Mississippi State rushed for 372 yards, as the Bulldogs overpowered the Abilene Christian Wildcats 45-7 on Saturday night in Starkville, Miss.

Mississippi State (5-6) can become bowl-eligible next week with a win over in-state rival Ole Miss. Abilene Christian (5-7) ended its season with a losing record.

Mississippi State began the scoring in the first quarter with a short-field touchdown drive. Nick Gibson scored on a 4-yard run to cap a five-play, 35-yard drive and give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead.

Mississippi State built its lead to 21-0 with two touchdowns 1:47 apart in the second quarter. MSU quarterback Tommy Stevens hit Deddrick Thomas on an 11-yard touchdown pass to give the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead with exactly 12 minutes left before halftime. Then Stevens hit Kylin Hill on an 88-yard touchdown pass for a 21-0 lead with 10:13 remaining in the second quarter.

Abilene Christian scored its only touchdown of the night with 2:07 left in the first half. Quarterback Luke Anthony hit Tracy James on a 4-yard strike to make it 21-7, where the score sat at halftime.

In the third quarter, Mississippi State stymied the Wildcats' offense and pulled away. Stevens raced into the end zone on a 30-yard touchdown run for a 28-7 lead with 8:39 left in the quarter. Then early in the fourth quarter, Mississippi State added 17 more points to put the finishing touches on a comfortable victory.

Mississippi State added 205 passing yards for 577 yards of total offense. Mississippi State gained 26 first downs and converted 7 of 12 third downs.

Mississippi State's defensive prowess emerged against the Abilene Christian running game. The Wildcats finished with just 27 yards on 28 carries.

Stevens finished 13 of 27 for 165 yards and two touchdowns, while Hill carried 16 times for 153 yards. He finished with 237 yards from scrimmage.

Anthony finished 25 of 38 for 255 yards with one touchdown and one interception for the Wildcats.

--Field Level Media