The No. 9 LSU Tigers held on to win 37-17 against No. 22 Mississippi State on Saturday night.
Down 30-17 late in the fourth quarter, Mississippi State drove to the LSU 9-yard line, but quarterback Tyler Russell was intercepted by LSU junior safety Craig Loston, who returned it 100 yards for a touchdown to seal the victory.
“The question was whether this football team would come to play after an emotional game a week ago,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “There is not any question that they were.”
The Tigers trailed, 7-6, in the second quarter when Mississippi State running back Derrick Milton fumbled a toss from Russell, and LSU linebacker Lamin Barrow recovered at the Bulldog 21-yard line.
On the ensuing drive LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger hit Jarvis Landry for a 19-yard touchdown pass that gave the Tigers a 13-7 lead.
From that point on, LSU never trailed.
Mississippi State came back down the field and added a 47-yard Devon Bell field goal to cut the Tigers’ lead to 13-10 with 48 seconds left in the first half.
Instead of taking a knee and going into halftime, Miles elected to let Mettenberger throw the ball with 48 second left.
Mettenberger rewarded his coach with a 4-play, 71-yard touchdown drive that culminated with a 20-yard touchdown to running back Spenser Ware, who made a diving catch in the end zone on a wheel route out of the backfield.
Mettenberger would finish the game completing 19-of-30 passes for 273 yards with the two touchdowns and no interceptions.
“I think Zach (Mettenberger) is playing extremely well,” Miles said. “He has a nice touch on the ball. He knows where he needs to go. He is making quality decisions.”
The Tigers stumbled coming out of halftime. The defense forced a punt, but Odell Beckham Jr. muffed it and the Bulldogs recovered the fumble in LSU territory.
On the next drive, Russell hit wide receiver Chad Bumphis for a 14-yard touchdown to cut the LSU lead to 20-17.
After a Drew Alleman field goal extended the Tigers’ lead to 23-17, LSU fullback J.C. Copeland plunged in from the 1-yard line to make the lead 30-17 heading into the fourth quarter.
LSU junior defensive end Barkevious Mingo (49) celebrates during the Tigers' 37-17 victory over the Bulldogs Saturday November 10, 2012 in Tiger Stadium.
