College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Mississippi State 44, Rice 7
When: 4:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Where: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
Temperature: 47°
Head Official: Ron Cherry
Attendance: 57846

Mississippi State 44, Rice 7:
Dak Prescott threw for 283 yards and three scores and added a pair of rushing touchdowns as the Bulldogs dominated the Owls in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

Prescott completed 17-of-28 passes and formed a strong connection with Jameon Lewis, who hauled in nine catches for a school-record 220 yards. Prescott led Mississippi State (7-6) with 78 rushing yards as the Bulldogs closed out the season with three straight victories.

Taylor McHargue was held to 8-of-15 passing for 84 yards as Rice (10-4) managed just 145 total yards. Charles Ross rushed for a 1-yard touchdown but the Owls could not avoid the largest margin of defeat in Liberty Bowl history.

Ross’ score came with 6:41 left in the first quarter and gave Rice a 7-0 lead before Mississippi completely took over. Prescott hit LaDarius Perkins with a 10-yard pass to tie it and Ashton Shumpert’s 1-yard run put the Bulldogs on top.

Prescott found Malcolm Johnson for a 13-yard TD and hit Artimas Samuel for a 4-yard score with 10 seconds left in the half to send the Bulldogs into the break up 27-7. Prescott took to the ground in the third quarter, scoring from 5 and 11 yards out as Mississippi State put the game away.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
Lewis nearly doubled his previous career high (113) in receiving yards. … Rice, which won Conference USA, had a four-game winning streak come to an end. … Rice came in ranked 15th nationally in rushing offense but managed just 61 yards on 32 carries.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Rice   Mississippi State
Charles Ross Player Dak Prescott
10 Attempts 14
28 Yards 78
2.8 Avg Yards 5.6
1 Touchdowns 2
0 Long 0
Receiving
Rice   Mississippi State
Dennis Parks Player Jameon Lewis
3 Receptions 9
38 Yards 220
12.7 Avg Yards 24.4
0 Touchdowns 0
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Rice 145 61 84 1 0 0 1.0 2
Mississippi State 533 239 294 6 1 0 4.0 0