#18 Mississippi State Dominates in Homecoming Encounter vs. Louisiana Tech

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The #18 Mississippi State football team jumped out in front quickly and never looked back as it worked its way to a 45-3 homecoming victory over Louisiana Tech Saturday night at Davis Wade Stadium.

With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 6-3 (2-3 SEC), while Louisiana Tech drops to 6-3. MSU has now won two straight games.

MSU jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead on a four-play drive that ended with a 11-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Nick Fitzgerald to junior wide receiver Stephen Guidry. Fitzgerald connected on two more passing touchdowns in the quarter, a 36-yard strike to junior wide receiver Deddrick Thomas, and a 23-yard pass to sophomore running back Kylin Hill after a Louisiana Tech field goal to make it 21-3.

The second quarter saw MSU extend its lead to 31-3. Sophomore kicker Jace Christmann hit a 47-yard field goal and Fitzgerald threw a 10-yard pass to senior wide receiver Jesse Jackson.

A 29-yard scamper by senior running back Aeris Williams in the third quarter, and a 19-yard scamper from sophomore quarterback Keytaon Thompson in the fourth quarter rounded out the scoring on the day.

Mississippi State notched 532 yards of total offense, while limiting Louisiana Tech to just 238 yards.

After earning Southeastern Conference Player of the Week honors last week, Fitzgerald had another tremendous game. He had 243 yards and four touchdowns through the air, and 107 on the ground.

Sophomore linebacker Erroll Thompson anchored the defense with nine tackles on the night. Senior safeties Mark McLaurin and Johnathan Abram added seven and six tackles respectively. Senior defensive end Montez Sweat added to his his team-leading sack total to 9.5 with one on the day.

The Bulldogs will be on the road next Saturday to battle top-ranked Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m. CT and will be televised nationally by CBS.