Football falls short against SEC opponent

Junior running back Jason McNair made sure his kin folks knew he came to play Saturday night against the hometown favorite Mississippi State Bulldogs. The University of Tennessee at Martin tailback rushed 27 times for 122 yards.

Despite McNair's effort, Mississippi State took advantage of Skyhawk miscues and made big plays en route to a 55-17 homecoming victory at Davis-Wade Stadium.

"A loss is a loss," UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson said. "We had individual errors, but I was proud of our guys' ability to stand against a team like this (Mississippi State) and execute at times."

Senior Kenny Jones was one of those players who was able to execute. The H-back scored two touchdowns in the game. He scored one in the fourth quarter when he caught an 8-yard pass from quarterback Derek Carr with 4:16 left in the game. Jones' first touchdown came in the third quarter on a 2-yard run to cap off a 13-play 71-yard drive. Junior kicker Cody Sandlin added the PAT. Sandlin also kicked a 31 yard field goal to end the first half.

"We really couldn't hold on to the football," Simpson said. "I am proud of the offensive line and their ability to compete against this team."

McNair, the nephew of the late Steve McNair, also gave all the credit to his offensive line. "I have to credit the line for all of our offensive success," Jason McNair said. "We ran the ball very well and our team played better than I expected overall."

The Skyhawks managed to rush for 269 total yards and piled up 454 yards against the No. 15 defense in the nation.

UT Martin walk-on linebacker Ben Johnson led the Skyhawk defense with 13 tackles and an interception.

"Our offense gave our defense momentum, and we felt like we could play with them regardless of the fact that we play in the OVC and they play in the SEC," Johnson said. "We just didn't get the job done."

Mississippi State scored twice in the third quarter, while the Skyhawks kept things close in the second quarter, only giving up one touchdown while closing out the half with a 31-yard field goal by Sandlin. The Skyhawks managed to gain 91 yards of offense, most of it coming from Carr who completed 5-of-7 passes for 53 yards.

Despite not scoring in the first quarter, UT Martin gained 142 yards of offense on 23 plays and attempted a 33-yard field goal after marching 70 yards on its first possession of the game.

MSU's Vick Ballard scored the first Bulldog touchdown on a 5-yard run. The Bulldogs took advantage of the replay camera and appealed a call. Officials determined that the ball was caught, and the Bulldogs picked up a key first down in Skyhawk territory. Instead of a fourth-and-ten, the Bulldogs came away with a first-and-ten at the Skyhawks 44 yard line.

Johnthan Banks returned a Skyhawk punt 65 yards to give the Bulldogs a 14-0 advantage and then Chad Bumphis scored on a 78-yard pass from Tyler Russell to close out the quarter with a 21-0 lead.