LSU beat Mississippi State Saturday night in Death Valley, but in typical Tiger fashion, the game was much closer than it ever should’ve been.
“They’re a conference opponent,” said LSU Head Coach Les Miles. “We come away with victory. It wasn’t perfect in any way, but we got it started (SEC wins).”
LSU dominated in the first half.
The offense rolled with Quarterback Danny Etling and Running Back Leonard Fournette leading the charge, and the defense smothered State QB Nick Fitzgerald. 
The offense pumped the breaks in the second half, though. 
The Tigers led 23-6 going into the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs pushed back scoring 14 points when Mississippi State Head Coach Dan Mullen pulled Fitzgerald for backup QB Damian Williams.
Williams led the Bulldogs to two touchdowns in less than a minute to close the gap to 23-20 with 3 minutes and 30 seconds left in the game.
It was an eerie feeling in Tiger Stadium for a close game.
Many of the LSU fans left after the second and third quarters.
“They thought ‘hey this things done…it’s over…let’s go get some food,'” Miles said. “The reality of it is we had to make it close.”
But Miles wasn’t bashing the Tiger faithful.
“That crowd was just everything we wanted early, and it will be there when we need them.”
An Arden Key sack-fumble on Mississippi State’s final drive sealed the victory and gave the Tigers their first SEC win of the season. 
“Arden Key, Lewis Neal, Kendell Beckwith…they all can get to the quarterbacks,” Miles said. “They’re a devastating weapon on third down.” 
All-in-all, LSU finished the game with six sacks. 
The Tigers’ offense didn’t score a single point in the second half, but Etling continued to make strides with the offense.
He finished the game 19-30 with 215 yards passing and a touchdown.
“Coaches really got me ready,” Etling said. “And I had some really good teammates who are always behind me.”
Fournette returned to the field for this game after missing last week with an ankle injury.
He powered his way to 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns but had two uncharacteristic fumbles.
“He’s one of the most well-secured runners that I’ve ever had,” Miles said. “I’m sure he’ll continue to be, he’ll just need a little refreshing course there.”
In the future, LSU will have to keep their offense rolling for the entire game instead of one half.
They travel to Jordan-Hare Stadium next Saturday to take on the Auburn Tigers. 
The game will be televised on ESPN 5:00 pm central time.