STARKVILLE — Mississippi State’s season of struggle added another chapter, but the good news is it’s almost over.

Marcus Carroll rushed for three touchdowns as Missouri beat Mississippi State 39-20 Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium.

Carroll’s 19-yard touchdown run and a 28-yard TD pass from Brady Cook to Luther Burden in the second quarter put Missouri ahead 28-10 and blew open a close game.

Mississippi State (2-9, 0-7 Southeastern Conference) will finish its season on Black Friday, on the road against No. 9 Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. The Bulldogs need to win to avoid their first winless SEC record since 2002.

Mississippi State got off to a good start against Missouri (8-3, 4-3). Kyle Ferrie kicked a 38-yard field goal and Michael Van Buren threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to keep the Bulldogs within striking distance at 14-10 at the end of the first quarter.

The two touchdowns by Missouri in the second quarter gave the Tigers some separation, though, and they had two scoring drives that lasted nearly nine minutes apiece in the second half. One ended with a field goal, and the other a 1-yard TD run by Carroll.

Missouri had a decided advantage in time of possession 41 minutes and 51 seconds to 18:09.

Van Buren, a true freshman, completed 16 of 28 passes for 191 yards and one touchdown for Mississippi State. Davon Booth rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown.

On defense, Stone Blanton had 18 tackles for the Bulldogs and Isaac Smith had 14.