Mississippi State
2-1 , 0-1
Northwestern State
0-3 , 0-1
Mississippi State Routs Demons 62-13 To Move To 2-1
September 19, 2015 | Football
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State (2-1) beat Northwestern State (0-3) 62-13 on Saturday in front of a crowd of over 61,000 at Davis Wade Stadium. The Bulldogs racked up a school-record 647 yards of offense while only allowing the Demons to score one touchdown on only 257 total yards.
“Our effort today was better,” head coach Dan Mullen said after the win. “I think we're getting better as a football team.”
In the first half, senior quarterback Dak Prescott became MSU's all-time leading passer after a deep completion to sophomore receiver Donald Gray elevated Prescott's total to 6,367 yards. With that accomplishment, Prescott now holds 21 MSU records.
“I think he's a program changing player,” Mullen said. “He really is.”
For the day, Prescott was 10-of-11 passing for 227 yards and two touchdowns, as well as 54 yards rushing.
Combined, MSU's three quarterbacks completed 16-of-18 passes for 372 yards and four touchdowns (and no interceptions), in addition to rushing for 89 yards and two touchdowns. Freshmen Nick Fitzgerald and Elijah Staley both played extensively, completing all but one pass between them.
“It's going to be fun in the future in the quarterback competition,” Mullen said.
Gray led MSU's receivers with a career day, hauling in four catches for 140 yards and a touchdown. Malik Dear added three receptions for 46 yards, while Gabe Myles grabbed two passes for 58 yards and a TD.
Defensively, junior safety Kivon Coman paced the Bulldogs with seven tackles, while 12 different MSU players had at least 0.5 tackles for loss.
The State rushing game was paced by Dontavian Lee with five rushes for 57 yards. Ashton Shumpert added 55 yards and a touchdown.
MSU travels to No. 18 Auburn, which fell 45-21 at No. 13 LSU Saturday, next week. The Bulldogs and Tigers will kickoff at 6:30 p.m. CT on the Plains and the contest will be broadcast by ESPN2.
Team Stats
NWST 0, MS 6
MS - Gabe Myles 49 yd pass from Dak Prescott (Logan Cooke passfailed) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:39
NWST 0, MS 13
MS - Ashton Shumpert 17 yd run (Westin Graves kick), 10 plays, 83 yards, TOP 3:46
NWST 0, MS 20
MS - Aeris Williams 1 yd run (Westin Graves kick), 4 plays, 33 yards, TOP 1:02
NWST 3, MS 20
NWST - Moore, Chris 52 yd field goal 4 plays, 4 yards, TOP 1:36
NWST 3, MS 27
MS - Gabe Myles 6 yd run (Westin Graves kick), 5 plays, 65 yards, TOP 1:30
NWST 6, MS 27
NWST - Moore, Chris 26 yd field goal 11 plays, 66 yards, TOP 6:12
NWST 6, MS 34
MS - B.Holloway 6 yd pass from Dak Prescott (Westin Graves kick) 5 plays, 60 yards, TOP 1:22
NWST 13, MS 34
NWST - Llorens, De'Mar 10 yd run (Moore, Chris kick), 14 plays, 72 yards, TOP 7:48
NWST 13, MS 41
MS - Nick Fitzgerald 4 yd run (Westin Graves kick), 7 plays, 60 yards, TOP 2:52
NWST 13, MS 48
MS - Joe Morrow 37 yd pass from Elijah Staley (Westin Graves kick) 3 plays, 79 yards, TOP 0:54
NWST 13, MS 55
MS - Donald Gray 49 yd pass from Nick Fitzgerald (Devon Bell kick) 4 plays, 63 yards, TOP 1:45
NWST 13, MS 62
MS - Nick Fitzgerald 3 yd run (Devon Bell kick), 7 plays, 74 yards, TOP 4:00
