The No. 9 LSU Tigers were too much for the No. 22 Mississippi State Bulldogs as the Tigers pulled out a 37-17 win in Death Valley.
    Head coach Dan Mullen said his team played well and improved from last week’s loss and Tyler Russell managed the game well.
    ”When you’re going to play a top-10 team on the road, you can’t make those mistakes and expect to win,” Mullen said. “I thought he (Russell) made some nice checks on his own to change the play at the line of scrimmage. It helps to have an experienced quarterback and experienced receivers.”
    After a defensive stand on the Tigers’ first possession, the Dogs took an early lead on a nine-yard pass from Louisiana native Dak Prescott to Marcus Green. Prescott faked the run, and the Tiger linebackers bit, leaving Green wide open in the end zone.
    State’s next possession, freshman Derrick Milton lost a fumble on a toss from Russell, giving LSU the ball at the MSU 21. Another defensive stand by the Dogs forced LSU to kick its second field goal.
    After State was forced to punt, a 19-yard touchdown pass from Zach Mettenberger to Jarvis Landry gave the Tigers a 13-7 lead.
    Bulldog freshman kicker Devon Bell responded with a career-long 47-yard field goal with 48 seconds to go in the first half.
    Many coaches would have been happy to head into the locker rooms at that point, but Les Miles wanted more, and that is just what he got.
    In just four plays and 35 seconds, the Tigers drove 71 yards, ending with a 20-yard touchdown reception by Spencer Ware from Mettenberger to put the Tigers up 20-10 at the half.
    MSU was forced to punt after its opening possession of the second half, but LSU fumbled the punt. Dee Arrington recovered the fumble for the Dogs at the Tiger 29.
    A defensive pass interference call led to a 14-yard touchdown pass from Russell to Chad Bumphis. With his 17th touchdown pass, Russell broke the single-season MSU record.
    Bumphis said the coaches have a lot of trust in Russell to make the right calls.
    ”Tyler’s real smart,” Bumphis said. “He’s reading the defenses and putting the ball where it needs to be.”
    Down 30-17, the Dogs were driving late in the game, but an offensive line that had been spectacular all night, gave up back-to-back sacks as MSU turned the ball over on downs and saw its upset chances diminish.
    State had one final chance to put some points on the board late in the fourth, but Russell was picked off in the end zone by Craig Loston, who returned it 100 yards for a touchdown.
    The interception did not diminish Russell’s outstanding performance, finishing with a career high 26 completions and 295 yards through the air. Russell said he tried to get the ball out quickly, and it was effective.
    ”Sometimes you can fight as hard as you want and still not win the game,” Russell said. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to put the ball in the end zone on key drives.”