Mississippi State dominates Northern Illinois 38-10 in Week 4
Mississippi State cruised to a 38-10 victory over Northern Illinois in Week 4, with the Bulldogs controlling the game from start to finish. The home team built a balanced attack, scoring touchdowns in each quarter while holding the Huskies to just a first-half field goal and touchdown.
Blake Shapen led Mississippi State's offense, rushing for 51 yards and connecting on key passes, including a 57-yard completion to Anthony Evans III in the fourth quarter that set up another score. Northern Illinois struggled offensively throughout, with Brady Davidson managing just 7 passing attempts and DeAree Rogers leading the Huskies with 84 receiving yards.
The defensive battle saw Northern Illinois make some stops, highlighted by an interception and touchback in the third quarter by Isaac Smith off Josh Holst. However, Mississippi State's offense overwhelmed NIU's defense with explosive plays, particularly in the third and fourth quarters.
Mississippi State's dominant performance covered the 24-point spread, while the game finished at 48 points, pushing the over-under. The win showcased the Bulldogs' offensive firepower and defensive consistency against an overmatched opponent.
AI-generated recap · Aug 15, 2026
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Northern Illinois | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
 Mississippi State | 7 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 38 |
Scoring Timeline
Drive Chart
Box Score
| Statistic | Northern Illinois | Mississippi State |
|---|---|---|
| Passing | 15-25 | 12-20 |
| Pass Yards | 142 | 160 |
| Rush Yards | 126 | 292 |
| Total Yards | 268 | 452 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| 3rd Down | 1-9 | 5-13 |
| Penalties | 5-50 | 11-103 |
| Possession | 28:05 | 31:55 |
Player Leaders
Player Leaders
Play-by-Play
Chavon Wright run for 3 yds to the NIU 28
PENALTY NIU False Start (Tweedy,Aidan) 5 yards from NIU28 to NIU23. NO PLAY.
Telly Johnson Jr. run for 32 yds to the MSST 45 for a 1ST down
Josh Holst pass complete to Jaylen Poe for 8 yds to the MSST 37
Josh Holst pass complete to DeAree Rogers for 13 yds to the MSST 24 for a 1ST down
Chavon Wright run for 4 yds to the MSST 20
Josh Holst run for 6 yds to the MSST 14 for a 1ST down
Josh Holst pass incomplete to Jake Appleget
Josh Holst pass incomplete to Telly Johnson Jr.
Josh Holst pass complete to Chavon Wright for 2 yds to the MSST 12
Andrew Glass 30 yd FG GOOD
Blake Shapen run for 5 yds to the MSST 30
Blake Shapen run for no gain to the MSST 30
Blake Shapen pass complete to Davon Booth for 8 yds to the MSST 38 for a 1ST down
Davon Booth run for 2 yds to the MSST 40
Blake Shapen pass complete to Brenen Thompson for 11 yds to the NIU 49 for a 1ST down
Blake Shapen run for 3 yds to the NIU 46
Blake Shapen pass complete to Brenen Thompson for 2 yds to the NIU 44
Blake Shapen run for 4 yds to the NIU 40
Fluff Bothwell run for 1 yd to the NIU 39 for a 1ST down
Fluff Bothwell run for 1 yd to the NIU 38
Blake Shapen run for 24 yds to the NIU 14 for a 1ST down
Fluff Bothwell run for 4 yds to the NIU 10
Brenen Thompson run for 10 yds for a TD (Kyle Ferrie KICK)
Telly Johnson Jr. run for 3 yds to the NIU 28
Josh Holst pass complete to Gary Givens for 19 yds to the NIU 47 for a 1ST down
Telly Johnson Jr. run for 3 yds to the 50 yard line
Jaylen Poe run for a loss of 3 yards to the NIU 47
Josh Holst pass incomplete to George Dimopoulos
Danny Vuckovic punt for 47 yds , Anthony Evans III returns for 16 yds to the MSST 22
Danny Vuckovic punt for 47 yds , Anthony Evans III returns for 16 yds to the MSST 4
Blake Shapen pass incomplete to Brenen Thompson
Fluff Bothwell run for 7 yds to the MSST 11
Blake Shapen pass incomplete to Seydou Traore
PENALTY MSU Delay Of Game (Tiyce,Nathan) 5 yards from MSU11 to MSU06. NO PLAY.
