Mississippi St. wins second straight

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Posted 8:30AM on Sunday, October 20, 2002

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE - Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill noticed some life from his offense Saturday night, but he got some big help from the defense also. Fred Reid scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter and the Mississippi State defense scored twice as the Bulldogs beat Memphis 29-17. ``We had to play great pass defense to win the game. ... They made some big plays,'' Sherrill said. Mississippi State's 16 fourth quarter points erased a 17-13 Memphis lead. The Bulldogs (3-4) benefited from five interceptions by Memphis quarterback Danny Wimprine. The victory was the Bulldogs' ninth straight over the Tigers (2-5). ``In the 12 years I've played in Memphis, this is the best Memphis team and the most physical,'' Sherrill said. Two of the interceptions led to Mississippi State's first and last touchdowns of the game. Jason Clark picked off a pass by Wimprine for a 20-yard score in the first quarter, while a 28-yard return by Michael Gholar with under two minutes remaining put the game out of reach. Korey Banks had two interceptions for Mississippi State. ``You can't have five interceptions and two of them for touchdowns,'' said Memphis coach Tommy West. ``You probably would get beat by anybody, much less an SEC team.'' Memphis managed little offense in the second half, gaining only 23 yards on the ground and 98 in the air. The Tigers led 17-13 after a first half of missed opportunities for both teams. Mississippi State had to rely on reserve quarterback Kyle York, subbing for starter Kevin Fant who is suffering from an ankle and Achilles injury. The offense struggled early, failing to capitalize on turnovers and big plays, while the Tigers missed a 20-yard field goal. Wimprine did connect on scoring passes of 12 yards to Travis Anglin and 59 yards to Tavares Gideon, who tapped the ball to himself, then shook a tackle before strolling to the end zone. Stephen Gostkowski added a 48-yard field goal for the Tigers. The Bulldog offense, which had only 66 yards passing in the half, never got in the end zone before the break. Mississippi State's only touchdown came on Clark's interception return, caused when Josh Morgan hit Wimprine as he released the ball. Brent Smith had field goals of 28 and 42 yards in the half, the latter coming as time expired to cut the Tigers' lead to four. Smith hit his third field goal from 24 yards early in the fourth. Reid, who ran for 59 yards, scored with just under 10 minutes left to give the Bulldogs the lead.