Mississippi State
3-2 , 1-2
Alcorn State
3-1 , 2-0
Bulldogs Oust Alcorn State, 49-16
October 02, 2010 | Football
And on an absolutely gorgeous Saturday afternoon at Scott Field, those two Mississippi State standouts proved to be a lethal threat as the Bulldogs routed Alcorn State, 49-16 in front of a crowd of 50,439 to mark MSU's seventh-straight sellout.
Bumphis, a sophomore from Tupelo, posted career highs in receptions (9) and yards (133), while Ballard, a junior from Pascagoula, rushed for a career-best 119 yards on just 8 carriers.
Both also showed the propensity to find the end zone, as they combined for five scores.
Bumphis, who also totaled 38 yards on the ground, accounted for two, including the first that gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 advantage on a 3-yard pass from Chris Relf three minutes into the game. His second came midway through the second quarter to extend the lead to 21-7, this time on a 7-yard pass from Relf.
Ballard, who entered the game with 165 yards through the first four games, became the first Mississippi State player to score three times since current San Francisco 49ers rookie Anthony Dixon achieved the feat against Middle Tennessee State in 2007.
He scored on runs of 17, 1 and 75 yards, the longest play from scrimmage this season.
“I was glad to see how fast he was,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said of Ballard's long run. “I thought he was going to get caught from behind.”
The Bulldogs, who improved to 3-2 on the year and travel to Houston next Saturday for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Cougars, also excelled in special teams.
Senior Leon Berry returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, marking his second return for a score (89-yarder a year ago against Georgia Tech).
In all, MSU totaled 566 yards of offense, with 230 coming on the ground. Through the air, Relf was 11-of-15 passing for a career-high 209 yards, while Tyler Russell came off the bench to complete 8 of his 14 passes for 127 yards.
In addition, LaDarious Perkins rushed for 48 yards on 10 carries and scored the game's final points with 2:40 left on a 2-yard plunge.
Defensively, MSU limited the Braves (3-1) to 330 yards. Freshman quarterback Brandon Bridge accounted for a majority of the production, as he threw for 193 yards and a score on 13-of-24 passing. He also rushed for another 77 yards and a touchdown.
The Bulldogs “D” also posted a season-high 15 tackles for loss, including four sacks. Chris White accounted for 2.5 sacks, while Corey Broomfield had one. K.H. Wright led all tacklers with eight.
Team Stats
ASU 0, MS 7
MS - Chad Bumphis 3 yd pass from Chris Relf (Sean Brauchle kick) 8 plays, 59 yards, TOP 3:09
ASU 0, MS 14
MS - Vick Ballard 17 yd run (Sean Brauchle kick), 11 plays, 91 yards, TOP 3:38
ASU 7, MS 14
ASU - Brandon Bridge 78 yd run (Arturo Tamayo kick), 2 plays, 78 yards, TOP 0:19
ASU 7, MS 21
MS - Chad Bumphis 7 yd pass from Chris Relf (Sean Brauchle kick) 2 plays, 30 yards, TOP 0:31
ASU 13, MS 21
ASU - Ryan Singleton 20 yd pass from Brandon Bridge (Arturo Tamayo kickfailed) 6 plays, 82 yards, TOP 2:57
ASU 13, MS 28
MS - Vick Ballard 1 yd run (Sean Brauchle kick), 3 plays, 59 yards, TOP 1:11
ASU 16, MS 28
ASU - Arturo Tamayo 43 yd field goal 7 plays, 48 yards, TOP 2:39
ASU 16, MS 35
MS - Leon Berry 97 yd kickoff return (Sean Brauchle kick)
ASU 16, MS 42
MS - Vick Ballard 75 yd run (Sean Brauchle kick), 3 plays, 84 yards, TOP 1:07
ASU 16, MS 49
MS - L. Perkins 2 yd run (Sean Brauchle kick), 8 plays, 85 yards, TOP 4:35
