• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

LSU easily handles Mississippi State

Oct 6, 2013 - 4:42 AM Starkville, MS (SportsNetwork.com) - Tenth-ranked LSU needed to put its heart- breaking 44-41 loss to Georgia last Saturday quickly in the rear view mirror.

Odell Beckham made sure the Tigers did.

Beckham caught nine passes for a career-high 179 yards and two touchdowns in LSU's 59-26 triumph over Mississippi State.

With the Tigers nursing a 31-26 lead after three quarters of play, LSU scored 28 points in the fourth, which included a pair of scores in the first 39 seconds of the frame.

On the first play of the period, Zach Mettenberger hit Beckham on a comeback route and Beckham broke through the rest of the secondary for a 33-yard score.

Tre'Davious White intercepted Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott three plays later and returned the pick 40 yards to the Mississippi State 5-yard line. Jeremy Hill ran in for the touchdown a play later to make it 45-26.

Alfred Blue and Kenny Hilliard rushed for touchdowns of nine and four yards, respectively, later in the fourth to cap the scoring.

Mettenberger was 25-of-29 for 340 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the Tigers (5-1, 2-1 SEC), who ran for 223 yards.

"We weren't perfect in any way, but we are a young team that's coming," LSU head coach Les Miles said.

Hill totaled 157 yards and 16 carries and scored twice, while Hilliard scampered for 39 yards and three touchdowns on six totes in the victory.

Jameon Lewis hauled in seven receptions for 111 yards and a score for the Bulldogs (2-3, 0-2), who defeated Troy last Saturday.

"We wore down a little bit there in the fourth quarter and didn't finish," Bulldogs head coach Dan Mullen said.

The quarterback tandem of Prescott and Tyler Russell combined for 252 yards passing on 16-of-31 efficiency. Russell tossed both touchdowns.

Hilliard's 3-yard TD run on the Tigers' opening march of the game opened the scoring before Prescott ran 28 yards for a score as the Bulldogs answered just three plays later. Mississippi State's two-point attempt was unsuccessful.

Hill's 69-yard TD run and a Hilliard 34-yard sprint for a score on the first play of the second, sandwiched around a Devon Bell 35-yard field goal, staked LSU a 21-9 edge early in the second.

The Bulldogs, though, scored 14 unanswered points to take the lead.

Russell flipped a 20-yard TD pass on a 3rd-and-10 to Lewis in the front left corner of the end zone to cap an 8-play, 75-yard drive and then hooked up with De'Runnya Wilson for a 59-yard score midway through the stanza to give the hosts a 23-21 edge.

Mettenberger orchestrated the two-minute drill to perfection to put LSU back on top heading into the break.

The Tigers had possession on their own 30-yard line with 2:10 to go in the half and Mettenberger briskly moved the ball down the field before being faced with a 3rd-and-8. He hit Jarvis Landry for eight yards to move the sticks and then floated a pass for Beckham to the front left pylon of the end zone. Beckham leapt and corralled the catch at its highest point for a 14-yard score and a 28-23 LSU lead with 17 seconds left in the half.

Bell and LSU's Colby Delahoussave traded field goals of 22 and 29 yards, respectively, to account for the scoring in the third.

Game Notes

Landry caught eight passes for 96 yards ... The Tigers outgained the Bulldogs, 563-468 ... LSU was 6-of-11 on third down ... Prescott ran for 103 of Mississippi State 216 yards on the ground.