Mississippi State lost to Oklahoma on Saturday, and the Bulldogs still left Davis Wade Stadium with more good news than the scoreboard suggests. A healthy running back looked like himself again, and a tight end threw the best pass of the day.

The bad news showed up close to the goal line and in the middle of the defense. Here are three Mississippi State players rising and three falling after Oklahoma.

Rising: Running back Fluff Bothwell

Running back Fluff Bothwell had not played since the Alabama game in early October, and he looked like a back who had been counting down the days. He carried 17 times for 111 yards, an average of 6.5 yards per carry.

The staff even had a number in mind for him. 

“He was on a little bit of a pitch count for us. We wanted to be right around 15 to 18 carries. We actually, I think, were right in that sweet spot with where he ended up,” Jeff Lebby said in his postgame press conference.

With the quarterback situation in flux, Bothwell might be the most important player on the offense right now. “We’re going to need him in a great way,” Lebby said.

Rising: Wide receiver Sanfrisco Magee

Sanfrisco Magee caught only three passes, but all three counted. He finished with 65 yards, hauled in a 42-yard touchdown from Billy Puckett with 2:10 left and then caught the two-point conversion to pull Mississippi State within one score.

The comeback came up short, but a receiver who can win deep in a tight game gives this offense something it badly needs.

Rising: Tight end Sam West

The most fun play of the afternoon came from a tight end. On second-and-1 in the third quarter, Sam West threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Camden Capehart, ending a scoring drought that had stretched across eight quarters for the Bulldogs offense.

Lebby explained why his team kept rolling the dice after halftime. 

“It’s for us to be able to stay on the field and go score touchdowns. Us punting the ball there in the second half doesn’t help us go win the game,” Lebby said. West made that aggressive approach look smart.

Falling: Quarterback Billy Puckett

Billy Puckett completed 17 of 24 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown, but his mistakes came at the worst spots. On a first-and-goal play in the second quarter, he kept the ball and fumbled it away, and the Bulldogs went to the locker room scoreless.

“Billy keeps the ball, and as he’s knifing, we’ve got to do just a better job of ball security. That was, again, really frustrating in that moment,” Lebby said.

Puckett also threw an interception in the end zone on a deep pass in the fourth quarter. 

“The turnover as we got down there inside the two-yard line, obviously the pick there in the fourth quarter, those are two things that we want back,” Lebby said.

Falling: Linebackers Tyler Lockhart, Fatt Forrest

Linebackers Tyler Lockhart and Fatt Forrest each made 10 tackles. The problem is how often they had to make them, as Oklahoma came in averaging 92.5 rushing yards per game and ran for 184.

Lebby pointed at the breakdowns. 

“I thought we were in position on a couple of them, and we don’t make the play. They do make the play,” Lebby said. “We had a bust where we can’t have a bust situationally. That gives them a chunk.”

Falling: Running back Kolin Wilson

Running back Kolin Wilson was a big part of the backfield while Bothwell was out. With Bothwell back, Wilson got only five carries and managed 16 yards, about 3 yards per attempt on a day when the team averaged 5.

His drop is mostly about Bothwell’s return. Still, he needs to make his touches count, because short gains on early downs are killing this offense. “We can’t be in third and eight plus right now offensively and expect to go do what we need to do. I think we were one of 11 on third down,” Lebby said.

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