A scoring trend morphed the SEC this season. The scoring average of the 14 schools increased by four points from last year.
The trend infiltrated Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday night — at least on one side of the field.
Mississippi State’s defense, which entered the game as one of the better ones in the conference, walked off the field with nearly 60 LSU points on the scoreboard, as the Bulldogs lost 59-26.
“They made spectacular plays. I’m going to be honest with you. A lot of times it wasn’t like there were guys wide open all the time,” coach Dan Mullen said. “There was sometimes, but a lot of times, especially early in the game, we were playing man coverage, and we had guys on their guys.”
Mississippi State entered the matchup having allowed 14.8 points per game. LSU scored 28 in the first half. Mississippi State nearly matched LSU with 23 points. The Tigers had given up 24.4 points per game.
But as LSU made adjustments to extinguish Mississippi State’s offensive fireworks, LSU continued to roll. The 59 points are the most scored in the series since 1969.
“They came out passing and kind of caught us off-guard,” Bulldogs defensive lineman Chris Jones said.
The Tigers’ NFL-ready wide receivers combined to catch 17 passes for 275 yards and two scores.
Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry entered the matchup with 500 receiving yards apiece. Beckham finished with nine receptions for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Landry caught eight passes for 96 yards.
“They won just about every one-on-one battle on the edge with their wideouts,” Mullen said. “That’s as good a wide-receiver play that I’ve seen in a long time, a long long time in college football.”
Mississippi State had 252 yards total. Quarterback Zach Mettenberger finished with 340 yards passing after tallying 372 last week against Georgia. Even more impressive, he completed 25 of 29 passes.
The Tigers have now scored more than 30 points in their first six games for the first time in school history. They’ve scored more than 40 points in back-to-back weeks. Part of the success was because of third-down conversions, as LSU was 6-of-11.
“It was devastating; once we get them in third down, we plan to get them off the field. And just to see receivers as talented as those guys just make the plays, it really brings your defense down.”
It all began in the first half. The teams exchanged scoring drives and totaled 608 yards of offense in the first half.
Mettenberger began the game completing 7 of 7 passes for 120 yards.
Tigers running back Jeremy Hill totaled 81 yards, and wide receiver Beckham caught 89 yards through the first three drives. It only ignited an even more prolific second half.
“That’s why they come here to play in the tough games,” Mullen said. “I don’t know — we’ll probably have another five top-10 teams on our schedule I think this year, but that’s why you come play in the SEC.”
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