State Stops 13th-Ranked Commodores, 17-14

Saturday, October 11

Starkville

1:30 p.m.

Mississippi State

2-4 , 1-2

#13 Vanderbilt

5-1 , 3-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Vanderbilt

Miss. State

State Stops 13th-Ranked Commodores, 17-14

October 11, 2008 | Football

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

? Official Statistics
? Official Statistics (PDF)
? Postgame Notes & Quotes (PDF)

STARKVILLE, Miss. ? Fourteen unanswered points by Mississippi State in the second half proved to be the difference as the Bulldogs snapped a three-game losing streak with a stunning and drama-filled 17-14 victory against No. 13 Vanderbilt Saturday afternoon at Scott Field.

The Commodores, who entered the game with an unblemished 5-0 ledger and looking to win for the first time here since 1971, took a 7-3 lead into the break when quarterback Chris Nickson scored from the 1 with just 19 seconds left on the clock.

But in the second half, MSU found its offensive rhythm and continued its defensive prowess en route to its first Southeastern Conference victory of the season to improve to 2-4 overall, 1-2 in league play.

State, which manufactured 247 yards and limited Vandy to just 107, regained the lead for good with 8:09 left in the third when quarterback Tyson Lee found tight end Brandon Henderson in the back of the end zone from 4-yards out for a 10-7 advantage.

Then it came time for the defense to come up with the big play.

With the Commodores (5-1, 3-1) looking to muster any type of offense and claw their way back into the game, Bulldogs defensive back De'Mon Glanton thwarted those hopes when he picked off Nickson early in the fourth, giving the Bulldogs possession at the Vandy 7. Three plays later, State converted the miscue into points when Christian Ducre found the end zone from the 3.

Looking for an offensive spark to counter, Vanderbilt turned to backup signal caller Mackenzi Adams, who was instrumental in the Dores' win last week against Auburn.

And as he did then, he responded by orchestrating a 57-yard scoring march, culminated by a 2-yard dive up the middle by Jeff Jennings to close the gap to 17-14 with 8:16 to play.

Two possessions later, Vanderbilt had one more opportunity to put points on the board, but saw those chances, along with its bid to become bowl eligible for the first time since 1982, come to an abrupt end when linebacker Karlin Brown grabbed an interception at the Dores' 24 with 3:18 remaining.

From that point, the Bulldogs never relinquished the football after converting a critical third-and-10 play when Lee connected with Brandon McRae for 15 yards.

Lee finished the day completing 12 of his 22 passes for 81 yards, while MSU also grounded out 166 rushing yards. Anthony Dixon did a bulk of the damage with 107 yards on 27 carries, followed by Ducre with 40.

With his production, Dixon has now eclipsed the 100-yard mark seven times in his three years wearing the Maroon & White. He also moved into ninth place on the school's all-time rushing list with 2,161 yards, surpassing Kenny Roberts' total of 2,070 set from 1989-1992.

State, which has now defeated Vanderbilt nine out of the last 11 times, travels to Tennessee next weekend for a 6 p.m. kickoff against the Volunteers.