Nathan Tiyce punt for 21 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the MSST 27
Chavon Wright run for 3 yds to the MSST 24
Josh Holst pass complete to DeAree Rogers for 24 yds for a TD (Andrew Glass KICK)
Davon Booth run for 3 yds to the NIU 45
Davon Booth run for 3 yds to the NIU 42
(14:06) No Huddle-Shotgun Booth,Davon rush middle for 7 yards gain to the NIU35 (Beeler,Jasper; Maciorowski,Filip) PENALTY MSU Illegal Formation 5 yards from NIU42 to NIU47. NO PLAY.
Blake Shapen pass complete to Anthony Evans III for 4 yds to the NIU 43
Blake Shapen pass complete to Anthony Evans III for 9 yds to the NIU 34 for a 1ST down
(12:42) No Huddle-Shotgun Shapen,Blake pass incomplete deep right to Thompson,Brenen thrown to NIU00 PENALTY NIU Pass Interference (Finley,Jacob) 15 yards from NIU34 to NIU19, 1ST DOWN. NO PLAY.
Xavier Gayten run for 12 yds to the NIU 7 for a 1ST down
Blake Shapen pass incomplete to Fluff Bothwell
Blake Shapen run for 6 yds to the NIU 1
Blake Shapen pass complete to Seydou Traore for 1 yd for a TD (Kyle Ferrie KICK)
Telly Johnson Jr. run for a loss of 1 yard to the NIU 34
Josh Holst pass complete to DeAree Rogers for 4 yds to the NIU 38
Chavon Wright run for 2 yds to the NIU 40
Danny Vuckovic punt for 47 yds
Anthony Evans III run for 17 yds to the MSST 30 for a 1ST down
Davon Booth run for 5 yds to the MSST 35
Blake Shapen pass incomplete to Jordan Mosley
Blake Shapen pass incomplete to Sam West
Ethan Pulliam punt for 50 yds, fair catch by DeAree Rogers at the NIU 15
Josh Holst run for 11 yds to the NIU 26 for a 1ST down
Chavon Wright run for 8 yds to the NIU 34
Telly Johnson Jr. run for 5 yds to the NIU 39 for a 1ST down
Chavon Wright run for 1 yd to the NIU 40
Josh Holst run for 2 yds to the NIU 42
Josh Holst pass complete to DeAree Rogers for 15 yds to the MSST 43 for a 1ST down
Josh Holst pass complete to George Dimopoulos for 4 yds George Dimopoulos fumbled, recovered by NIU George Dimopoulos
(03:53) No Huddle-Shotgun Wright,Chavon rush left for 15 yards gain to the MSU32 (Smith,Jalen) PENALTY NIU Holding (Malcore,Evan) 10 yards from MSU47 to NIU43. NO PLAY.
Josh Holst pass complete to Chavon Wright for 5 yds to the NIU 48
Chavon Wright run for 6 yds to the MSST 46
Danny Vuckovic punt blocked by Nevaeh Sanders blocked by Nevaeh Sanders
Danny Vuckovic punt blocked by Nevaeh Sanders blocked by Nevaeh Sanders
Fluff Bothwell run for 5 yds to the MSST 31
Blake Shapen pass incomplete to Jordan Mosley
Blake Shapen run for 1 yd to the MSST 32
Ethan Pulliam punt for 51 yds, fair catch by DeAree Rogers at the NIU 17
J. Holst takes a knee
End of 2nd Quarter
(15:00) No Huddle-Shotgun Bothwell,Fluff rush left for 7 yards gain to the MSU32 (Urwiler,Quinton; Beeler,Jasper) PENALTY MSU Holding (Work,Luke) 10 yards from MSU25 to MSU15. NO PLAY.
Fluff Bothwell run for 22 yds to the MSST 37 for a 1ST down
Blake Shapen pass complete to Fluff Bothwell for 5 yds to the MSST 42
Blake Shapen pass complete to Anthony Evans III for 10 yds to the NIU 48 for a 1ST down
Blake Shapen pass complete to Jordan Mosley for 45 yds to the NIU 3 for a 1ST down
Davon Booth run for 2 yds to the NIU 1
Davon Booth run for 1 yd for a TD (Kyle Ferrie KICK)
Josh Holst pass complete to DeAree Rogers for 24 yds to the NIU 49 for a 1ST down
Northern Illinois Penalty, Offensive Holding (-10 Yards) to the NIU 45
Jaylen Poe run for 5 yds to the 50 yard line
Mississippi State Penalty, Face Mask (15 yards) (15 Yards) to the MSST 30 for a 1ST down
Josh Holst pass incomplete to Gary Givens
Chavon Wright run for 11 yds to the MSST 19 for a 1ST down
Chavon Wright run for 3 yds to the MSST 16
Chavon Wright run for a loss of 4 yards to the MSST 20
Josh Holst pass intercepted, touchback. Isaac Smith return for no gain
Fluff Bothwell run for 16 yds to the MSST 36 for a 1ST down
Blake Shapen pass incomplete to Brenen Thompson
Fluff Bothwell run for 8 yds to the MSST 44
Fluff Bothwell run for 1 yd to the MSST 45
Kamario Taylor run for 5 yds to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down
Anthony Evans III run for 5 yds to the NIU 45
(06:01) Shotgun Booth,Davon rush middle for 15 yards gain to the NIU30 (Finley,Jacob; Beeler,Jasper) PENALTY MSU Holding (West,Sam) 10 yards from NIU45 to MSU45. NO PLAY.
