Bulldog Defense, Brauchle Field Goals Lift Mississippi State Past Vandy, 15-3, In Nashville

Saturday, September 19

Nashville, Tenn.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

2-1 , 1-1

Vanderbilt

1-2 , 0-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Mississippi State	0	6	3	6	15
Vanderbilt	0	3	0	0	3

Bulldog Defense, Brauchle Field Goals Lift Mississippi State Past Vandy, 15-3, In Nashville

September 19, 2009 | Football

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

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

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Great defense, an excellent night from place-kicker Sean Brauchle, and a late touchdown run by Tyson Lee to solidify things led Mississippi State to a 15-3 victory on the road at Vanderbilt Saturday night.

With the victory, State improved to 2-1 overall, 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference, while breaking an eight-game losing skid on the road. VU fell to 1-2, 0-2.

Mississippi State's defense limited the Commodores to just 157 yards of total offense in Saturday's contest, much of that allowed in the fourth quarter when VU still had hopes of of pulling out a late win. Vandy mustered just 10 first downs in the game and only 33 rushing yards all evening from an offense that had run the ball well early on in 2009.

"To hold a team like Vanderbilt to 33 rushing yards is just a great job by our defensive staff," first-year MSU head coach Dan Mullen said. "For four quarters, our guys cannot play much better. They fought right down to that last second on the clock."

Meanwhile, the junior Bulldog Brauchle had a stellar night - just the third game of his Bulldog career - nailing field goals of 44, 27 and 49 yards at key times during the game to give the Bulldogs a 9-3 edge in a defensive battle where the feeling was that just a few points might mean the difference.

Despite a 9-3 lead to end the third quarter, State was on guard throughout the final period, as Vanderbilt's offense began to find some rhythm and move the ball a bit more during the last 15 minutes of play. The victory was never certain until State manufactured the only touchdown drive of the affair - a late fourth-quarter march that went 80 yards in eight plays, and ended with 3:20 to go before the horn. A 40-yard breakout run by senior Anthony Dixon led to a 22-yard TD scamper by the quarterback Lee, who faked to Dixon before taking the ball in for the score, and MSU led 15-3.

Dixon was the offensive star of the game from scrimmage, rushing for 123 yards on 21 carries. Teammate Christian Ducre added 62 yards on the ground for MSU. State amassed 341 yards of total offense against a tough Vanderbilt defense.

The game established itself as a defensive struggle from the outset.

After a scoreless first period, the Bulldogs broke scoring ice on the first play of the second period. Brauchle nailed a 44-yard field goal to give State a 3-0 lead just five seconds into the second quarter. The play came after the Bulldogs had moved the ball 60 yards on nine plays to set up the kick.

The Commodores would even things at 3-3 just over three minutes later when State made a mistake with a fumble inside its own 10-yard line. Running back Robert Elliott lost control of the ball and VU's Tim Fugger recovered at the MSU 5. State held strong, however, stuffing a Vanderbilt third-and-goal rushing try from the 1 and forcing a 20-yard field goal by Ryan Fowler that was true.

"You never know when you're going to do something that makes a difference in the game," Mullen said. "That stop right there was very big in this game."

Mississippi State would regain the lead later in the period, manufactuing an 11-play, 52-yard drive that culminated with another successful Brauchle field goal, this one coming from 27 yards with 2:14 to play before halftime. State would stop Vandy quickly on the ensuing drive and regain possession with over a minute to go before the intermission, but a late score could not be attained despite the Bulldogs driving to the VU 30.

More defense was featured in the the third quarter, as the teams went scoreless until the last minute of play. The Bulldogs got a big break when Vandy punt returner Alex Washington bobbled a fair catch and State's Jamie Jones recovered at the VU 36. Though the Bulldogs could not muster a first down, they moved the ball four yards, just enough to set up a 49-yard field goal from Brauchle - the longest of his young MSU career. State led 9-3 just before the end of the third period.

After State's touchdown score in the fourth quarter, Vandy's last drive of the night ended on an interception by Bulldog Damein Anderson inside the MSU 10.

Mississippi State now turns its attention to another SEC matchup next weekend, hosting LSU at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville. The Bulldogs and Tigers will face off at 11:21 a.m. CT in a contest that will be televised by the SEC Network. Information on that affair, which will begin a three-game homestand for the Bulldogs, will be available at www.mstateathletics.com/gameday later this week.