The LIVE Thread: Mississippi State vs. LSU

LSU (1-1) opens up conference play on Saturday night against Mississippi State (2-0) in Tiger Stadium.

Kickoff is set for 5:01 p.m. on ESPN and the LSU Sports Radio Network.

The matchup will mark the first meeting between LSU coach Brian Kelly and MSU coach Mike Leach.

The Bengal Tiger staff is on hand in Death Valley for full coverage of the Southeastern Conference opener, and you can track the big plays from each quarter in the story below.

First Quarter

LSU won the toss and elected to receive, and the decision resulted in the Tigers quickly crossing midfield thanks to a big pass play from quarterback Jayden Daniels to wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, then a nice scamper by Daniels.

In all three of LSU’s first games, the staff went with a different combination as the starters on the offensive line. This week, it was true freshman Emery Jones stepping in for his first college start. Jones earned the nod at right tackle, giving LSU a pair of true freshmen offensive tackles with Will Campbell starting his third straight game at left tackle. On the opening drive, Jones was tagged with a false start, then right guard Garrett Dellinger was hit with the same. After getting into a third-and-long, LSU had to punt away the opening offensive possession of the game.

LSU 0, Mississippi State 0 – 12:00 in 1st Quarter

Mississippi State took over and made quick work of the team’s opening possession, going 87 yards on nine plays in just under five minutes to score the game’s first touchdown, which came by way of a Jo’quavious Marsh 37-yard scamper. Following a 20-yard pass play from quarterback Will Rogers to Rara Thomas, Marsh took the handoff, made LSU safety Major Burns miss and then went untouched to the endzone. The Bulldogs then missed the extra point.

Mississippi State 6, LSU 0 – 7:30 in 1st Quarter

The LSU offense was bitten again by a false start that put the Tigers behind schedule, including a drive-ending false start on 4th-and-1 that forced LSU into punting away the second possession of the game.

Mississippi State returned the punt 22 yards, which could have gone for more had starting right tackle Emery Jones not made an open field tackle on special teams. The Bulldogs then picked up 18 yards on a 3rd-and-19, but the fourth down attempt failed when LSU stacked the box and brought the blitz, with the tackle credited to safety Major Burns on the rushing attempt.

Second Quarter

In an opening 16 minutes that brought three fourth-down attempts by Mississippi State, the Tigers came away with the biggest stop of the opening half when the defense stuffed the Bulldogs on 4th-and-short from their own 29-yard line.

Unfortunately, LSU couldn’t capitalize, and the Tigers quickly turned the ball back over to MSU on a fumble by quarterback Jayden Daniels. On a drive that started 29 yards out from the goal line, LSU didn’t come away with anything.

Once again, LSU’s defense got a stop on the following drive, including a big hit by Jaquelin Roy on third down to force a fumble, which was recovered by MSU.

Following the punt, the Tigers took the ball back over at the 1-yard line following LSU return man Greg Clayton’s decision to field it near the goal line before being tackled just outside the end zone. LSU had started Malik Nabers at punt returner in Week 1, but a pair of muffed punts against the Seminoles led to the staff turning to a walk-on receiver in Clayton in Week 2, and he held onto the starting spot in Week 3 against the Bulldogs.

LSU couldn’t do anything with the following three snaps and were forced to punt again. Across the first five offensive drives of the game, the Tigers punted four times and turned it over once on a fumble.

Mississippi State 6, LSU 0 – 10:11 in 2nd Quarter

After giving up a touchdown on the opening drive, LSU’s defense answered the call vs. the Air Raid.

In the four possessions that followed, the Tigers came up with the following on defense:

4 plays, 8 yards, turnover on downs

4 plays, 9 yards, turnover on downs

6 plays, 20 yards, punt

6 plays, -2 yards, punt

LSU took the ball back with five minutes until halftime and trailing 6-0. The Tigers quickly faced a 3rd-and-7, and while the offensive line gave Daniels plenty of time in the pocket, he was sacked for a two-yard loss. The sack was made by Louisiana native Tyrus Wheat, who had already recovered a fumble by Daniels earlier in the half.

