2015 Mississippi State Football Rewind: Louisiana Tech
Oct 17, 2015; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs wide receiver Fred Brown (5) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown during the second half against Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium. Mississippi State Bulldogs won 45-20. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Lindsey-USA TODAY Sports
Now that the season is over, we take a look back at each game and how it played out.
The Setup
This one scared me when the Mississippi State Bulldogs were getting ready to play the other Bulldogs from Louisiana Tech. Louisiana Tech was not a bad team. La Tech had very formidable offense under the signal calling of former Florida quarterback Jeff Driskell.
And since La Tech was a pretty decent team, the fact Mississippi State had a history of struggling against the Bulldogs didn’t make me feel much better. I believed Mississippi State would win, but I was afraid it was going to be a stress inducing win.
Key Stats and Final Score
- Mississippi State Yards
- Passing: 347
- Rushing: 93
- Louisiana Tech Yards
- Passing: 303
- Rushing: 110
- Mississippi State Stand Out Performances
- Dak Prescott: 30/43, 347 Passing Yards, 3 Touchdowns, 10 rushes, 34 Yards, 1 Touchdown
- De’Runnya Wilson: 7 Receptions, 85 yards, 2 Touchdowns
- Louisiana Tech Stand Out Performances
- Jeff Driskell: 25/41 303 Passing Yards, 2 Touchdowns, 1 Interception
- Trent Taylor: 10 Receptions, 130 Yards, 1 Touchdown
- Final Score: Mississippi State 45, Louisiana Tech, 20
What we thought at the time
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Getting off to a fast start continued to be a problem for Mississippi State. It seemed like before we blinked, the good Bulldogs were down 14-0. And when you’re already worried about this game being a trap game, it wasn’t exactly the start you were looking for.
But as the pattern often was, Manny Diaz settled his defense down, and they started to lock the La Tech offense down from that point forward. Mississippi State chipped away at the lead, and eventually tied the game at 17-17.
Arguably the most important play of the game came at the end of the first half. Mississippi State had forced the La Tech offense to punt, and Mullen brought pressure. The punt was blocked and Mississippi State took over inside the 10. A Dak Prescott run from 2 yards out on the next play put Mississippi State up 24-17 and never trailed again.
When the second half started, Mississippi State turned on the afterburners and never looked back. La Tech had completely stalled out on offense and Dak Prescott had found a rhythm and was almost flawless in the second half. With Mississippi State up 38-20, one last gasp by La Tech would be snuffed out when freshman Brandon Bryant intercepted a Jeff Driskell pass and returned it for a touchdown
What we should have thought now the season is over
This game is very similar to the Southern Miss win. Louisiana Tech was a pretty good team this season, We were a little more aware of that when La Tech came to town than we were Southern Miss, but it was a nice win for Dan Mullen and company.
The start was concerning, and the Bulldogs once again showed they will give up some yards at times. But yards you can live with, it’s the points that matter the most. And Mississippi State continued to do a good job of limiting the number of points the opponent was putting on the board.