STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State football team didn’t have a problem stopping the run last week against Southern Mississippi, allowing 102 yards and making a goal-line stand in a 34-16 victory.
But things changed in a big way Saturday, as MSU couldn’t stop LSU’s running game, especially sophomore Leonard Fournette, in a 21-19 loss at Davis Wade Stadium.
“He’s obviously a very, very talented back,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said.
Fournette (28 carries, 163 yards, three touchdowns) scored the Tigers’ first two touchdowns to make it 14-0. His first was a 1-yard score with 4 minutes, 22 seconds remaining. His second was a 26-yard run just before the first quarter ended.
Fournette led the Tigers with 1,049 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns last season. The Bulldogs held him in check in a 34-29 win last season in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with only 38 yards on seven carries.
“He runs a lot harder than last year. He kind of got the kinks out and he’s a good running back,” said MSU junior defensive lineman Chris Jones, who had eight tackles.
The Bulldogs (1-1, 0-1) struggled with tackling last season, and that was their downfall in their three losses down the stretch. Mullen saw the same things against LSU that he saw at the end of last season.
“I think we missed too many tackles,” he said. “I think when we go back and watch this film, that’s going to be a big factor.”
Tackling Brown
MSU junior linebacker Richie Brown had 11 tackles and one sack Saturday night to give him 22 tackles. That is the most by a Bulldog defensive player in the first two games of the season since Mario Haggan had 30 in the first two games of the 2002 season.
Haggan finished that season with 119 tackles. He played for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, and St. Louis Rams .
Brown, a native of Long Beach, had 39 tackles last season.
Another Prescott record
Senior quarterback Dak Prescott continues to write his name in the Mississippi State record book.
On Saturday, Prescott broke his seventh career record against the Tigers, completing 34 passes to give him 474 completions.
Last season, he set 12 single-season records.
Streaks end
The Bulldogs had won eight-straight home games dating back to the 2013 season, but that streak.
MSU’s last home loss prior to Saturday was a 20-7 setback to Alabama on Nov. 16, 2013.
MSU entered the game having won its past three Southeastern Conference home openers, but the Tigers spoiled that one.
The Bulldogs managed only 378 yards of offense, meaning their 15-game steak of 420-plus yards ended.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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