The Mississippi State Bulldogs marched in to Death Valley and stunned then-No. 8 LSU in primetime Saturday night, but the Bulldogs’ victory was no upset at all.

On the surface, Mississippi State’s win in Baton Rouge seems like an upset. After all, it was the first time the Bulldogs had beaten a ranked opponent since 2010, the first time they’d beaten a ranked opponent on the road since 1986, the first time they’d beaten LSU since 1999 and the first time they’d won in Death Valley since 1991. But trust me, this was no upset; Mississippi State was the better team in this matchup, and the better team won.

LSU was ranked No. 8 entering the game only because it had begun the year ranked in both the Associated Press and Amway Coaches’ Polls, and while the Tigers might still be one of the 25 best teams in the nation, they’re certainly not a top 10 team. Likewise, Mississippi State entered the showdown on the outside of the rankings only because it had begun the year unranked and hadn’t faced a quality opponent in its first three games.

So much of both teams’ standing prior to the matchup was based on preseason expectations, which tends to happen in the first month of every college football season. But Mississippi State showed it was the better team in a one-sided game for most of the night, and the Bulldogs are now ranked ahead of LSU in both polls, proving even the pollsters acknowledge Mississippi State is a better team than the Tigers.

It wasn’t as though LSU was handing Mississippi State the advantage with sloppy play and untimely mistakes; Mississippi State earned its advantage by playing better than the Tigers in every facet of the game.

For starters, the Bulldogs had an obvious advantage at the quarterback position, and that advantage made a huge difference on the field. Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott torched the LSU defense time and time again with his arm and his legs, while LSU’s Anthony Jennings struggled to lead the LSU offense all night.

Through three quarters, Prescott led the Mississippi State offense to 31 points by throwing for two touchdowns and running 56 yards for another. In that same span, Jennings led LSU to just 10 points, seven of which came from the defense on a scoop-and-score by Danielle Hunter following an MSU fumble. The Tigers’ signal caller failed to run or throw for a single touchdown, and backup Brandon Harris managed to be as productive in the game’s final four minutes as Jennings was in the first 56.

Mississippi State was also the better team in the run game, as the Bulldogs out-rushed LSU by more than 200 yards on the evening. The Tigers may have the deeper backfield, but none of their tailbacks have been as good as Mississippi State’s Josh Robinson has been in 2014. Robinson and Prescott ran all over LSU, exposing a shaky Tigers’ defensive line in the process.

Mississippi State laid out the blueprint for how to beat the LSU defense, and at the same time announced to the rest of the SEC that it has one of the deadliest rushing attacks in the conference.

The Bulldogs’ front seven, meanwhile, looked as dominant against LSU as it had in its first three wins over modest programs (Southern Miss, UAB and South Alabama). Mississippi State recorded six tackles for loss and three sacks in the victory, holding LSU to just 2.5 yards per carry for the game. The Tigers’ offense was never able to gain traction on Saturday night, and aside from a few big plays to top-flight wideouts Travin Dural and Malachi Dupre, the Bulldogs’ defense won nearly every snap against LSU’s offense.

The loss was LSU’s first loss in a night game at home to an unranked opponent in Les Miles’ 10-year stay in Baton Rouge, so it’s not as though Mississippi State happened upon a vulnerable program in dire straits. LSU does not give games away, and the Bulldogs’ seized the moment Saturday in earning their biggest win in five years.

The Bulldogs were the better team on Saturday, and played like it for most of the game. And as we all know, when the better team wins a given matchup, it’s not an upset, but instead just a hard-fought victory. Mississippi State’s performance may have been unexpected to most, but it was not an upset, just a coming out party for a team that could truly contend for a West division title at season’s end.