STARKVILLE, Miss. – Wesley Carroll completed 15 of 23 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns while Anthony Dixon bolstered a Mississippi State rushing attack with 80 yards and two scores as the Bulldogs overcame a slow start and defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 34-10, before an announced crowd of 41,938 Saturday night at Davis-Wade Stadium.
Mississippi State (1-1) scored 34 unanswered points after Southeastern kicker Jeff Turner gave the Lions a 3-0 lead with a 46-yard field goal with 7:06 left in the first quarter. Dixon gave MSU a 7-3 lead as he scampered 14 yards off the right side, one play after Carroll hit Marcus Green on a 50-yard pass on third-and-9.
"I knew Coach (Sylvester) Croom would have his team fired up coming off a tough loss to Louisiana Tech and big game coming up against Auburn," Southeastern head coach Mike Lucas said. "I am sure that they had a tough week of practice, and they were in front of their home fans. I knew he would have them fired up.
"I am very proud of our kids. They didn't give up, played hard, and we played a lot of young guys, and they never let go. In the second half, we did have a couple of times that we stopped them from driving. They still had their good people on the field, so I am just real proud of my guys."
Adam Carlson booted field goals of 33 and 41 yards before Carroll connected with Austin Wilbanks on a 1-yard touchdown pass near the end of the first half for a 20-3 lead.
Trey Douglas registered 11 total tackles for Southeastern (1-1), which forced a pair of turnovers but committed 12 penalties and finished with 148 yards total offense. Jay Lucas was held in check by a stubborn MSU defense, finishing with 21 yards on nine carries.
Neither offense could break through on their opening drives as the Lions advanced from their own 30-yard line to the MSU 44 before stalling and having to punt. After allowing a first-down, the Lion defense held and forced the Bulldogs to punt from their own 26, giving Southeastern the ball at their own 45.
Jasper Ducksworth rattled off a 5-yard run and had 15 more added on for a face mask penalty as the Lions entered Mississippi State territory for the second time in as many drives. However, the Lions' drive stalled as a sack by LaMarcus Williams and a false start penalty pushed the Lions back to the Bulldog 42.
After a five-yard run from Mike Neville, the Lions faced third-and-12, where Neville scrambled again for a 9-yard gain and Turner nailed his first field goal attempt of the year to put the Lions up 3-0 with 7:06 remaining in the first quarter.
MSU answered back with a four-play, 65-yard touchdown drive, capped by Dixon's scamper with 5:39 left in the first.
After a three-and-out from the Lion offense, the Southeastern defense stepped up by forcing a Bulldog fumble which Mark Newbill recovered to give the Lions the ball at their own 43.
MSU started the scoring in the second quarter as Carroll led the Bulldogs on a methodical 17-play, 64-yard scoring drive, capped off by Carlson's 33-yard field goal that gave the Bulldogs a 10-3 lead with 10:00 left in the second.
The Bulldogs began driving once again, but, once again, the Southeastern defense stepped up and forced a turnover as Travis Williams recovered a fumble by Carroll to give the Lions the ball on their own 11-yard line.
Tyler Beatty, who transferred from Baylor, came on and made his debut at quarterback for Southeastern in relief of Mike Neville, who got off to a hot start but finished 3-for-10. Beatty finished 4-for-10 for 97 yards, hitting DeMario Simmons on a 70-yard pass that set up Jay Lucas' 1-yard scoring plunge with 4:54 remaining.
After holding the Lions to 49 first half yards and totaling 250 yards of offense in the first half, Mississippi State picked up where it left off to start the second half.
The Bulldogs put together an 11-play, 65-yard touchdown drive at the start of the third quarter. A 3-yard touchdown pass from Carroll to Brandon McRae made it 27-3.
"I wish Coach Lucas and Southeastern Louisiana nothing but the best," Croom said. "I know it has been a tough week for them. I thought they were a class team and played hard throughout the course of the ballgame."
Southeastern will return to Hammond on Saturday for their home opener as the Lions host South Dakota (1-1), which lost at No. 9-ranked Northern Iowa, 24-13, in a 6 p.m. game at Strawberry Stadium.
