Football Joel Coleman, Senior Writer
Mississippi State’s defense shines on a day the Bulldogs honor the two legends.
STARKVILLE – Saturday was a special day at Mississippi State as the Bulldogs honored a pair of legends and the school's first-ever black varsity football players – late heroes Frank Dowsing, Jr. and Robert Bell.
There were special uniforms. There was a halftime ceremony for the families of the two trailblazers. All of it happened under a beautiful, sunlit Starkville sky. It all seemed perfect.
And if all this wasn't enough, the Dawg defense saw it fit to throw a little icing on the cake.
In a lopsided, 45-14 win over Bowling Green, Mississippi State defenders made certain to put the clamps on the Falcons in an effort that surely would've had Dowsing – a former defensive back, and Bell – a former defensive lineman, grinning from ear to ear.
"Give 'em hell, Robert Bell," State fans used to shout.
Well 50 years since those chants came from the stands, it was MSU's current linemen creating chaos and frustrating the Falcons.
"I thought our [defensive] line affected their quarterback, and when the good things happened for us, it was when our defensive line was affecting the quarterback," MSU head coach Mike Leach said.
Just how much did State impact things in the trenches? The numbers – particularly the early numbers – speak for themselves.
The Bulldogs allowed only 19 first-quarter yards. State forced a three-and-out on four of Bowling Green's first five possessions and five of the Falcons' first seven.
MSU's leading tackler Saturday, linebacker Nathaniel Watson, aided his teammates in stressing the Bowling Green offense. He could see firsthand why the Falcons couldn't get much of anything going.
"Forcing that pressure on the quarterback, it messes up his throws," Watson said. "Sometimes we don't get home, but I know the quarterback is feeling us when we're there."
Only twice did Bowling Green have first-half drives that weren't stopped after three plays. And on one of those occasions, the conclusion of the series might as well have been dedicated to Dowsing.
Dowsing ended his career in 1972 as the school's leader in interceptions. He still ranks eighth all-time.
Well, Dowsing would've nodded in approval at safety Shawn Preston Jr.'s pick that short circuited Bowling Green's hopes at building momentum.
"Generating turnovers for the offense, getting the ball back and getting momentum swings – it means a lot for our offense," Watson said. "We're just doing our job to help our offense."
Just how much did State's stinginess aid the Bulldog offense's cause? Just ask quarterback Will Rogers.
Rogers threw for 406 yards and tied his own single-game school record with six touchdown passes. He knows he couldn't have done his part if not for the efforts of State defensive coordinator Zach Arnett's group.
"It's awesome," Rogers said of the MSU defense. "It's something I feed off of, and I think we all feed off of it. It doesn't matter [when we're on offense] if we score or if we get a three-and-out or we turn it over. Whatever it is, when our defense gets a three-and-out, it just automatically shoots us right back up. It doesn't matter what we just did, if the defense gets a three-and-out and gets you the ball back quickly, it's a positive feeling on the sidelines for everybody."
Like Rogers, Leach believed the defense's showing went hand in hand with what was a splendid all-around Saturday effort for State.
"I think we were playing together," Leach said. "I think the offense, defense and special teams all were complimenting each others' performance."
By the time the day was through, Bowling Green had mustered just 251 yards versus the Dawg D. The Falcons had only 79 yards on the ground.
It's easy to envision Dowsing and Bell clanging cowbells in celebration. And maybe the only thing that'd make the two prouder is to know their Bulldogs aren't satisfied.
"We'd like to keep [opponents] at no points and less yards and stuff, but we'll just get back to the drawing board and keep working," Watson said.
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