Recap: Miss. St. 55, Tenn.-Martin 17
Nov 5, 2011
Vick Ballard rushed for two touchdowns, and the two-pronged quarterback system of Chris Relf and Tyler Russell combined for three scores as Mississippi State rolled past visiting Tennessee-Martin 55-17 on Saturday.
Ballard, who has 27 career touchdowns in 21 games, gained 102 yards on 11 carries and scored a pair of first-half touchdowns as Mississippi State (5-4) won consecutive games for the first time this season.
Relf, who began the season as the Bulldogs starting quarterback, came off the bench for the second straight week and completed 5-of-6 passes for 61 yards and two touchdown passes to Arceto Clark.
Russell was 9-of-18 for 183 yards, including a 78-yard scoring pass to Chad Bumphis in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs also got a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown from All-American defensive back Johnthan Banks.
Kenny Jones had a rushing and receiving touchdown for Tennessee-Martin (5-4), which compiled 454 yards to Mississippi State's 570.