Mississippi State football opens Zach Arnett era with win against Southeastern Louisiana

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football opened the 2023 campaign, and the Zach Arnett era, on Saturday with a 48-7 win against Southeastern Louisiana at Davis Wade Stadium.

The Bulldogs (1-0) were led by their veterans on both sides of the ball, highlighted by senior running back Jo’Quavious Marks, who collected 127 rushing yards on 19 attempts and caught four passes for 59 yards. Defensively, MSU got a strong outing from sixth-year linebacker Nathaniel Watson, who had eight tackles, 1.5 sacks and forced a fumble that he recovered.

FCS team Southeastern Louisiana (0-1) kept the game tight early, trailing just 10-7 with 5:32 to go in the first half. However, Mississippi State pulled away with ease from there.

Offense comes to life late in first half

The opening of Kevin Barbay’s tenure as offensive coordinator wasn’t pretty. The Bulldogs punted on their opening drive, settled for a field goal on the second and punted on their third. However, after the defense forced a fumble on the first play of the second quarter, Barbay’s unit came to life.

Marks scored from a yard out to take advantage of the SELA turnover. Freshman Creed Whittemore followed that up with a 33-yard touchdown catch on the following drive.

MSU forced a three-and-out after Whittemore’s score, giving the offense a chance for points with less than a minute left in the half. It took advantage by converting on a 49-yard field goal to take a 20-7 lead into the break.

Freshman Kyle Ferrie impresses in debut

UCLA transfer Nick Barr-Mira was expected to start for Mississippi State. However, with Barr-Mira injured and freshman Kyle Ferrie impressive in camp, the latter earned a shot. He took advantage, accounting for 12 of MSU’s points.

Ferrie, an Arkansas native, scored the Bulldogs’ first points with a 47-yard field goal in the first quarter. He stepped back a couple of yards for a score before the half.

Percy Lewis steps in at left tackle

MSU listed Kwatrivous Johnson as the starter at left tackle, and he fulfilled that role to open the game. However, by Mississippi State's third drive, Percy Lewis was at the position, with Johnson appearing healthy on the sideline.

Lewis is in his second season at MSU after coming out of junior college as part of the 2022 signing class. He was the nation's No. 2 junior college offensive tackle, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He battled with Johnson for the starting spot throughout August.

Mississippi State honors Mike Leach, his family

Saturday marked Mississippi State's first home game since former coach Mike Leach died in December. In honoring Leach, the Bulldogs painted his signature on the sideline along with a cowbell featuring the pirate logo.

Following the first quarter, members of the Leach family — his wife, Sharon; son Cody, Cody's wife and Cody's son — were honored on the field. They were gifted a framed Leach jersey and a framed executive order in which Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves had ordered all flags on state buildings and grounds to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Dec. 20, 2022 in remembrance of Leach.

What's next?

Mississippi State returns home to take on Pac-12 foe Arizona on Sept. 9 (6:30 p.m., SEC Network).

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State football, Zach Arnett beat Southeastern Louisiana