Taylor throws for 354 yards and 4 TDs, Mississippi State routs Louisiana-Monroe 62-13

Audio By Carbonatix

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Kamario Taylor passed for 354 yards and four touchdowns, added 59 yards and a score on the ground, and Mississippi State cruised past Louisiana-Monroe 62-13 in the season opener for both teams on Saturday.

Mississippi State's 762 total yards of offense set a new program record. The Bulldogs scored on all seven of their first half drives and eight straight overall, finally punting with 6:52 remaining in the third quarter.

Taylor was electric from the opening kickoff. The sophomore completed 21 passes in the first two quarters, including a 6-yard TD pass to Sanfrisco Magee, a 22-yard strike to Zion Ragins, and a 10-yard score to Anthony Evans III for a 28-3 lead with 13:15 to play in the second quarter.

Sandwiched between the aerial show, Taylor scrambled and found daylight down the Mississippi State sideline for a 26-yard touchdown run. His celebration included striking the Heisman pose, something he said he thought about ahead of time.

“I already had that planned out because that’s my goal for this year,” Taylor said.

His final highlight of the night came on the first play of the third quarter. Taylor found Marquis Johnson, a senior transfer from Missouri, streaking down the Bulldog sideline for a 70-yard score and a 48-3 lead.

“He’s gonna make a ton of plays because of the athleticism. Him continuing to grow from the pocket and play from the pocket is going to be critical for us,” said coach Jeff Lebby. “But I thought tonight he did some great things in the pocket.”

Evans, the Bulldogs’ returning leading receiver, picked up where he left off, catching seven passes for 118 yards. Johnson was right on his heels with three grabs for 99 yards.

For Louisiana-Monroe, yards were few and far between. Aiden Armenta was 10 for 16 for just 63 yards and the Warhawks mustered just 278 total yards.

The Bulldogs offense under third-year coach Jeff Lebby looked explosive with Taylor under center. And Mississippi State also won a game they were supposed to win, just as they did four times last season. But will the offense be good enough to get wins in the SEC?

Mississippi State: at Minnesota next Saturday. The Gophers looked impressive in their season opener, thumping Eastern Illinois 59-7.

UL-Monroe: at UAB next Saturday.

___

Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here