College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Mississippi State 51, Missouri 32
When: 3:30 PM ET, Saturday, December 19, 2020
Where: Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field, Starkville, Mississippi
Temperature: 54°
Head Official: David Smith
Attendance: 11748

Will Rogers passed for 295 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Mississippi State Bulldogs past the visiting Missouri Tigers 51-32 on Saturday.

Jaden Walley caught five passes for 129 yards and a touchdown for the Bulldogs (3-7, 3-3 SEC), who snapped a three-game losing streak.

Larry Rountree III rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns for the Tigers (5-5, 5-5), who lost their second straight game. Connor Bazelak passed for 225 yards and two touchdowns, but the Bulldogs intercepted him three times.

Mississippi State lost middle linebacker Erroll Thompson to a targeting call on the game's second play from scrimmage. That penalty propelled the Tigers to a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped by Rountree's 18-yard scoring run.

The Bulldogs tied the game 7-7 after Tigers punt returner Cade Musser muffed a fair catch attempt at the Missouri 11-yard line and long snapper Paul Blackwell recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.

Mississippi State used a 62-yard scoring drive to take a 14-7 lead. Rogers completed a 32-yard pass to Walley and later found him on a 7-yard TD pass.

Brandon Ruiz's 40-yard field goal pushed the Bulldogs lead to 17-7. The Tigers got those points back with 33-yard field goal from Harrison Mevis.

The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 24-10 with Rogers completing all five pass attempts on the scoring drive, including a 37-yarder to Walley and a 7-yard touchdown pass to Osirus Mitchell.

Ruiz's 43-yard field goal put the Mississippi State up 27-10 at the half.

Mississippi State kept coming in the second half, opening with another 75-yard scoring drive to expand its lead to 34-10. This time Jo'Quavious Marks finished it off with a 1-yard touchdown plunge.

After Rogers fumbled the ball on the Mississippi State 14-yard line, Bazelak converted the turnover with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Keke Chism. Bazelak's 2-point conversion pass to Chism cut the Mississippi State lead to 34-18.

Mississippi State expanded its lead to 41-18 as Rogers hit Brad Cumbest with a 10-yard touchdown pass.

Ruiz made it 44-18 with a 35-yard field goal. The Tigers countered with a 75-yard drive capped by Rountree's 6-yard TD run to reduce their deficit to 44-25.

Emmanuel Forbes' interception and 29-yard touchdown return pushed the Bulldogs up 51-25.

Shawn Robinson, who started the season as Missouri's quarterback, picked off a pass as a fill-in safety. That led to Bazelak's 24-yard TD pass to Niko Hea.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Missouri   Mississippi State
Larry Rountree III Player Jo'quavious Marks
25 Attempts 12
121 Yards 70
4.8 Avg Yards 5.8
2 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Receiving
Missouri   Mississippi State
Keke Chism Player Jaden Walley
6 Receptions 5
64 Yards 129
10.7 Avg Yards 25.8
1 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Missouri 342 101 241 4 1 2 2.0 1
Mississippi State 446 151 295 6 3 3 1.0 0