BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Sam Leavitt threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns without an interception, and No. 22 LSU raced to a three-touchdown, first-half lead on its way to a 31-0 victory over injury-depleted, 16th-ranked Mississippi State on Saturday.
Jackson Harris had six catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns for LSU (5-2, 2-2 SEC) before leaving the game with an apparent lower left leg injury in the third quarter.
Playing without dynamic starting quarterback Kamario Taylor and top running back Fluff Bothwell, the Bulldogs (4-2, 2-2 SEC) lost their second straight — each by more than 30 points.
Mississippi State's offense took the field with quarterback Parker Puckett making his first start. He was intercepted once and sacked three times before finishing 16 of 26 for 121 yards.
Puckett drove the Bulldogs inside the LSU 40 five times, but all five of those drives ended on failed fourth down plays, including once from the Tigers 6-yard line.
The victory was methodical and convincing for LSU, which was looking to bounce back from a 35-34 overtime loss at Kentucky the previous week that had caused the Tigers to drop 12 spots in the AP Top 25. It was also LSU's first shutout of an SEC opponent since winning 45-0 at Mississippi State in 2007 — en route to a national championship.
Leavitt played his cleanest game of the season, completing 31 of 38 passes. He connected with nine different receivers and kept scrambles to a minimum, rushing just 4 times for 11 yards.
LSU leading rusher Dilin Jones highlighted his 18-carry, 84-yard day with a 21-yard, tackle-breaking run during which his helmet was dislodged.
LSU outgained MSU in total yards 379 to 291, converting eight of 13 third downs, as well as its only fourth down attempt during a first-half touchdown drive.
Kolin Wilson rushed for 75 yards for Mississippi State, which outgained LSU on the ground, 170 yards to 90.
The takeaway
Mississippi State: The absences of Taylor or Bothwell were big ones for the Bulldogs' offense, which was seven of 15 on third downs and drove inside the LSU 20 only once. Puckett showed potential, but only sporadically. His best play was a 33-yard gain on a designed run. His longest completion went for 22 yards to Sanfrisco Magee.
LSU: Top edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen left the game with an apparent head injury in the first half, but paced around the bench area after being examined. ... Meanwhile, Leavitt finally made it through an entire game without throwing an interception. Entering Saturday, he'd thrown eight interceptions and was the only QB in the Football Bowl Subdivision who'd been intercepted in each of his team's games this season.
Up next
Mississippi State: hosts Oklahoma next Saturday.
LSU: visits Auburn next Saturday.
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