LSU 59, Mississippi State 26
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Tenth-ranked LSU continued its dominating ways of Mississippi State on Saturday night with a 59-26 victory at Davis Wade Stadium. It was the Tigers' 14th straight win over the Bulldogs and the Tigers' 22nd win in the last 23 meetings with the Bulldogs.
LSU received huge offensive performances from quarterback Zach Mettenberger and receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry to improve to 5-1 on the season and 2-1 in the SEC.
Mississippi State dropped to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the SEC.
The Tigers led just 28-23 at halftime and just 28-26 wth 12:01 left in the third quarter. But the Tigers then scored 24 unanswered points to pull away from the Bulldogs. The game was played in front of 57,113 fans, the fifth-largest crowd in MSU history.
Mettenberger was 25-of-29 passing for 340 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Beckham had nine catches for 179 yards and two touchdowns while Landry added eight catches for 96 yards.
The Tigers also churned out success on the ground and were led by Jeremy Hill, who had 16 carries for 157 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Tailback Kenny Hilliard also had three rushing scores for the Tigers.
Overall, LSU collected 562 yards of offense to mark its sixth straight game to have at least 400 yards of offense this season.
The Bulldogs stayed close in the first half due to the duo at quarterback -- Dak Prescott and Tyler Russell. Prescott finished the night with 103 yards rushing and one touchdown while Russell threw a pair of first-half touchdowns.
LSU scored touchdowns on its first three possessions of the game and stormed to a 21-9 advantage early in the second quarter.
Hilliard had two rushing touchdowns and Hill scored on a 69-yard burst.
In the first half, LSU gained 334 yards, including 211 passing yards from Mettenberger, who was 16 of 20 with one touchdown and one interception.
MSU kept pace with the Tigers in the first half. Prescott ran for one touchdown and Russell threw for two touchdowns, including a 59-yard strike to DeRunnya Wilson that gave the Bulldogs a brief 23-21 lead.
LSU closed out the first-half scoring when Mettenberger connected with Beckham with 17 seconds left in the first half for a 28-23 halftime lead.
NOTES: Prescott made his fourth straight start for Mississippi State at quarterback and Russell directed his first series at the start of the second quarter. ... Hill had 94 yards and one touchdown rushing in the first half. ... Beckham had six catches for 105 yards and one touchdown in the first half and Jarvis Landry had six receptions for 78 yards.
