Mississippi State football opens season vs. Memphis: Live score, game updates
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football opens its season Saturday against a familiar foe. Memphis upset MSU 31-29 last season in a game featuring questionable officiating and poor special teams play.
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS: What's left for Mississippi State to answer after preseason camp?
WEEK 1: What MSU can prove with win against Memphis
The Tigers, capped by a 94-yard punt return touchdown the SEC admitted should’ve been disallowed, used the win to propel themselves to six wins. The Bulldogs went 5-5 the rest of the way and closed their season 7-6 with Egg Bowl and Liberty Bowl losses.
Mike Leach and Ryan Silverfield enter their third seasons at the helm of their respective programs. Leach has junior Will Rogers under center after he finished second in passing among SEC quarterbacks last season.
Silverfield returns quarterback Seth Henigan for his sophomore season. Henigan finished second in the AAC with 302 passing yards per game as a freshman, just a fraction of a yard behind SMU’s Tanner Mordecai.
Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. inside Davis Wade Stadium. The game will be aired on ESPNU.
Mississippi State football vs. Memphis live score updates
4th quarter
FINAL: Mississippi State 49, Memphis 23. Will Rogers throws for a career-high 450 yards and five touchdowns. MSU's defense was really, really good until some backups rotated into the game in the fourth quarter.
1:23 left: Mississippi States forces and recovers a Memphis fumble, and Sawyer Robertson is in the game at QB to see this thing out.
2:05 left: Will Rogers is STILL throwing the ball, finding Justin Robinson for a 23-yard touchdown reception. MSU 49, Memphis 23. It is late, and both teams are trying to pile on points here.
3:14 left: Another steady drive for the Memphis offense, with Seth Henigan taking a QB keeper into the end zone from a yard out. MSU leads 42-23.
5:59 left: Will Rogers is still throwing the ball, finding Rufus Howard up the seam for a 33-yard touchdown pass. MSU leads 42-16.
10:13 left: That was too easy for Memphis. The Tigers string together their best drive of the night, and it is capped by Eddie Lewis' 15-yard touchdown catch from Seth Henigan. Memphis fails the two-point conversion attempt.
13:31 left: Will Rogers' pass is ruled as aa backward lateral, and Memphis recovers the ball. 1st and goal turns into a Mississippi State turnover. Bulldogs still lead 35-10.
3rd quarter
57 seconds left: MSU's defense stiffens on fourth down near midfield. Turnover on downs.
7:37 left: Memphis' Jevyon Ducker shoots through the middle and outruns the MSU defense for a 50-yard touchdown run. The Tigers doubled their yardage total on the play. MSU leads 35-10.
10:48 left: Caleb Ducking's 35-yard TD catch from Will Rogers is the latter's third touchdown pass of the evening. MSU 35, Memphis 3. A very encouraging Week 1 performance all around for Mississippi State.
13:34 left: Memphis gets the ball to start the second half and goes three-and-out. MSU's defense continues to dominate.
2nd quarter
HALFTIME: MSU 28, Memphis 3. Can't say enough about the Bulldogs defense in the lengthy first half. Memphis finished the half with 29 total yards.
1:40 left: Jo'quavious Marks has his second TD run of the day. MSU helped by a couple Memphis defensive penalties on that drive. The rout is on. MSU leads 28-3.
8:44 left: MSU's defense has had a dominant first half. Another three-and-out.
10:00 left: Jo'quavious Marks caps another long MSU drive with a short TD run. Will Rogers is in a rhythm as a QB, and so is Mike Leach calling plays. MSU 21, Memphis 3.
13:57 left: MSU defense playing well. Memphis settles for a field goal. MSU 14, Memphis 3.
14:58 left: MSU gets the ball back, but Rogers is intercepted. Great play on the ball by Memphis' Quindell Johnson.
1st quarter
53 seconds left: Coming out of the lightning delay, MSU strikes again. Touchdown Mississippi State! Jaden Walley 9-yard touchdown catch from Will Rogers puts the Bulldogs ahead 14-0.
9 p.m. update: Teams coming back out on the field. Looking at a 9:10 p.m. CT restart time.
8:30 p.m. "update": Still waiting on a restart time for Mississippi State-Memphis. The two teams came back onto the field for a moment about 30 minutes ago but returned to their locker rooms.
5:17 left: Mississippi State's next drive is halted by lightning. The game is under a lightning delay, as lightning has been spotted within five miles of Davis Wade Stadium.
9:53 left: Mississippi State strikes first on a 10-play drive that culminates in a 23-yard touchdown pass from Will Rogers to Rara Thomas over the middle. Five runs, five passes. Good start for the MSU offense. Bulldogs 7, Tigers 0.
Pregame: Welcome back! Mississippi State and Memphis about to get going in Starkville. The Bulldogs should still have a sour taste in their mouths after the way last year's meeting finished up. We'll see if the result changes tonight.
Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State football score vs. Memphis live updates
