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MANHATTAN, Kan. — The No. 18 Mississippi State football team turned in a decisive win Saturday afternoon as it defeated the Kansas State Wildcats 31-10.
With the win, MSU improves to 2-0 on the season, while KSU drops to 1-1.
The Bulldogs compiled 538 yards of offense on the day with 384 on the ground and 154 through the air. Kansas State was limited to 213 yards of offense, including 100 yards passing and 113 yards on the ground.
Sophomore running back Kylin Hill led State with 211 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He also added a 16-yard touchdown catch. Senior quarterback Nick Fitzgerald added 159 rushing yards on the day to go along with 11-27 passing for 154 yards with one touchdown and an interception. This marks the first time since Nov. 4, 2017 that two Bulldogs had 100-yard rushing totals so in the same game.
Junior wide receiver Stephen Guidry led all MSU receivers with 42 yards on two receptions. Senior tight end Justin Johnson was second on the team in receiving with two catches for 37 yards. Hill and freshman wide receiver Austin Williams caught the two touchdown passes.
Senior safety Jonathan Abraham led the Bulldog defense with eight tackles and Sophomore linebacker Erroll Thompson was second on the team with seven tackles.
The game started off slow and was all knotted up at 3-3 after one quarter, but the Bulldogs exploded for 14 points in the second quarter on a pair of Hill touchdowns to take a 17-3 lead at the half.
MSU outscored the Wildcats 14-7 in the second half to secure the win.
State now returns to Starkville next Saturday to host Louisiana (1-0) in a third-straight non-conference affair to open 2018.