STARKVILLE — If Mississippi State is to be a factor in the Southeastern Conference this season, it will be because of its defense.

The Bulldogs defense got off to a great start for new head coach Dan Mullen in Saturday’s 45-7 rout of Southwestern Athletic Conference contender Jackson State before 54,232 fans at Davis Wade Stadium/Scott Field.

Leading the way for the Bulldogs defense was senior linebacker Jamar Chaney, who played in his first game since the 2007 Ole Miss game in Starkville.

“We played well. They (Jackson State) stayed with us for a half, but then we turned it up in the second half,” Chaney said. “When you get turnovers, good things will happen. Now, we have to get ready for Auburn.”

Mississippi State led just 7-0 through most of the first half and the one score came after a botched punt snap by the Tigers five minutes deep into the game. A late second-quarter drive by State’s offense made it a two-score game at 14-0 after a 5-yard TD run by Chris Relf.

In the second half, like Chaney said, the defense took over. Charles Mitchell intercepted a Trae Rutland pass at the JSU 32 and returned it 15 yards to the 17. Three plays later, Robert Elliott scored on a 7-yard run and the Bulldogs were up 21-0 just a minute and 53 seconds into the third quarter.

Five minutes later, it was 28-0 after the defense again came up big, stripping the ball away from Rutland, who three years ago was a starting quarterback at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs took the Tigers’ fourth turnover to that point and scored on Relf’s 19-yard TD pass to Marcus Green for a 28-0 lead.

When the third quarter finally ended, the Tigers were down 35-0, had minus-18 yards rushing (thanks to two fumbled punt snaps), just 97 yards in total offense and four turnovers.

Mullen praised his staff and his defensive players for getting after the Tigers.

“Carl Torbush and our whole defensive staff did a great job of preparing those guys,” Mullen said. “We bent a little there at the end, but we were able to get something done that we wanted to do and that was get people playing time.”

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com