Mississippi State Bulldogs at Minnesota Golden Gophers

Mississippi State races past Minnesota 38-13 with another clinic by rising star QB Kamario Taylor

Fluff Bothwell rushed for 113 yards and two scores on 18 carries and Anthony Evans III had seven receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown as the Bulldogs (2-0) averaged 7 yards per play and put on another offensive clinic after beating Louisiana-Monroe 62-13 in their season opener.

Taylor, the rising star sophomore, completed 16 of 22 passes and ran 13 times for 86 yards for good measure to keep the Gophers (1-1) struggling to keep up all afternoon. Not to be overlooked was Bothwell, whose 2025 season was hampered by an ankle injury.

“We know that when Fluff gets going this team’s going to be even more complete,” Taylor said. “He’s a natural-born playmaker.”

Drake Lindsey had 279 yards on 31-for-48 passing for the Gophers, who converted just 4 of 13 third downs and had 12 penalties accepted for 115 yards, the most in 10 seasons under coach P.J. Fleck.

Running without a huddle under the direction of third-year coach Jeff Lebby, the Bulldogs scored touchdowns on their first four possessions — and needed just 33 plays and 12:05 of game time to do it — in their first regular-season game against a Big Ten team since a 1980 win at Illinois.

“He took a lot of pressure off the defense, for him to be able to get in the end zone like he can,” Mississippi State cornerback Jett Jefferson said. “It really helps us a lot.”

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Taylor was hardly pressured when he dropped back to pass and easily found room to run when he didn’t like the picture in front of him.

“Their tempo of their offense was executed at a high level,” Minnesota linebacker Maverick Baranowski said. “We weren’t at times, and it showed.”

The Gophers finally got a stop early in the third quarter and even scored while doing it, when a punt pinned the Bulldogs deep and linebacker Joey Gerlach broke through with a blitz off the edge that took down Taylor in the end zone and forced a fumble that Aydan West recovered to cut the deficit to 28-13.

The takeaway Mississippi State: The Bulldogs have not cracked the AP Top 25 or had a winning season since 2022 when coach Mike Leach died of heart trouble, but Taylor has given Lebby a potential program-changing star to build around. This dominant victory on the road against a Big Ten team that won 40 games over the last five years ought to give the Bulldogs a valuable boost of confidence before a daunting stretch of their schedule. Mississippi State plays five straight ranked opponents from Sept. 26-Oct. 31.

Minnesota: The program's first matchup with a Southeastern Conference team in a regular season since a home win over Vanderbilt in 1959 was a humbling but potentially helpful experience.

“I really firmly believe that you play a team like this at the beginning of the year,” Fleck said. “It gives us a measuring stick of where we’re at.”

Up next Mississippi State: Plays at South Carolina on Sept. 19 in its SEC opener.

Minnesota: Hosts Akron on Sept. 19 to finish the nonconference schedule.

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