The Gamecock offense sputtered at times, but thanks to three great offensive plays, the Gamecocks managed to score enough on offense, while holding the Bulldog attack completely in check. Granted, MSU suffered heavily with the loss of QB Michael Henig. According to a source at KCBI, the CBS affiliate in Columbus, MS, Henig has severly injured his shoulder, and looks to be out of the linup for quite awhile.

Sylvester Croom had no comment about Henig's injury, only to say that he will talk to the trainer, and that "it doesn't look very good right now."

State's lone bright spot was freshman RB Anthony Dixon, who had quite a few nice runs on sweep patterns. However, on a crucial fourth and one, Dixon ran a draw that was completely stuffed by the Gamecock defensive line. Croom, however, took full responsiblilty for the play, and for the loss as well.

"Our defense played really hard," Croom said. "If you have to blame anyone, put it on my shoulders. I made the call on fourth and one and we failed. All I asked my kids to do was play with heart and compassion, and that's what they did."

Croom had nothing but praise for his Bulldogs.

"I'm proud of them," Croom said. "I believe in this football team. This team is not going to quit. They have a lot of character."

Continue to watch CSTV.com as we'll carry further updates from Starkville, including highlights from players, post-game reactions, and first game reflections from this road trip. I'll also have a great feature on tailgating and the hot spots here at Miss. State, featuring one of CSTV's own campus reps!