Moorhead Previews Florida, Vows To End Unsportsmanlike Penalties

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) — “Watch the film, learn from the film, forget the film.”

That’s how Mississippi State head coach Joe Moorhead put a wrap on the Kentucky game, as the Bulldogs look to bounce back Saturday against Florida.

Moorhead said cleaning up mistakes, mainly penalties (16 for 139 against Kentucky), will be the focus this week, and the head coach vowed to put an end to the unsportsmanlike conduct penalties that plagued MSU.

“I think you can compete hard, exert maximum effort, and do the things that you need to do to be successful without losing your head and being hotheaded,” Moorhead said, “There’s a difference between playing hard and picking up the ball and throwing it at someone, or playing hard and pushing somebody after the snap.

“That’s not toughness…it’s extra. It’s unnecessary and it’s unacceptable, and you’re not going to see that moving forward.”

Moorhead also said before the team met on Sunday, defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons and Gerri Green held a players-only meeting to address the unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

Gathering emotions will be essential for the Bulldogs come Saturday, as Dan Mullen returns to Starkville for the first time wearing blue and orange.

“Ultimately, at the end of the day, I’m not going to be on the field taking any snaps, neither are any of our assistants, and neither are any of their coaches,” Moorhead said, “They’re not going to play the game. The game is going to be played on the field, between the white lines, between eleven Mississippi State players, and eleven Florida players, that’s how its going to be.”

Moorhead announced that defensive back Jamal Peters remains out indefinitely, and defensive lineman Marquiss Spencer is out for the season after undergoing surgery on an upper-body injury.