SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 6, 2014
Mississippi State 47, Alabama-Birmingham 34: Dak Prescott passed for 211 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 111 yards and a score as the Bulldogs pushed past the visiting Blazers.
Prescott went 12-of-25 in his second straight game with four passing scores while Josh Robinson ran for 124 yards and a touchdown for Mississippi State (2-0), which used a big third quarter to pull away. Robert Johnson, Gus Walley, Joe Morrow and De’Runnya Wilson each hauled in a TD pass as Prescott spread the ball around to nine different receivers.
Jeremiah Briscoe went 5-of-15 for 231 yards and two scores while Cody Clements was 10-of-18 for 167 yards, a TD and an interception for Alabama-Birmingham (1-1). JaMarcus Nelson caught five passes for 144 yards and a score while Jordan Howard ran for 89 yards and a TD for the Blazers.
The Bulldogs needed less than a minute for Prescott to find Johnson for a 68-yard TD on the opening possession and Preston Smith returned an interception 21 yards to make it 13-3 with 43 seconds left in the first before UAB got into the game. Howard broke through for a 2-yard score and Briscoe fired an 88-yard TD pass to Nelson only 70 seconds later to put the Blazers on top 17-13.
UAB held a 20-19 advantage until Prescott hit Walley with a 20-yard TD pass to give Mississippi State a 26-20 lead at the half, and Prescott found the end zone on three straight possessions in the third quarter - one rushing and two passing - to push the edge to 47-27. Briscoe and Quincy Perdue connected on a 75-yard score with under a minute left to provide the final margin.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Bulldogs have won 13 straight home openers against non-conference foes. … After rushing for 338 yards in their opener, the Blazers were held to 113 on 43 carries by Mississippi State. … The Bulldogs have forced 18 turnovers in their last seven games.