Mississippi State
5-4 , 1-4
Tennessee Martin [HC]
5-4 , 4-2
Dogs Cruise Past Skyhawks To Claim 55-17 Homecoming Victory
November 05, 2011 | Football
On a cool, crisp evening in front of 55,092 fans at Scott Field, the Bulldogs ran past UT Martin 55-17 to claim their second-consecutive victory.
MSU (5-4, 1-4), which returns home next Saturday to face SEC rival Alabama, manufactured 570 yards of offense. And if there were two players that had exceptional games, it was running back Vick Ballard and wideout Arceto Clark.
Ballard eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the fourth this season, as he amassed 102 yards on just 11 carries while finding the end zone twice. For Clark, it was a career night.
The former Shannon standout caught 5 passes for a career-best 96 yards, and like Ballard he too scored twice. His first touchdown covered 27 yards from Chris Relf for a 28-0 advantage with 4:11 remaining in the first half, while his second score came in the third quarter on a 19-yard pass from Relf for a 42-10 lead.
The longest play, though, came when Tyler Russell connected with Chad Bumphis for a 78-yard scoring strike late in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs, now one win away from being bowl eligible for the second-straight year, also got points from special teams thanks to a 65-yard punt return by Johnthan Banks for MSU's second touchdown.
As for Mississippi State's offensive production, call it a balanced night as 288 yards came on the ground and 282 were accumulated in the air.
Under center, Russell was 9-of-18 passing for 183 yards, while Relf was 5-of-6 for 61 yards. Freshman Dylan Favre saw action, too, completing 3 of his 4 passes for 38 yards. Favre also scored the game's final points on a 12-yard run late in the game.
UT Martin (5-4) totaled 454 yards, with 269 coming on the ground as Jason McNair led the assault with 122 yards on 27 carries.
Team Stats
UTM 0, MS 7
MS - Vick Ballard 5 yd run (D. DePasquale kick), 13 plays, 80 yards, TOP 4:28
UTM 0, MS 14
MS - Johnthan Banks 65 yd punt return (D. DePasquale kick)
UTM 0, MS 21
MS - Chad Bumphis 78 yd pass from Tyler Russell (D. DePasquale kick) 3 plays, 92 yards, TOP 0:53
UTM 0, MS 28
MS - Arceto Clark 27 yd pass from Chris Relf (D. DePasquale kick) 10 plays, 76 yards, TOP 3:15
UTM 3, MS 28
UTM - SANDLIN, Cody 31 yd field goal 6 plays, 27 yards, TOP 1:06
UTM 3, MS 35
MS - Vick Ballard 54 yd run (D. DePasquale kick), 4 plays, 65 yards, TOP 1:41
UTM 10, MS 35
UTM - JONES, Kenny 2 yd run (SANDLIN, Cody kick), 13 plays, 71 yards, TOP 4:52
UTM 10, MS 42
MS - Arceto Clark 19 yd pass from Chris Relf (D. DePasquale kick) 7 plays, 64 yards, TOP 2:56
UTM 10, MS 49
MS - Nick Griffin 5 yd run (D. DePasquale kick), 10 plays, 56 yards, TOP 3:57
UTM 17, MS 49
UTM - JONES, Kenny 8 yd pass from CARR, Derek (SANDLIN, Cody kick) 12 plays, 80 yards, TOP 5:17
UTM 17, MS 55
MS - Dylan Favre 12 yd run (B. Swedenburg rushfailed), 7 plays, 58 yards, TOP 2:59