Blake Shapen sacked for a loss of 6 yards to the MSST 39
Blake Shapen run for 22 yds to the NIU 39 for a 1ST down
Blake Shapen pass complete to Ayden Williams for 3 yds to the NIU 36
Fluff Bothwell run for 6 yds to the NIU 30
Fluff Bothwell run for 14 yds to the NIU 16 for a 1ST down
Anthony Evans III run for a loss of 1 yard to the NIU 17
Blake Shapen sacked for a loss of 8 yards to the NIU 25
(02:00) No Huddle-Shotgun Booth,Davon rush left for 19 yards gain to the NIU06 (Myles,Ty; Harrison,Donte) PENALTY MSU Holding 10 yards from NIU25 to NIU35. NO PLAY.
Fluff Bothwell run for 5 yds to the NIU 30
Kyle Ferrie 48 yd FG GOOD
Telly Johnson Jr. run for 4 yds to the NIU 29
Josh Holst pass complete to George Dimopoulos for 11 yds to the MSST 40 for a 1ST down Mississippi State Penalty, UNS: Unsportsmanlike Conduct (Hunter Washington) to the MSST 45 for a 1ST down
Chavon Wright run for a loss of 1 yard to the MSST 46
Josh Holst pass incomplete to La'Don Bryant
Chavon Wright run for 6 yds to the MSST 40
Josh Holst pass complete to DeAree Rogers for 4 yds to the MSST 36
Fluff Bothwell run for 1 yd to the MSST 37
Blake Shapen pass incomplete to Anthony Evans III
Blake Shapen pass complete to Anthony Evans III for 57 yds to the NIU 6 for a 1ST down
Blake Shapen run for no gain to the NIU 6
Davon Booth run for 6 yds for a TD (Kyle Ferrie KICK)
Jaylen Poe run for 14 yds to the NIU 39 for a 1ST down
Josh Holst pass incomplete to Andrew Bond
Josh Holst pass complete to Telly Johnson Jr. for 4 yds to the NIU 43
Josh Holst pass incomplete to DeAree Rogers
Josh Holst pass incomplete to George Dimopoulos
Fluff Bothwell run for 2 yds to the NIU 41
Fluff Bothwell run for 2 yds to the NIU 39
Fluff Bothwell run for 3 yds to the NIU 36
Blake Shapen pass complete to Fluff Bothwell for 5 yds to the NIU 31 for a 1ST down
Fluff Bothwell run for 3 yds to the NIU 28
Xavier Gayten run for 10 yds to the NIU 18 for a 1ST down
PENALTY MSU False Start 5 yards from NIU18 to NIU23. NO PLAY.
Xavier Gayten run for 22 yds to the NIU 1 for a 1ST down
Xavier Gayten run for 1 yd for a TD (Kyle Ferrie KICK)
(04:31) No Huddle-Shotgun Davidson,Brady pass complete short middle to Bryant,La'Don caught at NIU29, for 9 yards to the NIU34 (Forrest,Fatt; Chapman,Montrell) PENALTY NIU Holding 10 yards from NIU25 to NIU15. NO PLAY.
Brady Davidson pass incomplete to La'Don Bryant
Brady Davidson pass complete to Kenji Lewis for 7 yds to the NIU 22
Brady Davidson sacked by Ray Thomas for a loss of 2 yards to the NIU 20
Danny Vuckovic punt for 47 yds, fair catch by Anthony Evans III at the MSST 33
Danny Vuckovic punt for 47 yds, fair catch by Anthony Evans III at the MSST 23
Kamario Taylor run for 9 yds to the MSST 32
Seth Davis run for 5 yds to the MSST 37 for a 1ST down
Kamario Taylor run for 12 yds to the MSST 49 for a 1ST down
Seth Davis run for 4 yds to the NIU 47
Seth Davis run for 7 yds to the NIU 40 for a 1ST down