Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott rushes for a touchdown Saturday in the second half of the Bulldogs’ win against LSU in Baton Rouge, La.Open dates in college football often are welcome for teams seeking overdue rest or having injured players needing to heal.
In the case of Mississippi State this week, the time off is allowing some additional savoring of Saturday’s 34-29 win at then-eighth-ranked LSU. The triumph by the Bulldogs was their first over the Tigers since 1999, and it was their first in Baton Rouge since 1991, the year before the Southeastern Conference added Arkansas and South Carolina and became a 12-member collection.
“I’m really proud of the way our kids performed,” Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said in a news conference after the game. “We’re going to enjoy this bye week.”
Mississippi State, which set a program record last season with a fourth consecutive bowl invitation, has a fifth within reach with its 4-0 start. The Bulldogs are 4-0 for the second time in three years, but the 2012 team got walloped down the stretch by Alabama, Texas A&M, LSU and Ole Miss and finished a disappointing 8-5.
By winning before more than 102,000 fans at Tiger Stadium, this year’s bunch has knocked off a top-10 West Division foe for the first time under Mullen and was rewarded with a No. 14 ranking in the Associated Press poll. Mullen is 40-28 nearing the midway mark of his sixth season in Starkville and is 4-1 in the Egg Bowl rivalry, but his record against Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Texas A&M had been 1-16 entering last weekend.