K.J. Costello Breaks SEC's Single-Game Passing Record as Mississippi State Upsets LSU

The Mike Leach Air Raid is off and running for the Bulldogs

For months it was all debated. Can new Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach's Air Raid offense work in the Southeastern Conference? Can quarterback K.J. Costello run the system with no spring practice and the unique circumstances of this year? In 60 minutes of football in the home of the defending national champions, those answers proved to be a resounding 'Yes' and 'Yes.'

Costello set the SEC's single-game passing yardage record in his and Leach's very first game in maroon and white and the Bulldogs upset No. 6 LSU, 44-34.

Driving the shocking win was Costello. The graduate transfer from Stanford completed 36 of his 60 passes for 623 yards and five touchdowns. He easily eclipsed former Georgia quarterback Eric Zeier's previous SEC single-game passing record of 544 yards against Southern Miss in 1993. 

"Man, I'm speechless about everything that happened today," Costello said. 

Along the way, three different Bulldogs eclipsed the 100-yard mark in receiving for only the second time in school history. Osirus Mitchell had 183 yards and a pair of touchdowns, Kylin Hill totaled 158 with a touchdown and JaVonta Payton racked up 122 yards.

All the production helped Mississippi State survive a back-and-forth battle that featured nine lead changes and two ties, but ultimately saw LSU become the first defending national champion to lose a season opener since Michigan in 1998. Coming in, the Tigers also held the nation's longest winning streak at 16 games.

It all came crashing down for LSU though as the Leach Air Raid soared. Mississippi State had eight passing plays of 20 or more yards in the first half alone. The Bulldogs finished with 16 such plays.

All the while, Mississippi State's defense – which entered the game with much uncertainty under a new defensive coordinator and with loads of inexperience – proved to be quite formidable. 

LSU was held to only 146 first-half yards in the first career start for quarterback Myles Brennan, who was made uncomfortable often throughout the day. The Bulldogs sacked Brennan seven times. 

It all allowed Mississippi State to mount a 34-24 lead by the opening moments of the fourth quarter. However LSU didn't fold.

In under a minute of game time midway through the fourth, the Tigers forced a pair of turnovers and turned that into 10 points to tie the score. 

In the end though, Costello struck again to save Mississippi State. The Bulldogs went up 37-34 with a Brandon Ruiz field goal with 7:27 to play, then, with 3:39 left, Costello hit Mitchell on a 24-yard scoring toss to cement the upset.

Only about a year ago, Costello was an injured Stanford quarterback wondering what his future held. Fast forward to the present and he's captaining a Leach Air Raid offense, stunning the national champs in their house and breaking a 27-year-old SEC record in his very first game as a Bulldog.

"If you'd have told me a year ago I'd have been sitting here...," Costello said before trailing off. "It's crazy."

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