STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen hates losing.
It didn’t matter that No. 25 MSU trailed No. 14 LSU 14-3 at halftime and 21-6 at the start of the fourth quarter started. A 13-point final stanza put the Bulldogs in position to tie and win the game, but Devon Bell missed a 52-yard field goal as time expired in a 21-19 loss before a crowd of 62,531 at Davis Wade Stadium.
Mullen and MSU made second half adjustments, but there were no moral victories for the Bulldogs, who slipped to 1-1 in their Southeastern Conference opener.
“I’m encouraged with the effort our guys played with in the second half, but those streams don’t ever cross,” Mullen said. “I like the effort our team played with, but playing with great effort and losing (don’t go together).”
MSU entered the week ranked No. 25 in The Associated Press poll, but it dropped out of the poll (along with No. 18 Arkansas and No. 23 Tennessee) after the loss. MSU received 32 votes in The AP poll and 35 votes in the Amway (coaches) poll.
Mullen and MSU will look to put the loss to the behind them this week as they prepare for a game against Northwestern State at 3 p.m. Saturday (SEC Network) at Davis Wade Stadium.
Senior quarterback Dak Prescott said MSU’s goals for this season are still attainable.
“We’ve got to make sure we don’t let this loss bring this team downhill,” he said. “Just get back going in the right direction moving forward going into a long season.”
In two games, Prescott has thrown for 572 yards and three touchdowns (no interceptions). The Haughton, Louisiana, native has rushed for 53 yards and two touchdowns. He had -19 yards rushing against LSU.
Senior wide receiver De’Runnya Wilson had only one catch in a 34-16 season-opening victory at Southern Mississippi. He had one catch for 12 yards in the first half against LSU, but he finished with eight catches for 86 yards. Wilson’s 5-yard touchdown catch from Prescott pulled the Bulldog within two points. The ball hit Wilson in the hands and popped up, but he kept his concentration and hauled it in.
“It hurts a lot,” Wilson said. “All of the preparation we put into the game, going out there and not finishing the game with a win, it’s devastating.
“We just need to keep working hard. We have great leadership. Everybody’s going to push everybody to that limit.”
MSU has defeated Northwestern State (0-2) in the two previous meetings (1945, 1946). Northwestern State, a NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision member, lost to Southeastern Louisiana 34-20 and to Louisiana-Lafayette 44-17 last week. The demons are averaging 314 yards per game.
“Great thing about football, we’re back out here in seven days from now, we’re right back out here on the field with another opportunity to go out, be better and try to find a way to win a football game,” Mullen said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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