Mississippi State
4-2
Houston
3-2
Bulldogs Dominate Houston For 47-24 Road Victory
October 09, 2010 | Football
HOUSTON, Texas - It was Houston that owned the reputation of possessing a high-octane offense, but when all was said and done Saturday night, it was Mississippi State keeping the scoreboard operator busy.
The Bulldogs racked up 538 yards of offense, including a season-best 409 on the ground, en route to a convincing 47-24 victory at Robertson Stadium to snap Houston's 18-game home winning streak.
It was also the Bulldogs' first win against the Cougars since 1972 and their first in Houston since 1965. MSU had lost three in a row in this series and seven of the last eight prior to Saturday's rout.
More importantly, the win improved MSU to 4-2 overall, leaving it two victories shy of becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2007.
Yet as lopsided as the outcome was, it was Houston (3-2) getting on the scoreboard first, taking an early 7-0 lead in the opening quarter following an 8-play, 64-yard march.
From that point, though, it was all Mississippi State, which scored 40 of the game's next 43 points.
Running back Vick Ballard, who entered the night with an SEC-best nine touchdowns, added to his total on a 5-yard run to even the score at 7-apiece. Then it was quarterback Chris Relf that gave the Bulldogs the lead for good when he capped a 3-play, 75-yard drive on a 5-yard scoring scamper. Ballard did his part to set up the touchdown with a 61-yard scamper.
And he wasn't done. In fact, Ballard was just getting started.
The junior from Pascagoula, who grounded out 134 yards, made it 21-7 following a 12-yard run as the Bulldogs scored on their third-consecutive possession.
Following a safety that swelled the lead to 23-7, kicker Sean Brauchle made it 26-7 on a 47-yard field goal, the second-longest of his career and his longest this season.
Houston did stop the bleeding when Matt Hogan closed the gap to 26-10 on a 32-yard field goal. However, the momentum was short-lived.
After the Cougars forced MSU to punt on its next possession, they got the ball back only to see their drive end in disaster when Corey Broomfield returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown and 33-10 advantage. It was the first of two interceptions on the night for the sophomore from Palm Bay, Fla.
Then came the second half, where the MSU scoring started like it did in the opening half - Ballard scoring a rushing touchdown. This time, it was from 12-yards out, leaving him four shy of the school's single-season record.
State's final points of the evening were the result of a LaDarious Perkins 20-yard run. Perkins finished with 78 rushing yards, while Relf had 96. Relf also completed 7 of his 14 passes for 57 yards, while Tyler Russell came off the bench to throw for 72 yards on 5-of-9 passing.
Houston manufactured 403 yards, but only had 47 on the ground.
Now, MSU turns its attention toward No. 14 Florida, which lost in the closing seconds to No. 12 LSU on Saturday, 33-29. The starting time in Gainesville will be announced on Sunday or Monday.
Team Stats
MS 0, HOU 7
HOU - JOHNSON, K. 18 yd pass from PILAND, David (HOGAN, Matt kick) 8 plays, 64 yards, TOP 2:58
MS 7, HOU 7
MS - Vick Ballard 5 yd run (Sean Brauchle kick), 2 plays, 7 yards, TOP 0:39
MS 14, HOU 7
MS - Chris Relf 5 yd run (Sean Brauchle kick), 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:01
MS 21, HOU 7
MS - Vick Ballard 12 yd run (Sean Brauchle kick), 12 plays, 84 yards, TOP 5:38
MS 23, HOU 7
MS - TEAM -4 yd safety
MS 26, HOU 7
MS - Sean Brauchle 47 yd field goal 4 plays, 1 yards, TOP 1:13
MS 26, HOU 10
HOU - HOGAN, Matt 32 yd field goal 14 plays, 57 yards, TOP 3:16
MS 33, HOU 10
MS - C. Broomfield 27 yd interception (Sean Brauchle kick)
MS 40, HOU 10
MS - Vick Ballard 12 yd run (Sean Brauchle kick), 5 plays, 73 yards, TOP 2:00
MS 40, HOU 17
HOU - EDWARDS, P. 17 yd pass from PILAND, David (HOGAN, Matt kick) 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:04
MS 47, HOU 17
MS - L. Perkins 20 yd run (Sean Brauchle kick), 11 plays, 85 yards, TOP 6:15
MS 47, HOU 24
HOU - SWEENEY, Isaiah 17 yd pass from BROADWAY, T. (HOGAN, Matt kick) 6 plays, 73 yards, TOP 2:32
