ATHENS, Ga. — The Mississippi State football team figured out Saturday at Sanford Stadium that sometimes two isn’t better than one.
That’s the case when that one is Isaiah Crowell.
The MSU coaching staff believed its duo of Vick Ballard and LaDarius Perkins could match or exceed the production of University of Georgia’s electrifying tailback Isaiah Crowell.
Georgia’s freshman had other ideas.
The nation’s best tailback prospect in last year’s recruiting class rushed for 104 yards on 22 carries in Georgia’s 24-10 victory.
“I just had a really good rhythm,” Crowell said. “The whole offense was clicking, but the line was doing great. All I had to do was run.”
Crowell ran for more than 100 yards for the third time this season. He had all but 10 yards of his production in the first half.
Two weeks ago, Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo stressed Crowell needed to be highlighted more. Crowell continued to deliver, gaining almost 5 yards a carry in front of a crowd of 92,746.
“We’re better in a lot of ways today,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “The potential is there, and the guys believe.”
The officials appeared to be the only ones able to stop Crowell. During his longest run of the day, he appeared to have raced 50 yards around left tackle for a touchdown, but the referees ruled his foot went out of bounds after a 16-yard gain.
MSU defensive coordinator Chris Wilson said his unit made subtle changes at halftime to subdue Georgia’s rushing attack. MSU limited Georgia to 55 rushing yards in the second half.
“I thought we had opportunities to do things in the first half and we kind of shifted our front,” Wilson said. “Our whole purpose at that point was getting them out of what they really wanted to do.”
Crowell’s production was more than the combination of Perkins and Ballard by 64 yards and nine carries.
MSU’s running game, which entered the weekend third in the Southeastern Conference, produced its second-lowest total under coach Dan Mullen.
Saturday’s performance marked only the third time since Mullen took over at MSU that the Bulldogs failed to hit the century mark in rushing yards (2009 vs. Alabama; 2011 vs. LSU). MSU has lost all three games.
“When you’re backed up like we were all day, you’re not going to be able to run 80 yards down the field on teams in this league,” Mullen said. “We were trying to mix it up all day.”
Ballard needed just 77 yards to reach the top 20 in MSU career rushing yards, but he fell 54 short. He finished with 23 rushing yards, his second-worst performance in his two-year career at MSU from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
“We need to work harder in practice so we can get that extra inch that will make all the difference,” Ballard said.
Perkins, who had the game-winning touchdown catch last week against Louisiana Tech, touched the football seven times for 49 all-purpose yards.
Georgia’s defensive front three, which averages more than 300 pounds, controlled the line of scrimmage and forced eight possessions of four plays or fewer.
“(The first three-and-out) got us so fired up,” Georgia junior safety Bacarri Rambo said. “When we got off the field, I was ready to go back out there and just let it loose.”
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