Mississippi State entered the game against LSU (7-0, 3-0 SEC) with an uphill climb ahead. The Tigers are ranked No. 2 in the country and the Bulldogs were coming off a horrible loss on the road last week against Tennessee. This game set up as a mismatch on paper.

The 1st half saw a bit of a nice punch from Mississippi State, but LSU blew past the Bulldogs behind the right arm of quarterback Joe Burrow, who finished with 327 yards and 4 touchdowns en-route to the 36-13 win in Starkville.

LSU continued to dominate the series that dates to 1896, defeating MSU for the 75th time. The Tigers are 16-7-1 at Davis Wade Stadium.

More important for Mississippi State (3-4, 1-3 SEC), it must find a way to salvage the season and reach the postseason. To do so, the games against Arkansas and Ole Miss become critical to save a season that has been a disappointment.

Offense: C

It was the Garrett Shrader show for the Bulldogs on offense exclusively, as head coach Joe Moorhead went with the freshman the duration of the game. The Charlotte, N.C., native finished 17 for 28 with 1 touchdown pass. The Tigers forced 2 interceptions and 1 fumble by Bulldog running back Nick Gibson.

Unfortunately for Mississippi State, a large part of the offense came when the game was essentially over, as the Bulldogs scored their 2nd touchdown with only seconds remaining.

Speaking of the rushing attack, Shrader led the Bulldogs once again with 66 yards on 19 carries. The glaring stat was that star Bulldogs running Kylin Hill only mustered 34 yards on 15 carries. To be fair, the Tigers own the No. 10 run defense in the country after this game.

Hill, who only ran for 13 yards the previous week against Tennessee, has struggled this season to find any running lanes. It will not get any easier next week when MSU faces Texas A&M as the Aggies have the 44th-best defense in the country in stopping the run.

It is tough to win in the SEC rushing for only 102 yards, as MSU did Saturday. The Bulldogs will have to find some way to get Hill the ball in space more because the offensive line simply isn’t blocking at an SEC level. Saturday wasn’t the day for experimentation, as the Tiger defense was stifling.

Some positive news for the MSU receiving core: Wide receiver Stephen Guidry snagged 6 balls for 98 yards and a touchdown. Isaiah Zuber and Deddrick Thomas hauled in 3 passes each.

Defense: C

Mississippi State had far too many secondary breakdowns, leading to LSU’s 19 2nd-quarter points and that was the difference. With 5:07 to go in the 2nd quarter, Burrow connected with Racey McMath for a 60-yard touchdown. Following a Shrader interception, Burrow hit Ja’Marr Chase for an 8-yard TD and a 22-7 lead.

The lead was too much to overcome, though the Tigers only scored 14 points the entire 2nd half, all in the 3rd quarter. No surprise, Jaquarius Landrews led the team in tackles once again. The senior from Summit, Mississippi, totaled 8 tackles and is 3rd on the team with 45 stops on the season.

Except for the 2nd quarter, Bob Shoop’s unit played fairly well against one of the best offenses in the country. Specifically in run defense, because MSU held the Tigers to 86 rushing yards. When a quarterback has the numbers that Burrow had (25 of 32, 327 yards, 4 TDs), running the ball is not all that necessary.

The Tigers were going to try to exploit the Bulldogs secondary and did so all day. To make matters worse, MSU defensive back Maurice Smitherman was lost for the season with a lower leg injury.

Special Teams: B

MSU punter Tucker Day kicked a career long 70-yard punt, helping him to a 42.8-yard average, and he pinned the Tigers inside the 20-yard line once. Placekicker Jace Christmann did not attempt a field goal.

Who’s next?

The Bulldogs will travel to College Station and face Texas A&M (4-3, 2-2 SEC), which is coming off a road win over Ole Miss. Kellen Mond, who passed for 172 yards and 1 touchdown, had a great day on the ground with 76 yards, finishing with a 5.1-yard average.

Quotable:

“People in this program understand what we are building. Once again, we are building something special here, because you know who believes it? The kids in the damn locker room, and that’s what means the most to me. I want fans to be a little pissed off like me,” MSU head coach Joe Moorhead.