach ended the drive with
a 1-yard run. Begley's kick trimmed the
State lead to 17-14.
MSU went three-and-out on its next
possession, forcing a punt. Derek
Abney, who victimized MSU with two
punt return scores in 2002, struck
again, scoring on an 80-yard return.
The PAT put Kentucky up for good 21-
17 early in the third quarter.
The Cats' next score came at the
start of the fourth quarter. Jared
Lorenzen found Abney for a 58-yard
score and a 28-17 lead.
After an interception gave UK the ball
at the MSU 21, Kentucky put another
touchdown on the board. Beach scored
for the second time, again from one
yard out. Begley's kick made the score
35-17.
Kentucky's final score came after
another pickoff by the Wildcats. The
home team drove 31 yards in seven
plays this time. Monquantae Gibson
scored the final touchdown from three
yards out. Begley finished the scoring
with his sixth PAT kick, giving the
Wildcats their first SEC win of the year.
Mississippi State
10 7 0 0 = 17
Kentucky
0 7 14 21 = 42
MSU - Smith 22 FG, 6:35 1st
MSU - Norwood 58 run (Smith kick), 0:35, 1st
MSU - Bivines 11 pass from Fant
(Smith kick), 12:10, 2nd
UK - Johnson 7 run (Begley kick), 0:38, 2nd
UK - Beach 1 run (Begley kick), 11:02, 3rd
UK - Abney 80 punt return
(Begley kick), 9:17, 3rd
UK - Abney 53 pass from Lorenzen
(Begley kick), 12:47, 4th
UK - Beach 1 run (Begley kick), 10:22, 4th
UK - Gibson 3 run (Begley kick), 2:45, 4th
MSU
UK
First Downs
12
20
Rushes-Yards
32-150 47-256
Passing Yards
155
256
Passes (C-A-I)
14-25-3 16-28-0
Total Offense
305
410
Fumbles-Lost
0-0
3-2
Penalties-Yards
12-75
4-25
Time of Possession
27:11
32:49
RUSHING: (MSU) Norwood 11-133 TD, Turner
13-15, Conner 1-5, York 1-5, Reid 1-2, Fant 6-(-10).
(UK) Bwenge 7-39, Beach 13-37 2TD, Johnson 4-
22 TD, Abney 1-21, Lorenzen 7-16, Boyd 7-11,
Gibson 5-11 TD, Sprowles 1-3, Davis 1-3, Team 1-
0.
PASSING: (MSU) Fant 12-21-2-130 TD, York 2-
4-1-25 (UK) Lorenzen 16-24-0-256 TD, Boyd 0-4-
0-0.
RECEIVING: (MSU) Jenkins 3-30, Turner 3-13,
Conner 2-44, Bivines 2-28 TD, Scott 2-25, Ferrill 2-
15. (UK) Abney 4-80 TD, Cook 4-43, Bernard 2-44,
Boyd 2-28, Burton 1-30, Beach 1-17, Drobney 1-
7, Bwenge 1-7.
Attendance: 57,141.
GAME NOTES
· The game was the 300th for Jackie Sherrill
during his head coaching career.
· Jerious Norwood's 133 yards marked his third
career 100-yard game.
· Blake Jones had a string of 25 consecutive
starts broken in the game.
October 25, 2003
Commonwealth Stadium · Lexington, KY
Mississippi State
17
Kentucky
42
