Dak Prescott put on a show for Mississippi State against LSU. (Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports)
BATON ROUGE, La. — Atoning for his school’s half-generation of futility, quarterback Dak Prescott threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 99 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown, as Mississippi State smashed a 14-game losing streak against LSU with a 34-29 upset of the No. 8 Tigers on Saturday night at Tiger Stadium.
It was Mississippi State’s first win over the Tigers since 1999 and the Bulldogs’ first victory at Tiger Stadium since 1991.
LSU staged a furious rally with two touchdowns in the final two minutes on passes of 31 and 30 yards from quarterback Brandon Harris to wide receiver Malachi Dupre.
The Tigers got the ball back with 20 seconds left on its own 20-yard line and advanced as far as the Mississippi State 46. With the clock expiring, Harris threw a pass into the end zone to Travin Dural in the end zone, but it broken up as the game ended.
The Bulldogs (4-0) piled up 570 yards, including 302 rushing yards, on an SEC-leading defense that had entered the game yielding just 205.3 yards a game.
Josh Robinson led the way with 197 yards on 16 carries.
Prescott completed 15 of 24 passes for Mississippi State, which jumped to a 17-0 lead in the first half and extended it to 34-10 by early in the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs dominated the first half, streaking to a 17-0 lead on Prescott’s 9-yard strike to De’Runnya Wilson, a 3-yard run by Josh Robinson that capped a five-play, 98-yard drive and a 27-yard field goal by Evan Sobiesk.
By that time, the Bulldogs were averaging 11.4 yards per play, and Prescott was in total command.
Down 7-0 late in the first quarter, LSU drove to the Mississippi State 9-yard line, but the Tigers came away empty on six cracks inside the 10. A pass interference penalty on Will Redmond gave LSU a first-and goal at the MSU 2, but LSU ran four consecutive times and gained only 1 yard.
On fourth-and-goal, quarterback Anthonny Jennings ran an option play to the right side, and even though Leonard Fournette appeared to be open on the wing for an easy pitch, Jennings kept the ball and was gobbled up by linebacker Richie Brown.
Mississippi State immediately made LSU pay for the gamble, with Wilson burning the LSU secondary for 27- and 44-yard completions to set up the Bulldogs at the LSU 3. Robinson got the payoff with a burst up the middle on the next play.
Colby Delahoussaye kicked a 30-yard field goal with 1:20 left in the half to get LSU on the board, making it 17-3.
Prescott was 8-of-11 passing for 141 yards in the first half, but he almost ruined an impressive performance by lobbing a desperation shovel pass near the end of the half that LSU cornerback Tre’Davious White dropped near midfield that would have been a pick-six.
Prescott was nearly perfect in the second half after fumbling the ball on the first play. LSU appeared to switch the momentum on that play, when linebacker Kwon Alexander stripped Prescott and defensive end Danielle Hunter scooped up the fumble and ran 25 yards for a touchdown, cutting LSU’s deficit to 17-10 only 12 seconds in.
But, just as suddenly, Prescott piled up big play after big play.
On Mississippi State’s next series, Prescott threw a 13-yard bubble screen to Wilson to convert a third-and-10. Then on third-and-4 from the Bulldogs’ 44, Prescott kept the ball on a read option, burst through a hole on the right side and outraced the LSU secondary for a 56-yard TD, making it 24-10.
Prescott made it 31-10 with another athletic move, scrambling in the pocket to the left and throwing against his body to a wide-open Jameon Lewis, who caught the ball near midfield and was off to the races for a 74-yard score.
LSU finally got an offensive TD early in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard dive by Kenny Hilliard, but it was far too late as the Tigers dropped to 3-1. Louisiana native Josh Robinson added 197 yards on 16 carries for the Bulldogs.
NOTES: LSU honored 87-year-old quarterback Y.A. Tittle, who was the Cotton Bowl MVP in January 1947. … The LSU defense entered the game on a streak of holding opponents scoreless for 31 consecutive series. That came to an end on Mississippi State’s first series of the game, with Dak Prescott’s 9-yard fade to De’Runnya Wilson on third down.
