STARKVILLE — Simeon Price turned around to make the catch, snagging the football just before he fell backwards into the end zone.
The redshirt freshman running back caught a perfectly thrown ball from quarterback Will Rogers for a 32-yard touchdown, putting Mississippi State up 14-0 before four minutes had even elapsed.
It was already clear how Saturday’s game would go.
The Bulldogs (3-1) showed little trace of the team that blew a 13-0 lead to LSU on Sept. 17, pouring it on Bowling Green (1-3) from the start in a 45-14 win.
“I think it’s a good game for everybody,” Rogers said. “I think we bounced back well from what we did last week.”
Rogers was 38 of 49 passing for 406 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions, delivering another strong game for the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State led 17-0 at the end of the first quarter and kept adding to the lead from there.
The Bulldogs’ starting defense faltered only once on a 97-yard drive by the Falcons in the second quarter. Bowling Green scored against MSU’s second unit to open the fourth.
The Falcons had only 251 total yards, but MSU had higher ambitions Saturday.
“We would have liked to keep them to no points, fewer yards,” linebacker Nathaniel Watson said. “We’ve just got to get back to the drawing board.”
On a day where MSU wore throwback uniforms, the Bulldogs threw it back to their dominance against Memphis just three weeks ago at Davis Wade Stadium.
Mississippi State came out early in that contest and put the Tigers away, and the Bulldogs did the same thing Saturday.
Caleb Ducking caught a 22-yard touchdown pass on MSU’s first drive, and Price scored on the next possession.
Ducking finished with two touchdowns for Mississippi State, and Jamire Calvin, Lideatrick Griffin and Jaden Walley also found the end zone.
Griffin played an expanded role on offense Saturday for the Bulldogs with five catches for 54 yards. His 9-yard touchdown catch early in the first quarter was his first receiving score of the year.
“He did some good things,” Mississippi State coach Mike Leach said. “The biggest thing is when he really gets in a rhythm, because he’s fast and he’s explosive.”
Bowling Green played Saturday without head coach Scot Loeffler, who was absent because of a personal health matter announced Friday.
Backup Camden Orth threw two touchdown passes in place of starter Matt McDonald, who did not play Saturday for unspecified reasons.
Orth connected with Tyrone Broden on a 25-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and hit Harold Fannin Jr. for a 5-yard score in the fourth. The Falcons quarterback was 17 of 28 overall for 172 yards and was intercepted once.
Mississippi State managed to clean up its special-teams struggles Saturday. The Bulldogs were clean in the return game, and kicker Ben Raybon made all six of his extra point attempts.
Raybon also hit a 53-yard field goal in the first quarter, a season long for the Bulldogs.
Leach called the Bulldogs’ performance on special teams — a unit that scuffled through the first three weeks — “maybe the brightest part” of MSU’s day.
“This is one of the better special teams games I think we’ve had,” Leach said.
It was certainly a strong performance on offense as the Bulldogs racked up 462 total yards on 7.2 yards per play.
Rogers found Ducking for a 26-yard score and hit Calvin for a 2-yard touchdown before the half.
He threw a touchdown to Griffin in the third quarter and another to Walley in the fourth.
Rogers tied his career-high mark in touchdown passes, set last Nov. 13 at Auburn.
He and the Bulldogs had little to clean up in advance of a return to Southeastern Conference play next week.
When Mississippi State faces No. 23 Texas A&M at 3 p.m. Saturday on the SEC Network, the Bulldogs, Rogers insisted, must be even better.
“We have to really be perfect in everything we do,” Rogers said.
Mississippi State 45, Bowling Green 14
Bowling Green (1-3) 0 7 0 7 — 14
Mississippi State (3-1) 17 14 7 7 — 45
First quarter
MS — Caleb Ducking 22 pass from Will Rogers (Ben Raybon kick), clock 13:07
MS — Simeon Price 32 pass from Rogers (Raybon kick), clock 11:01
MS — Raybon 53 FG, clock 2:59
Second quarter
BG — Tyrone Broden 25 pass from Camden Orth (Mason Lawler kick), clock 8:55
MS — Ducking 26 pass from Rogers (Raybon kick), clock 6:18
MS — Jamire Calvin 2 pass from Rogers (Raybon kick), clock 2:49
Third quarter
MS — Lideatrick Griffin 9 pass from Rogers (Raybon kick), clock 11:10
Fourth quarter
BG — Harold Fannin Jr. 5 pass from Orth (Lawler kick), clock 14:55
MS — Jaden Walley 8 pass from Rogers (Raybon kick), clock 11:10
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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