The third-largest crowd in school history witnessed the Dan Mullen era open in style as the Bulldogs put 45 points on the board Saturday against Jackson State University. The total is Mississippi State’s highest tally since a 51-13 victory over Jacksonville State in 2002.
Sophomore quarterback Chris Relf and freshman wide receiver Chad Bumphis were the stars of the day, accounting for four of Mississippi State’s six touchdowns.
The first touchdown came with 9:12 left in the first quarter when Relf completed a 15-yard pass to Bumphis, who eluded would be tacklers on his way to the end zone. The duo connected again on a 7-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter for the second of Bumphis’ two receptions.
Relf completed 7-of-10 passes for 75 yards and three touchdowns, one of them a 19-yard scoring strike to sophomore tight end Marcus Green. Relf also racked up 82 yards and one touchdown on the ground. Senior quarterback Tyson Lee was 8-13 for 82 yards in the first two quarters. He did not play again after halftime due to shoulder spasms. Mullen said Lee could have played, but decided to give him rest, noting Relf’s solid play as one of the factors in that decision.
Sophomore Robert Elliot paced all running backs with 10 carries for 60 yards and one touchdown. Senior Arnil Stallworth rushed seven times for 31 yards, and fellow senior Christian Ducre carried the ball six times for 24 yards.
En route to the 45-7 blowout, MSU put together 359 yards of total offense, and the defense held the Tigers to only 194 yards of total offense. Jackson State’s only score came on a 16-yard run by Terrance Davis against the second-team defense in the fourth quarter.
Tiger quarterback Trae Rutland, who transferred from MSU, completed 4-of-10 passes for 89 yards, including a 52-yard bomb exposing State’s one weakness on Saturday – the secondary. However, Rutland also threw two interceptions to MSU defenders.
Sophomore safety Charles Mitchell picked off a Rutland pass in the third quarter, and redshirt freshman Corey Broomfield registered the second interception with less than 4 minutes to play in the game, returning the Rutland pass 43 yards for a touchdown.
Mullen’s spread offense, while shaky at times, was an immediate improvement as the Bulldogs never scored more than 38 points during the Sylvester Croom era. Eight different receivers caught passes for MSU, and six players had at least three rushes each, combining for 219 yards on the ground.
The offense suffered only a few setbacks as Ducre, starting at tailback in place of the suspended Anthony Dixon, fumbled twice, and kicker Sean Brauchle missed 2-of-3 field goals in his first appearance for the Bulldogs.
Punter Heath Hutchins had an excellent day, averaging 49 yards per punt with a long of 56 yards.
With the win Mullen became the fourth consecutive Mississippi State head coach to win his coaching debut.