No. 19 Missouri’s unbeaten start ended Saturday night at Davis Wade Stadium, where No. 24 Mississippi State scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to pull out a 31-24 victory in both teams’ Southeastern Conference opener.
The Tigers (3-1, 0-1 SEC) led 24-17 late in the third quarter after Austin Simmons found Cayden Lee for a pair of touchdown passes. The Bulldogs (4-0, 1-0 SEC) answered with a grinding 14-play drive capped by Fluff Bothwell’s 4-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 24 with 7:09 remaining. Kamario Taylor then hit Sanfrisco Magee for a 24-yard score with 3:57 left to give Mississippi State the lead for good.
Taylor finished with three touchdown passes. He opened the game with a 43-yard strike to Magee and an 11-yard toss to Bothwell, building a 14-0 first-quarter lead. Missouri answered in the second quarter with Blake Craig’s 35-yard field goal and a 9-yard Simmons-to-Donovan Olugbode touchdown that cut the deficit to 14-10 at the half.
Simmons continued to move the ball after the break. He connected with Lee on a 21-yard score to put Mizzou in front 17-14, then found Lee again from 28 yards out after Kyle Ferrie’s 28-yard field goal had knotted the score at 17. Those two connections gave the Tigers their largest lead of the night.
Missouri could not sustain that momentum in the fourth. The Tigers failed to score in the final period while Mississippi State’s offense converted on the ground and through the air. Bothwell added a rushing touchdown to his earlier receiving score, and Magee hauled in two of Taylor’s scoring throws.
Simmons threw three touchdown passes without an interception. Lee led Missouri receivers with two scores. Olugbode added the other. The Tigers entered the game 3-0 and ranked 19th; the loss drops them into the early SEC standings while Mississippi State remains unbeaten.
Missouri returns home next Saturday for a Homecoming matchup against Florida. Mississippi State will look to stay perfect when it continues conference play.
