After last Saturday's painful loss to Auburn, the Bulldogs are finally at home this Thursday night where they'll face a very challenging LSU team.
Last week's simulation wound up being one of the rare circumstances in which the end result proved to be wrong. The simulation did tell us that the game would be decided by only a touchdown but unfortunately the wrong team was on the winning side.
So what happened in this weeks simulated match up? Will MSU have a chance at beating the mighty Bayou Bengals? Find out after the jump!
LSU is the visiting team and they choose tails and tails it is. The Tigers choose to kick the ball off to the Bulldogs to start the game.
1st Quarter:
Ballard makes a short run to start the game for a gain of 6 yards. After an incomplete pass Relf tries to run the ball but comes up short. State punts the ball away after a three and out.
Excellent covereage by the Bulldogs sees no return yards for the Tigers. LSU keeps it on the ground for their first play and the result is a three yard loss. On the next snap Jarrett Leehands the ball off to Michael Ford and the sophmore manages to get one yard on the play. On third and nine Jarrett Lee is forced to make a pass and it's complete...to Kadron Boone. Boone takes it to the house and just that quick the Tigers are up 7-0.
The kickoff falls in the hands of Le Darius Perkins for a huge return. Perkins is finally brought down at the 45 yard line. Relf runs on the first play for a three yard game. Vick Ballard gets a turn on the next play but loses three yards. On third and eleven Chris Relflooks down field for someone to throw to...he finds no one but an LSU linebacker...Relf sacked for a five yard loss. MSU punts the ball away.
LSU doesn't get much on the return. MSU did a great job on the return coverage. The first play is a run and goes absolutely no where. LSU decides to try the same play again and MSU is ready....the Tigers lose a yard. Jarrett Lee is forced to throw again on the long third down...the pass is batted down by the State defenders. LSU punts the ball away.
Chris Relf returns to the field near midfield. He tucks it away and decides to run on first down but loses two yards on the play. Chris Relf drops back for a pass on second down but LSU is all over it and sacks him for another loss. On third and nineteen Relf feeds the ball to Vick Ballard...the play picks up a few yards but nothing close to a first down. MSU punts the ball away.
LSU takes over around the 35 yard line. Jarrett Lee takes off running on an option play...he keeps the ball and is tackled for a two yard loss in the process. The next play is a screen ...the pass is complete for a good gain. It's third and three as the quarter expires.
2nd Quarter:
The crowd is getting loud as they recognize the importance of this critical third down...the crowd noise works and State drops Jarrett Lee on a sack. LSU punts the ball away.
MSU takes over near the 25 yard line. Relf once again tries to run the ball and once again he gets no where. On second down Relf runs yet again...this time he manages an eight yard gain. It's third and two on the thirty one yard line...and guess what? Relf runs again! This time he gets a huge first down and the Bulldogs find themselves at the 50. Chris Relf actually goes out on a limb on the next play and throws a pass to Chad Bumphis. Unfortunately the pass is batted down. Vick Ballard tries to make something happen on second down but loses a yard. Now MSU finds themselves in yet another third and long situation. Chris Relf drops back after the snap and connects with a pass to Bumphis that's just good enough for the first down. The Bulldogs are now on the LSU 42 yard line with a fresh set of downs. Relf pitches the ball to Perkins and the play gets an eight yard gain. The next play is another run and Ballard picks up another first down....the Bulldogs are now putting a nice drive together and are really clicking on offense. Back to back running plays go no where and the Bulldogs are now in a third and nine situation....at this point disaster strikes. Chris Relf fumbles the ball and the LSU defender picks it up and runs it all the way in the opposite direction. LSU is now up 14-0.
LSU kicks off and Perkins returns the ball twenty-three yards. Relf takes the snap and throws a bomb down the field into a flurry of LSU defenders...by some miracle La Darius Perkins emerges from the gaggle of players and catches the ball. The play results in huge gain and suddenly Mississippi State is about where they were when Relf fumbled the ball on the previous drive. The offense gets set on a fresh set of downs at the LSU 25 yard line. Two running plays produce a gain of six yards. On third and four Relf is sacked. MSU settles for a Derek DePasquale50 yard field goal attempt...and the kick is good! The score is now 14-3 LSU.
