After a three-game losing skid, Mississippi State picked up a much-needed win at home against the Arkansas Razorbacks. In a record-setting day for MSU QB Tyler Russell, the Dogs beat the Hogs 45-14.
    Head coach Dan Mullen said he was proud of the way his senior class led the team throughout the season and especially on senior day.
    ”I’m really proud of our senior class, what they accomplished when they got in here. They decided to come in here and believe in what we were going to build, and they’ve done a fabulous job,” Mullen said. “We came into this season and said, ‘We’re going to be as good as our seniors are.'”
    Both teams drove straight down the field each of its first possessions of the game, with quarterbacks Russell and Tyler Wilson leading the way for their respective teams.
    Wilson broke the Arkansas record with 32 completions last year against State and looked to be headed in the same direction early in the first half, but the Bulldog defense stepped up and held Wilson to 23 completions this time around.
    The Tyler in Maroon outplayed the Tyler in white on the day. Russell broke the MSU record with his seventh 200-yard passing game of the season. He also broke the record for passing yards in a single season and completions in a season.
    In addition to the solid performance from Russell, turnovers truly told the story throughout the game as MSU won the turnover battle 5-0. State currently leads the nation with a +18 turnover margin at home.
    In the second quarter, Arkansas fumbled the ball on a punt, and MSU freshman linebacker Benardrick McKinney recovered the ball. This led to a Devon Bell field goal.
    The Hogs turned the ball over three times in the third. Jamerson Love intercepted Wilson on the Hogs’ first possession of the second half.
    Later in the quarter, Cameron Lawrence recovered a Razorback fumble to set up another touchdown for the Dogs. Russell found LaDarius Perkins in the end zone on a the wheel route for the second time in the game.
    Arkansas’ next possession, State’s Christian Holmes forced a fumble that was recovered by Preston Smith. This gave MSU the ball in Arkansas territory for the second straight possession, and the same result followed.
    But this time, Russell found Chad Bumphis for the touchdown. With that touchdown catch, Bumphis became the first Bulldog ever to catch 10 touchdowns in a season.
    Bumphis said all the work he and Russell put in during the summer really paid off in this game, including both breaking records.
    ”It was fun. It was huge for us. As seniors, we wanted to go out on a good note, and we executed and did that,” Bumphis said. “When we force turnovers, we are very successful, and they turned the ball over, and we capitalized on their mistakes.”
    In the fourth quarter, senior Darius Slay, who is now tied for fourth in the country with five interceptions, picked off Wilson, and this time, the Dogs wasted no time in finding the end zone. Nick Griffin ran for 60 yards on the first play of the drive for the touchdown to put MSU up 45-14.
    Perkins said he felt good being back on the field after missing last week’s game with an injury, especially once he scored.
    ”Tyler made good reads, and the offensive line blocked real well today,” Perkins said. “The defense set us up with good turnovers, and we executed on the majority of them.