Mississippi State football: 5 players who earned a helmet sticker vs. Texas A&M

Nov 5, 2016; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Nick Fitzgerald (7) celebrates with teammates after a touchdown in the third quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies at Davis Wade Stadium. Mississippi State won 35-28. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Mississippi State beat Texas A&M by a final score of 35-28 in Week 10.

When the Bulldogs win, we like to give out Dawg bone helmet stickers to some players for their outstanding performance. These aren’t actual helmet stickers, just virtual ones…..and just for fun.

First up, let’s just five a helmet sticker to the entire offensive line.

I’ve been railing on the O-line all year. I’ve been railing on John Hevesy all year. And I’m not the only one who’s seen the poor play up front.

It’s not that MSU’s OL wasn’t playing hard or they weren’t prepared (although they’ve looked unprepared a couple of times). It’s that they were essentially a Conference USA type O-line that simply couldn’t compete with SEC D-lines. At least for one day, that all changed.

I cringed to think what Texas A&M’s great defensive line was going to do to us. Instead, it was the exact opposite. MSU dominated on almost every play. This group of linemen who had been beat in nearly every game this year decided to step up in a big way. It was an incredible surprise.

Can they keep it up? I don’t know. But on this day, they got the job done.

Key drive of the game in the 4th quarter to score MSU’s final touchdown featured 10 straight running plays. Gains of 6, 3, 4, 3, 6, 2, 8, 11, 4, and 3 yards. Just pounding it play after play. Great job.

Hopefully this will be a turning point for the O-line. If they can just be serviceable and not a liability, it would be huge for MSU.

Nov 5, 2016; Starkville, MS, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Trevor Knight (8) moves in the pocket during the first quarter against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Jeffery Simmons

Great game from the true freshman. He was in the Aggies backfield all day long. His stats show just four tackles and one pass break-up, but his presence was known.

Simmons has quietly been getting better as the year has progressed. His talent is obvious, and he appears to be ahead of where Chris Jones was at this point in his career.

State’s D-Line nearly dominated A&M’s OL in the way State’s OL did on their side. It was an impressive display of winning a ball game in the trenches, and wanting it more.

Nick Fitzgerald

Fitz joined Cam Newton and Johnny Manziel as the only SEC quarterbacks in the last 20 years to run for 175 and throw for 200 in the same game. In the last two games, he’s averaging 300 yards passing and 150 yards rushing.

Nick is performing really well this year. His stats as a redshirt sophomore are superior to where Dak Prescott was at this point despite having a lesser team. Perhaps a made field goal vs. Samford and a miss by UK would have MSU at 6-3 and folks would be talking about him like the next big thing.

Fitz is the real deal. He is leaving it all out there on the field.

Sep 19, 2015; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive back Mark McLaurin (41) reacts after a play during the game against the Northwestern State Demons at Davis Wade Stadium. Mississippi State won 62-13. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Mark McLaurin

After last week I was done with Brandon Bryant. Give me Mark McLaurin from now on. He was all over the field in this one, including the game-clinching interception.

McLaurin had a few tackles and nearly had another pick but once again it hit him in the chest and he dropped it. He needs to figure out how to bring those in, but it’s good he’s getting in position for a possible INT.

Nov 5, 2016; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs running back Aeris Williams (27) dives into the end zone defended by Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Armani Watts (23) during the first quarter of the game at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Aeris Williams

We’ve been saying it until we were blue in the face. Aeris Williams should be this team’s feature back. The few times Brandon Holloway made it onto the field he was booed off and then Williams had a career day without having to share the load.

140 yards on 24 carries. He runs hard and falls forward. He’s got speed and shiftiness. He is the answer at running back….for now.