LSU takes over at the thirty yard line and Jarrett Lee immediately throws an interception caught by sophmore Nickoe Whitley. With less than twenty-five seconds to go in the half (and all their time-outs), State has an opportunity to put a few more points on the board. The first play is a pass for a very short gain caught by Brandon Heavens. State takes their first timeout. Relf drops back to pass and throws a pass that is complete...but out of bounds. On third down Chris Relf again looks to the air and again finds Brandon Heavens...Heavens is shoved out of bounds at the LSU ten yard line. State has only eight seconds left on the clock. After an incomplete pass to the end zone, Mississippi State is forced to once again settle for a field goal.
The halftime score is 14-6
3rd Quarter:
State kicks off to start the half...the return is minimal and around the twenty-eight yard line. Jarrett Lee pitches the ball away and LSU picks up three yards on the running play. Jarrett Lee makes a short pass to the tight end for LSU and picks up the first and ten. Jarrett Lee hands the ball off again and the back picks up seven yards. Another running play picks up just enough for the first down. Jarrett Lee is hit hard on the next play and sustains an injury...LSU puts in back up QB Zach Mettenberger. Mettenberger is hit as he throws his first pass of the game and the ball lands incomplete. He goes for it all on the next play with a huge throw to the end zone but once again the pass falls incomplete. LSU punts the ball away and it results in a touchback.
Three incomplete passes force MSU to punt the ball right back.
LSU returns the ball to their own 47 yard line. Jarrett Lee's injury turned out to be minor and he returns to the game. His first pass back is complete for a fresh set of downs. Excellent coverage by MSU forces Lee to throw away his next pass. A couple of more passes earn another first down for LSU. Michael Ford picks up a few yards on a running play but is injured in the process. Jarrett Lee throws a pass and nails an MSU defender right in the chest...it should've been an easy pick, but it wasn't. On third and seven Lee completes another pass to Chris Tolliverfor another critical first down. LSU now finds themselves on the MSU seventeen yard line. The Tigers hand the ball off and the running play results in another LSU TD. After the eight play, fifty-three yard drive, the Tigers now lead 21-6.
Perkins makes another great punt return and is finally brought down near midfield. MSU is really starting to look stagnant on offense and can't seem to get anything going on their next two plays...on third and ten a short pass to Vick Ballard changes all that. A couple of perfectly executed blocks gives Ballard the room he needs to take the ball in for a badly needed Mississippi State touchdown! The score is now 21-13 LSU.
Jarrett Lee trots onto the field and LSU takes over on the twenty-seven yard line. The first two plays go no where and LSU finds themselves in a third and eleven situation. After an incomplete pass, LSU punts the ball away.
MSU takes over at the forty-two yard line and get one running play in as the third quarter expires...the result is a five yard loss.
4th Quarter:
The next two plays are unproductive and MSU punts the ball away.
Two huge running plays suddenly put the Tigers in MSU territory. Jarrett Lee gets some big yards on a pass play to Rueben Randleand LSU is now on the MSU nineteen yard line with a fresh set of downs. Jarrett Lee takes his time on the next snap allowing precious seconds to dwindle away off the clock. He throws a short pass that's caught for a six yard gain. Again, Lee allows time to tick away and when he finally gets the snap he throws a perfect pass to the corner of the end zone for an LSU TD....but, there's a flag on the play. Unfortuntely, it's offsides on MSU and the Tigers decline the penalty. The score is now 28-13.
Bumphis returns the kick to the twenty-four yard line. Relf throws a pass that should've been easily caught by Chris Smith, but he drops it. A lot of blitzing Tigers force Relf to throw the next play away. On third and ten Relf throws another incomplete pass. Deep in their own territory, MSU is forced to punt the ball away.
The Tigers take over at the forty yard line. They keep the ball on the ground and continue to work the clock. MSU calls a time out to try and conserve some time...it suddenly seems to be for nothing when the Tigers suddenly run the ball to the MSU one yard line. One play later LSU runs in for another easy TD. It's all but over now as LSU leads 35-13.
Bumphis makes a return to the twenty-nine yard line. Less than two minutes are left in the game. Relf throws a beautiful pass to Brandon Heavens, but the pass is dropped. Michael Carr catches the next throw for a measly two yard gain. Chris Relf is sacked on third down and now they're just ready for this one to be over. MSU punts the ball away.
LSU makes a few running plays and the game mercifully ends with a final score of 35-13.
A few stats:
Chris Relf was 7-21 for 148 yards and a TD.
Jarrett Lee was 9-14 for 164 yards and 2 TD's. He also threw one pick.
MSU only managed to rush for a pathetic 16 yards versus LSU's 133 yards.
Hey, if the end result of this sim kinda ticks you off, just remember that it was wrong last week!