LSU continues domination over Bulldogs

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Posted 7:58AM on Sunday, September 29, 2002

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - Domanick Davis planned to give his LSU teammates a boost. He did that and then some. Davis gained 295 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns to lead No. 22 LSU past Mississippi State 31-13 Saturday. ``We started out flat and someone had to step up,'' Davis said. ``Today it was me.'' The defending Southeastern Conference champions (3-1, 1-0) have beaten Mississippi State (1-3, 0-2) in 10 of the last 11 games, including six straight at Tiger Stadium. Davis, who had two punt returns for touchdowns nullified by penalties in LSU's first two games, wasted no time getting one that counted against the Bulldogs. He put the Tigers up 7-0 the first time they got the ball after returning a punt 78 yards for a touchdown. It's the first time Mississippi State allowed a punt return for a score since 1994. ``Davis is not easy to get your hands on,'' Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill said. ``I thought that we would be able to make some plays on him, but we just couldn't get our hands on him.'' Davis finished with 122 yards rushing and 173 yards on returns. It was his ninth straight game with at least 100 all-purpose yards. In all, LSU outrushed the Bulldogs 256 yards to 88. On LSU's next possession, Matt Mauck fumbled and Mississippi State recovered, leading to a 21-yard field goal by Brent Smith that cut the Tigers' lead to 7-3. Mauck struggled all afternoon, completing 4 of 12 passes for 52 yards. His longest pass was a 36-yard touchdown, and he ran for a 2-yard score. He also fumbled twice and was sacked once. ``It's obvious to everybody we need to throw the ball better,'' LSU coach Nick Saban said. ``It wasn't all Matt, though.'' Kevin Fant, who was pulled late in the fourth quarter, went 15-of-39 for 122 yards. He was intercepted twice and sacked once. In the second quarter, Devery Henderson fumbled and Mississippi State's Josh Morgan returned the ball to the LSU 2-yard line. On the next play, Dontae Walker scored, putting Mississippi State ahead 10-7. On LSU's next drive, Mauck again fumbled, giving the Bulldogs first down on the LSU 36. But the Bulldogs could not capitalize. A 47-yard field-goal attempt was tipped and fell short. LSU regained the lead a minute before halftime when Davis scored on a 5-yard run, making it 14-10. On the 70-yard drive, Davis picked up 62 yards. ``Once I'm feeling it, I'm the type of runner who wants to keep rolling,'' Davis said. Mauck added to the Tigers' lead with a 36-yard touchdown pass to Henderson in the third quarter, putting LSU up 21-10. ``It was hard to find openings in the passing game,'' Mauck said. ``But it opened it up for our runners.'' Corey Webster intercepted Fant and returned it 26 yards to set up a 26-yard field goal by John Corbello that gave LSU a 24-10 lead going into the fourth quarter. Smith kicked a 52-yard field goal for Mississippi State to open the fourth quarter. With 9:42 left in the game, Corbello's 19-yard field goal attempt hit the upright, but Mississippi State was offsides, giving the Tigers another possession. Mauck scored on a 2-yard run to make it 31-13.