By Southern Pigskin Staff
SouthernPigskin.com

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Devlin Hodges throws for 468 yards in a loss at Mississippi State.

nSamfordSports.com

nSTARKVILLE, Miss.xe2x80x94Samford rolled up 627 yards of offense, but it was not enough as the Bulldogs dropped a hard-fought 56-41 decision at Mississippi State Saturday afternoon at Davis Wade Stadium.
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n”I’m just really proud of our football team,” Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said. “We came in and we fought extremely hard on a very hot afternoon. We ran out of gas a couple of times, but somehow the guys filled their tank back up.”
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nSamford quarterback Devlin Hodges completed 42-of-69 passes for a career-high 468 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. The performance marked Hodges’ fourth 400-yard passing game of the season.
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nKarel Hamilton caught 14 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns. Kelvin McKnight had 13 catches for 115 yards and a touchdown. K’rondis Larry had nine rushes for 99 yards to lead the Samford running game.
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nDefensively for Samford, Jamerson Blount led the way with 13 tackles. Aaron Atkinson added nine tackles. Roosevelt Donaldson and Jamond Glass had an interception each for Samford.
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n”I thought defensively we played tight early, then we got some big stops,” Hatcher said. “Offensively we were able to have some good drives, and then we cut it to eight, but unfortunately we just couldn’t muster one more drive to make the game just a tad closer at the end. We were in the game all the way to the end. I’m really proud of our effort.”
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nFor Mississippi State, Nick Fitzgerald completed 20-of-35 passes for 417 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. Fitzgerald also rushed 19 times for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Richie Brown led the MSU defense with 13 tackles.
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nMississippi State received the opening kickoff and took the lead when Fitzgerald hit Malik Dear for a 25-yard touchdown pass to give MSU a 7-0 lead with 13:21 left in the first quarter. Samford answered on its first drive when Hodges connected with Hamilton for a 30-yard score to knot the score at 7-7 with 9:59 left in the first quarter.
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nMSU took the lead back on its next drive when Fitzgerald threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Donald Gray for a 14-7 lead with 9:19 remaining in the opening period. MSU added to its lead when Fitzgerald scored on a one-yard run to push the home Bulldogs’ lead to 21-7 with 5:21 left in the first quarter.
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nSamford’s Reece Everett kicked a 32-yard field goal to cut the lead to 21-10 with 4:07 to go in the opening quarter. The score was set up by a 58-yard pass from Hodges to Devon Schmitt, giving Samford the ball at the MSU 16-yard line.
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nEverett kicked a 33-yard field goal to make the score 21-13 with 2:00 left in the first period. This field goal was set up when Donaldson picked off an MSU pass, giving Samford the ball at the MSU 14-yard line.
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nHodges connected with Andrew Harris for a 12-yard touchdown to close to within one point at 21-20 with 4:59 remaining in the second quarter. MSU answered 16 seconds later when Fitzgerald hit Gray for a 74-yard touchdown to make the score 28-20.
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nIn the third quarter, Fitzgerald connected with Fred Ross for an 11-yard score to make the score 35-20 with 8:03 left in the period. Samford’s Hodges found Hamilton for a 45-yard touchdown, but the extra point was blocked, cutting the MSU lead to 35-26 with 6:41 left in the third quarter.
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nMississippi State’s Fitzgerald hit Gray for a 51-yard touchdown with 5:20 left in the third quarter to make the score 42-26. MSU’s DeAndre Ward intercepted a Hodges pass and returned it 35 yards for a score to push MSU’s lead to 49-26 at the 2:48 mark in the third quarter. Samford’s McKnight caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Hodges to make the score 49-33 with 2:22 to go in the third quarter.
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nSamford’s Roland Adams scored on a two-yard run, and TaDarryl Marshall scored on the two-point conversion to cut the lead to 49-41 with 12:18 to go in the game. MSU added one more score when Fitzgerald scored on a one-yard run with 5:14 to go to make the final score 56-41.
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nWith the loss, Samford falls to 6-2 on the season. Mississippi State improves to 3-5.
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nSamford will return to action when the Bulldogs play at The Citadel on Nov. 5. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. (CT) start from Charleston, S.C
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nSamford’s next home game will be Nov. 12, when the Bulldogs host Mercer at 2:30 p.m. at Seibert Stadium. To purchase tickets for the game, click here: MERCER GAME TICKETS.