Mississippi State wins St. Petersburg Bowl on blocked field goal

Mississippi State blocked a 37-yard field goal with 5 seconds remaining to edge out a 17-16 win against Miami (Ohio) in a game that was more competitive than most people expected.

Mississippi State trailed most the game until taking a 17-16 lead off a field goal with 12:03 remaining. After forcing the RedHawks to turn the ball over on downs, the Bulldogs drove to the Miami (Ohio) 22-yard line and appeared poised for a field goal that would have forced the RedHawks to score a touchdown for the win.

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Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald ran for a 1-yard loss on third down and had his helmet knocked off and came up limping. The Bulldogs could have done any number of things on fourth down, including taking a timeout to allow Fitzgerald to regain his composure or kicking a manageable field goal. Instead, Mississippi State sent backup quarterback Damian Williams in and he passed the ball to no one in particular and opened an opportunity for the RedHawks.

Miami (Ohio) drove down the field with relative ease and was in field-goal range within 3 minutes. However, instead of continuing to press toward the end zone, Miami (Ohio) decided to lose three yards on two plays to set up the perfect field goal.

That was a poor decision.

The field goal try was blocked at the line and then covered by Mississippi State in the end zone for the win.

The safe play had been something that plagued Miami (Ohio) from the opening drive. On their first possession, the RedHawks drove to the 1-yard line and opted to kick a chip-shot field goal instead of trying for the touchdown on fourth down.

A little later in the game, Mississippi State blocked a PAT, which ultimately set up the RedHawks’ one-point deficit.

Mississippi State finishes 6-7, its worst record since 2009. Miami (Ohio), which started the season 0-6 before rattling off six straight, posts its sixth consecutive losing campaign.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday