Vanderbilt holds off Mississippi State to win its first SEC game 25-23

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- — Vanderbilt withstood a comeback attempt by Mississippi State and won 25-23 on Saturday. It’s the Commodores’ first Southeastern Conference win of the year, and it snaps a five-game losing streak.

“This team, to the last second, every blade of grass,” Vandy head coach Clark Lea said. “We played the way that we want to play at Vanderbilt.”

This was Vanderbilt’s first win over State since 2004 and its first in Starkville, Mississippi since 1971.

The Commodores (4-5, 1-5 SEC) led 16-0 at halftime, but the Bulldogs scored two touchdowns in 52 seconds to make it a two-point game in the third quarter. Vanderbilt answered with back-to-back field goals between the third and fourth.

Mississippi State (4-5, 2-5) got all the way to the Commodores’ 8-yard line late in the fourth quarter, but it could not get into the end zone and instead settled for a field goal. Vanderbilt tacked on another field goal on its next drive, forcing MSU to march down the field in 1 minute, 46 seconds and score eight points just to tie the game and potentially send it to overtime.

The Bulldogs got in the end zone six plays later, when A.J. Swann found Sanfrisco Magee for a score. However, the ensuing two-point conversion was no good.

“I thought we had exactly what we wanted,” MSU coach Jeff Lebby said of the conversion attempt. “Obviously, I haven’t seen the replay of it yet, but it’s exactly what we wanted, and we didn’t end up making the play.”

As a team, Vanderbilt ran for 160 yards and a touchdown. Much of that came from running backs Sedrick Alexander and Makhilyn Young, who combined for 122 yards and a touchdown on 36 carries. Jared Curtis added 22 yards on 13 carries while going 17 of 27 (63%) for 168 yards through the air.

Before its final two drives, Mississippi State had just 147 total yards. Of those yards, 129 came on four plays. The Bulldogs made 12 first downs to Vanderbilt’s 20.

“Everything for us is incredibly hard,” Lebby said of the offense. “And we can’t sustain right now, which is really, really frustrating.”

Vanderbilt got the scoring started with a field goal late in the first. On its next drive, the Commodores marched 87 yards on 18 plays in 10 minutes, 19 seconds to make it 10-0 midway through the second quarter.

MSU had no counters for whatever punches Vanderbilt threw its way early. They did not make a first down on four straight drives between the first and second quarters. With 1:37 to play in the first half, Jordan Matthews intercepted A.J. Swann. Vanderbilt capitalized with another field goal to make it 16-0 at halftime.

“It’s good to get back on the right track,” Lea said. “We know we have a tough stretch ahead, but we were able to get the first one here in November, and this will give us something to build on.”

The Bulldogs landed their first punch on their first drive of the third quarter, as Swann found Magee for a 65-yard touchdown. On Vanderbilt’s ensuing drive, Tyshun Willis got to Curtis and ultimately forced a scoop-and-score by Will Whitson, making it 16-14 with 10:28 left in the third quarter.

The takeaway

Vanderbilt: The Commodores controlled the ball on offense and the defense capitalized on a dysfunctional MSU attack.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs couldn’t get much going on offense, and the defense broke down one too many times as a result.

Up next

Vanderbilt: hosts No. 5 Alabama on Saturday.

Mississippi State: hosts Auburn on Saturday.

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