Mississippi State 6, LSU 0 – 3:08 in 2nd Quarter

After another nice punt return, Mississippi State took just three plays and less than a minute to go 48 yards for the touchdown. The score came on an impressive 13-yard grab by MSU wide receiver Rara Thomas.

Mississippi State 13, LSU 0 – 2:14 in 2nd Quarter

The Tigers got an answer when the offense needed it most. Down 13-0, the LSU offense went 75 yards in seven plays on a well-executed 2-minute drill to get the team’s opening points of the game. After a couple chunk runs from Jayden Daniels, the LSU quarterback found wide receiver Jaray Jenkins for the 20-yard touchdown, with Jenkins dragging defenders across the goal line to get the deficit to six points.

Mississippi State 13, LSU 7 – 0:46 in 2nd Quarter

Mississippi State got a big gain immediately with a 16-yard pass to Caleb Ducking, then the Tigers were hit with an offsides call on defensive end Ali Gaye. No matter, the drive never got off the ground from there, and the Bulldogs took the six-point lead into halftime.

Mississippi State 13, LSU 7 – Halftime

Third Quarter

Mississippi State got the ball first in the second half, but a mistimed throw on third down forced the Bulldogs to punt it away.

LSU got the ball and answered with a nine-play, 69-yard drive that put the Tigers in the red zone. A couple of off-timed throws from LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels to freshman tight end Mason Taylor stalled things out, and kicker Damian Ramos came on to hit the field goal to cut the lead to three points.

Mississippi State 13, LSU 10 – 10:50 in 3rd Quarter

Midway through the third quarter, Mississippi State turned in a 10-play drive, but it went for just 34 yards as freshman Harold Perkins got in on another sack to force a field goal, which the Bulldogs hit from 45 yards out.

Mississippi State 16, LSU 10 – 2:17 in 3rd Quarter

While the Tigers were getting stops on defense, the offense wasn’t able to score on a third consecutive drive – which ultimately led to a punt.

Fourth Quarter

That’s when things swung, with the Bulldogs muffing the punt and LSU long snapper Slade Roy hustling down to recover it. And the Tigers made the most of it, with Daniels rushing the ball in from three yards out for the game-tying touchdown. LSU was successful on the point after to go ahead 17-16.

LSU 17, Mississippi State 16 – 14:11 in 4th Quarter

LSU’s defense continued to lock down the MSU offense, and the Bulldogs were forced into a quick punt.

The Tigers took the ball back on offense with just under 13 minutes left in the game, and a big third down conversion from Daniels to wide receiver Malik Nabers helped get the chains moving. Nabers then moved the chains two more times on third down, ultimately setting up a 4th-and-3 from MSU’s 34-yard line.

Not yet in field goal range, the Tigers elected to go for it on fourth down. MSU called a timeout, but LSU went to Nabers yet again for the 27-yard grab and first down.

One play later, running back Josh Williams punched in the touchdown and the Tigers went ahead 24-16.

LSU 24, Mississippi State 16 – 6:53 in 4th Quarter

After another stop by LSU’s relentless defense, the Tigers kept the momentum going on offense when running back Armoni Goodwin turned in the position’s biggest play of the year with a 47-yard run up the middle for a touchdown.

LSU fell behind 13-0 to start the game, but answered with a 31-3 run to take the 31-16 lead with five minutes to play.

LSU 31, Mississippi State 16 – 4:50 in the 4th Quarter

The Bulldogs were able to finally move the chains in the final five minutes, getting inside LSU’s 30-yard line with 3 minutes left in the game.

That was the end of the line for MSU, with quarterback Will Rogers getting intercepted by LSU senior safety Jay Ward. Ward turned in a team-high 11 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a pass breakup and an interception in the win.

LSU 31, Mississippi State 16 – FINAL