STARKVILLE, Miss. — A second-half comeback came up two points short Saturday as Mississippi State dropped its homecoming game to Vanderbilt, 25-23, at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss.
The Bulldogs trailed 16-0 at the break after gaining only 71 yards of offense in the first half. Vanderbilt built that cushion on a short rushing touchdown and three field goals.
State answered fast after halftime. AJ Swann found Sanfrisco Magee on a 65-yard scoring throw, and about half a minute later Will Whitson scooped up a forced fumble and ran it back 14 yards for a touchdown, trimming the gap to 16-14 midway through the third quarter.
The Bulldogs then went cold again, punting on three straight drives while Vanderbilt stretched the margin on field goals of 54 and 34 yards. A Kyle Ferrie field goal from 26 yards out capped an 11-play fourth-quarter drive and pulled State within 22-17 with under five minutes remaining.
Vanderbilt kicker Brock Taylor then took over, finishing with six field goals, the last a 55-yarder with 1:46 to play that made it 25-17. Swann and Magee connected again from 30 yards with 32 seconds left, but the tying two-point pass fell incomplete and the Bulldogs did not recover the onside kick.
The defeat is the fifth in a row for Mississippi State, now 4-5 overall and 2-5 in SEC play, after a 4-0 start. The Bulldogs had beaten Vanderbilt five straight times before Saturday, and the Commodores picked up their first conference win of the season. Vanderbilt had not won the series since a 31-13 victory in Nashville in October 2004.
State played again without starting quarterback Kamario Taylor, who is out for the year after surgery. The slide echoes last fall, when the Bulldogs also opened 4-0 and finished 5-8.
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