STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Michael Van Buren Jr. accounted for three touchdowns and led Mississippi State back from an early deficit in a 45-20 win over Massachusetts on Saturday.
Mississippi State answered a 10-0 start to the game by UMass by scoring 35 consecutive points in the second and third quarters.
After the Bulldogs surrendered over 100 yards on the first two drives and had negative nine offensively, Mississippi State would hold UMass scoreless on five straight drives while scoring touchdowns to cap five of its six possessions.
Van Buren finished the night 14 of 25 for 222 yards and a touchdown and added two touchdowns on the ground. He led an offense that had 463 total yards with 241 of those coming on the ground on 30 carries.
Johnnie Daniels had six carries for 92 yards and a touchdown, Davon Booth rushed 11 times for 76 yards and a score and freshman Xavier Gayten had two carries with a 72-yard score.
Jordan Mosley finished with four catches for 107 yards for the Bulldogs.
UMass (2-7) had 335 total yards with 199 on the ground. The Minutemen were 9 of 17 on 3rd downs and had a time of possession of 40:49 but committed nine penalties for 99 yards.
Brandon Campbell had 10 carries for 64 yards and a score to lead the way for the Minutemen.
Stone Blanton had 14 tackles for the Bulldogs (2-7) on defense while Nic Mitchell finished with 10 tackles. Brylan Lanier had an interception.
Up next
Mississippi State travels to Tennessee on November 9.
UMass will host Liberty on November 16.
Big Picture
Mississippi State: It’s been a grueling season for the Bulldogs but the team was finally able to enjoy some success for the first time since week one. The victory over the Minutemen ended a seven-game losing streak.
UMass: Saturday dropped the Minutemen to 2-7 on the year with losses to SEC teams Missouri and Mississippi State on the list. One more game against the conference remains with a matchup at No. 2 Georgia coming on November 23.
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