While carrying the Bulldogs to a 27-6 victory over Middle Tennessee State University, senior running back Anthony Dixon rushed his way to the top of the record books. With 135 yards and two touchdowns, Dixon passed Jerious Norwood to claim first place in all-time rushing yards at Mississippi State. He now has 3,299 career rushing yards and also holds the record for most 100 plus yard rushing games -14 after Saturday. Dixon said he has been all smiles since breaking the record.
“I’m happy,” he said. “It’s like I say all the time, ‘it’s a dream come true.’ It was a long time coming and it was tough grind, but I’m just happy. I’m glad I could do it.”
MSU head coach Dan Mullen said he was happy for Dixon when he broke the record but reminded him he still had a game to play.
“I gave Anthony a big hug after that long touchdown,” Mullen said. “I told him I didn’t know if he had the record, but I figured he got it in that play. I congratulated him and told him he better hang on to the ball for the rest of the game.”
It is no surprise Mullen told Dixon to be careful with the ball after fumbles and interceptions have ruined the Bulldogs’ chances of winning the previous three games. Against the Blue Raiders, turnovers were once again the biggest story after Dixon. This time, however, it was a good story. For the first time since playing MTSU last season, the Dawgs did not turn the ball over once, and the much maligned MSU secondary recorded four interceptions.
Two of those interceptions came from true freshman Jonathan Banks, who made his second-career start Saturday. The other two came from redshirt freshman Corey Broomfield, who made his first start of the season and brings his career total to three interceptions.
Banks said despite being just one year removed from high school, he was not nervous before the game.
“I really wasn’t nervous because I play against good players every day in practice,” he said. “My coaches trust me and my teammates trust me, so all I had to do was go out and play.”
Senior quarterback Tyson Lee played a very efficient game, completing 14 of 20 passes for 155 yards and, most importantly, no interceptions or fumbles. Lee scored the first of the three Bulldog touchdowns on a 39-yard run, the longest of his career, with 6:24 left in the first quarter.
Lee said the flow of the game has allowed him to be more effective running the ball.
“It’s just the way it’s happened,” Lee said. “Chris [Relf] not playing has nothing to do with me running. The way the games have gone and plays have been called has allowed me do that.”
The MSU offense had a strong day with 333 yards of total offense and was extremely balanced with 155 yards through the air and 178 on the ground. Kicker Derek DePasquale was a perfect two-for-two on field goals in relief of the injured Sean Brauchle.
Mullen said he was impressed with his team’s performance against what he called a “stingy” Blue Raider defense.
“In today’s world, it is really hard to win a Division 1 football game,” he said. “Middle Tennessee is a team who was playing really good football using a stingy defense. They were planning for a big day with this being the first time an SEC school came to their place. MTSU did a great job today and did a great job on defense slowing our offense down.”
The Bulldog defense was equally impressive, holding the Blue Raiders to 248 yards of total offense and only allowing 42 yards rushing. MTSU quarterback Dwight Dasher completed 11 of 22 passes for 129 yards and threw three of his team’s four interceptions.
In what sounded like a line from Mullen in past weeks, MTSU coach Rick Stockstill said turnovers helped lead to his team’s demise.
“In the second half, we got our touchdown called back on the interference call,” Stockstill said. “And then, we threw the interceptions. You cannot throw four interceptions and expect to beat a team like this.”