Mississippi State has regained its swagger in the last two games just in time to face its biggest challenge yet this season — at No. 1 Alabama.
The Bulldogs, coming off a 45-3 homecoming win over Louisiana Tech, will kick off against the Crimson Tide at Bryant- Denny Stadium at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.
Defense has been the calling card for the Bulldogs (6-3, 2-3 SEC), who went into Saturday’s play leading the SEC in total defense at 283.8 yards a game and second in scoring defense at 13.5 points a game.
Nine touchdowns allowed by MSU are the fewest in the SEC.
Alabama’s league-leading offense had scored a touchdown on every opening drive this season until the streak ended at LSU.
The Tigers at night in Baton Rouge offered Alabama its most resistance to date but lost 29-0.
Nick Fitzgerald threw for 243 yards and four touchdowns against Louisiana Tech.
“It’s very apparent I’m a lot more comfortable in the pocket, a lot more comfortable in the passing game,” Fitzgerald said. “I really liked our last two games and the plan that we’ve had.”
Fitzgerald completed 17 of 28 passes and threw his touchdowns to Stephen Guidry, Deddrick Thomas, Jesse Jackson and Kylin Hill.
“We needed to start fast and knock the belief out of these guys,” Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead said.
Fitzgerald also ran for 107 yards. Mississippi State has a 16-3 record during Fitzgerald’s career when he breaks the 100-yard mark.
Louisiana Tech (6-3) was competitive in a loss to LSU this season, but its second game against a Southeastern Conference opponent didn’t go well. J’Mar Smith completed 14 of 30 passes for 98 yards.
Mississippi State’s offensive revival continued for a second straight game after an encouraging 28-13 win over Texas A&M last week. The Bulldogs finished with 532 total yards against Louisiana Tech.
Fitzgerald had plenty of time to throw most of the night and his four touchdown passes in the first half went for 11, 36, 23 and 10 yards. That helped give the Bulldogs a comfortable 31-3 halftime lead.
“I did not expect them to do to our defense what they did,” Louisiana Tech coach Skip Holtz said. “That is a real testament to them, and the way they came out and played.”
To put Fitzgerald’s improvement in perspective, he threw just four touchdown passes over his first six starts of the season. On Saturday, he had four in less than 30 minutes of game action.
Mississippi State’s defense was once again excellent, giving up just 238 total yards.
The Bulldogs didn’t give up a touchdown on Saturday and they’ve given up just nine offensive touchdowns all season, which leads the nation.
