With Rogers out, Wright helps MSU to 7-3 win

• Chris Low, ESPN Senior Citizen WriterOct 21, 2023, 08:03 AM ET

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  • College football reporter
  • Signed up with ESPN.com in 2007
  • Graduate of the University of Tennessee

Mike Wright filled in for the injured Will Rogers at quarterback and assisted Mississippi State to a low-scoring, 7-3 win over Arkansas on Saturday.Wright threw a 2-yard

pass to Jo’Quavious Marks in the 2nd quarter for the only touchdown of the game as both groups went scoreless in the second half.Rogers hurt his shoulder in Mississippi State’s

41-28 win over Western Michigan on Oct. 7. He made the journey to Fayetteville and was with the group on the sideline but did not play as the Bulldogs( 4-3, 1-3 SEC) got their first conference win of the season.Wright made 11 profession starts at Vanderbilt before joining the Bulldogs this offseason as a transfer. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound senior has actually played in all 6 games this season, entering Saturday with just 11 pass attempts but ranking second on the team with 138 rushing backyards and three touchdowns. Wright had 11 carries for 60 backyards against Arkansas.Rogers, a record-setting senior, had begun in 38 successive games dating to a 24-17 win over Vanderbilt on Nov. 7, 2020. He is Mississippi State’s profession leader in passing backyards (11,964)and passing touchdowns (92) and is the only quarterback in SEC history with more than 1,000 completions.This is Rogers’very first season in new offensive planner Kevin Barbay’s offense after formerly playing in Mike Leach’s Air Raid system. Leach died in December, and Zach Arnett was promoted from protective planner to head coach.There is no schedule on Rogers’ return. He will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis.