For the first half, Mississippi State and Tulane exchanged punches, but neither team would wilt. It wasn’t until the third quarter that the Bulldogs were able to land the knockout punch en route to a 38-17 win over the Green Wave Saturday in the Louisiana Superdome.
On its first possession in the second half, junior quarterback Michael Henig led the Bulldogs down the field on a nine-play, 67-yard dive, capped off by an eight-yard swing pass to fullback Jeremy Jones to the right side of the end zone.
Henig, who was looking to rebound from a season opener in which he threw six interceptions, completed all five passes on the drive with each one going to a different receiver. The score gave the Bulldogs a 24-17 lead, and Tulane was never able to recover.
“I think our guys came out with a killer instinct in the second half,” Mississippi State’s fourth year head coach Sylvester Croom said.
Momentum would stay with Mississippi State (1-1, 0-1) throughout the quarter.
Late in the period, the Bulldogs found themselves on the verge of another score, when tailback Arnil Stallworth fumbled the ball and the Green Wave recovered.
But on the next play, Jimmie Holmes stripped the ball from the hands of Tulane running back Matt Forte and recovered it for the Bulldogs.
After the turnover, sophomore tailback Anthony Dixon bounced off a tackle and broke a 27-yard run to the end zone.
Dixon rushed for 131 yards on 27 carries, picking up his tenth and eleventh career touchdowns in the game even though the yards were hard to come by in the first half. Dixon only had 40 yards in the first half, but his head coach knew the yards would come.
“I told Anthony it may not happen early, but we have a fullback that is 270 pounds and if we keep hammering, by the fourth quarter it becomes a lot easier to miss tackles,” Croom said.
The yards did become easier as the Green Wave defense stayed on the field for almost 23 minutes in the second half.
The Bulldog game plan called for keeping the ball out of the hands of Tulane’s offense and working the clock, which worked to perfection. Mississippi State outgained Tulane 150-2 in the third quarter.
Not to be outdone, the Bulldog defense had another solid outing. The defense held Tulane (0-1) to no first downs and only six yards in the second half.
The defense set the tone from the start.
On Tulane’s third play of the game, cornerback Anthony Johnson tipped a pass into the air toward linebacker Gabe O’Neal, who caught the tip and returned it 47 yards to give the Bulldogs and early 7-0 lead. O’Neal also recovered a fumble.
“Our defense is capable of creating turnovers,” Croom said. “Gabe had his hands on another one early on but couldn’t get it.”
Croom said earlier in the week that if he needed to, he would have no problem playing backup quarterback Josh Riddell if Henig struggled to produce.
Henig gave his coach no such reason. He finished the game, 20-for-31, with a rushing and passing touchdown and only one interception.
“He built my confidence,” Croom said.
The Bulldogs will be on the road again Saturday for an 11:30 a.m. kick-off against the Auburn Tigers.

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Courtesy Photo - Times-Picayune

Sophomore running back Anthony Dixon rushed a career-high 27 times for 131 yards and two touchdowns against Tulane.