The No. 7 LSU Tigers took the winless Mississippi State Bulldogs’ dwindling hopes and destroyed them. LSU (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) scored 21 points off turnovers and eventually won 41-6 before a diminished crowd at Scott Field Saturday night.
The end of the doleful Dawgs first possession painfully foreshadowed what was to come. After State marched 45 yards on 10 plays to the LSU 15 sophomore Nick Turner fumbled. It would only get worse.
The Bulldogs lost two of three fumbles and had two interceptions.
The Bulldogs solidified their dead-last position in the SEC in turnover margin. MSU ranks 114th out of 117 NCAA Division 1-A teams in the category.
Tigers quarterback Matt Mauck did what he does best Saturday night. The 24-year old junior played efficient, steady and smart, completing 12 of 19 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown. Mauck is 10-1 as the Tigers’ starting QB.
“Mississippi State didn’t really stop us much, but we stopped ourselves early on,” Mauck said. “We knew coming into the game that it would be important to establish balance, and we were able to do that. We have a good offensive line, and running the ball allowed us to keep the clock going.”
Although MSU head coach Jackie Sherrill had to be pleased with a 7-0 deficit after the first quarter, his team had a total fall out and allowed 17 points in the second quarter.
“They got a chance to get ahead, and we did not protect. At the beginning of the game, we moved the ball, but then we became one-dimensional. You just cannot get one-dimensional,” Sherrill said.
The LSU defense smothered the Dawgs, holding Mississippi State to 31 rushing yards and just over 200 yards through the air. LSU head coach Nick Saban said the Tigers blitzed often to keep MSU quarterback Kevin Fant from making plays. The scheme paid off. LSU sacked Fant five times.
“Our defense got good pressure on their quarterback. Looking at the film, we thought their skill players were their best players,” Saban said. “We thought getting pressure on the QB would not allow the receivers and running backs time to get the ball.”
On the other side of the ball the Tigers’ ground game used a trio of running backs who combined for 163 rushing yards.
Shyrone Carey’s 35-yard breakaway run to the MSU 1-yard-line helped put the Tigers on the board first. From that point on, LSU scored 27 unanswered points stunning the 45,000-plus present at Scott Field.
LSU took advantage of the shortest field possible when Fant heaved a pass that LSU strong safety Jack Hunt picked and returned it to the MSU 1-yard-line.
Carey needed one play to dive into the end zone for the LSU touchdown.
Mississippi State had a shot to take back some momentum before halftime. The Dawgs were driving down field trailing 17-0 when free safety Travis Daniels pulled down a deflected pass and raced 48 yards to paydirt 54 seconds before halftime.
On the third play of the third quarter, Fant completed a third down pass to McKinley Scott, who fumbled a few steps later.
Daniels grabbed the ball in mid-air to give the Tiger offense great field position at the MSU 36-yard line.
Mauck instantly found a wide-open Devery Henderson on a post pattern at the goal line to inflate LSU’s lead just 72 seconds into the second half.
Maroon and White-clad fans dashed toward the exits as the Tigers savored the flavor.
With 10:12 remaining, the Bulldogs finally scored on a brilliant catch from Justin Jenkins.
Despite coverage, Jenkins lunged into the air and brought down Fant’s pass. The two-point conversion fell incomplete.
LSU’s victory Saturday night marked the first time the Bayou Bengals have started a season 5-0 since 1973 when they finished 9-2 and captured a bid to the Orange Bowl.
“We expected success coming into the season, but we didn’t want to judge our success on wins and losses alone,” Mauck said. “I’m not surprised that we’re undefeated at this point, because we know that good things happen if we play hard.”
On the other hand Mississippi State has not started a season 0-4 since 1968. That year MSU finished winless with a devastating 0-8-2 mark.
Unless the Dawgs stop digging holes for themselves, another winless season could be in the making.
In three out of four games State has fallen behind twice by 28 points and once by 24 points, all in the first half of play.
“There are quite a few kids that played better today,” Sherrill said. “We have to get more to play together better. You just cannot get behind in a game like this. You get away from your game plan when you do,” Sherrill said.
Sherrill is now 2-13 against LSU and has not won against the Tigers since 1999.
“I think we weren’t prepared for LSU. Kevin had a lot of pressure on him. It was our job to get open,” Jenkins said. “We are just going to work hard and get ready for Vanderbilt.”
Mississippi State has a nine-game SEC losing streak, while Vandy has lost 19 in a row against conference foes.
Kick-off is 1:30 p.m. Saturday.