Marcus Carroll rushed for three touchdowns and a two-point conversion as the No. 23 Missouri Tigers defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 39-20 Saturday in Starkville, Miss.
The Tigers (8-3, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) ran the ball 56 times for 204 yards. Nate Noel gained 95 yards on the ground and Carroll rushed for 61 yards.
Brady Cook completed 15-of-20 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown for Missouri. Luther Burden III caught seven passes for 91 yards and a touchdown.
The Tigers converted 11-of-18 third-down plays and built a time-of-possession advantage of 41:51 to 18:09.
Davon Booth rushed for 124 yards and one touchdown for the Bulldogs (2-9, 0-7). Michael Van Buren Jr. completed 16-of-28 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown.
Mississippi State went up 3-0 on the game’s opening possession. Booth’s 33-yard run set up Kyle Ferrie’s 38-yard field goal.
The Tigers scored on defense to move ahead 7-3. Daylan Carnell scooped up Van Buren’s fumble and raced 68 yards for the score.
Cook’s 45-yard pass to Marquis Johnson propelled Missouri on a 75-yard touchdown drive for a 14-3 lead. Carroll scored on a 2-yard run.
The Bulldogs answered with Van Buren’s 11-yard TD pass to Jordan Mosley to cut their deficit to 14-10.
Missouri stretched its lead to 21-10 on Cook’s 28-yard TD pass to Burden. The Tigers made it 28-10 as Carroll scored from 19 yards out.
Ferrie’s 26-yard field goal with 30 seconds left in the first half cut Missouri’s lead to 28-13.
The Tigers took 8:46 off the clock to start the second half. Blake Craig’s 35-yard field goal made it 31-13.
The Bulldogs quickly cut that lead to 31-20 with Booth running twice for 65 yards and a touchdown.
Missouri finished off the Bulldogs with a 14-play, 83-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Carroll capped it with a 1-yard touchdown run and a conversion run to make it 39-20.
–Field Level Media
