Mississippi State
1-0 , 0-0
Southern Miss
0-1 , 0-0
State Dominates Second Half, Rolls To Win Over Southern Miss
August 30, 2025 | Football, Joel Coleman
MSU defeats the Golden Eagles 34-17.
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Mississippi State had a dominant second-half showing to blow open the ballgame and roll to a 34-17 season-opening victory over Southern Miss on Saturday at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
After MSU took a 13-10 lead into halftime, the Bulldogs outscored the Golden Eagles 21-0 in the third quarter to take total control.
State used its ground game to put the contest out of reach. Running backs Fluff Bothwell and Davon Booth keyed the Dawgs' second-half surge. The duo combined for three touchdowns on the day with all three coming in the third quarter. Bothwell had two scores and Booth had one.
All told, State rushed for 188 yards.
The Bulldogs also mounted a successful air attack throughout Saturday's affair. Quarterback Blake Shapen, in his return to action after missing the final eight games of last season due to injury, completed 26 of his 34 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown. Shapen's touchdown toss was a 55-yard completion to Seydou Traore that opened Saturday's scoring and gave the Bulldogs momentum just over a minute into the game.
After State captured the early lead, kicker Kyle Ferrie helped ensure the Dawgs never trailed over the course of a competitive first two quarters. He connected on a pair of field goals in the first half, most notably a 55-yarder that is now the longest make in MSU history. The previous long was a 54-yard field goal by Artie Cosby back in 1985.
Ferrie's second make of the day – a 30-yarder just before the intermission – gave the Bulldogs a lead they'd never relinquish as MSU came out of the locker room and quickly gave itself plenty of breathing room.
Southern Miss was able to tack on a late touchdown with under a minute to play to close its deficit a bit, but it was far from enough to turn away the Bulldogs, who have now beaten the Golden Eagles in the two teams' last seven meetings. MSU has also now won nine consecutive season openers.
Next Up for MSU…
The Bulldogs host their first home game of 2025, facing Arizona State on Saturday, Sept. 6. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT at Davis Wade Stadium, and the game will be televised by ESPN2.
Team Stats
MSU 7, USM 0
MSU - Traore,Seydou 55 yd pass from Shapen,Blake (Ferrie,Kyle kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:25
MSU 7, USM 3
USM - Harradine,Reed 43 yd field goal 4 plays, 1 yards, TOP 00:38
MSU 10, USM 3
MSU - Ferrie,Kyle 55 yd field goal 10 plays, 38 yards, TOP 04:19
MSU 10, USM 10
USM - Davis,Micah 3 yd pass from Braxton,Braylon (Harradine,Reed kick) 12 plays, 81 yards, TOP 04:25
MSU 13, USM 10
MSU - Ferrie,Kyle 30 yd field goal 15 plays, 63 yards, TOP 05:56
MSU 20, USM 10
MSU - Bothwell,Fluff 6 yd run (Ferrie,Kyle kick), 8 plays, 66 yards, TOP 03:10
MSU 27, USM 10
MSU - Bothwell,Fluff 1 yd run (Ferrie,Kyle kick), 11 plays, 67 yards, TOP 02:59
MSU 34, USM 10
MSU - Booth,Davon 3 yd run (Ferrie,Kyle kick), 9 plays, 42 yards, TOP 02:58
MSU 34, USM 17
USM - Johnson,TJ 7 yd pass from Braxton,Braylon (Harradine,Reed kick) 10 plays, 73 yards, TOP 04:16
