Mississippi State scored a pair of touchdowns in the opening 1 minute, 44 seconds and never looked back in routing visiting Troy 45-17 on Saturday in Starkville, Miss.

Backup quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, who came in for the ailing Dak Prescott in the second quarter, completed 6-of-7 passes for 141 yards and two TDs and ran for 29 yards and another score for the Bulldogs (4-2), who bounced back from last week's 30-17 loss to Texas A&M to open a three-game homestand on a positive note. Prescott, who was regarded as questionable in battling a stomach virus, started and completed 3-of-6 passes for 74 yards and a TD - a 59-yard strike to wide receiver Fred Ross on the Bulldogs' second play from scrimmage - before departing.

Backup quarterback Dontreal Pruitt finished 12 of 17 for 90 yards and ran for 56 yards and a score for the Trojans (1-4), who fell to 2-20 against current SEC members. Pruitt finished the game for Brandon Silvers who was knocked out of the contest with a first-quarter head injury.

After the Prescott-to-Ross scoring strike, blitzing safety Brandon Bryant sacked Silvers on third down of the ensuing possession and defensive tackle Nelson Adams pounced on it in the end zone for a 14-0 Mississippi State lead. After an exchange of punts, Banks raced 77 yards to end zone with the Trojans' punt to put Mississippi State ahead 21-0.

Westin Graves added a 42-yard field goal and Fitzgerald connected with wide receiver De'Runnya Wilson on a 28-yard scoring pass before scoring on a 1-yard draw with 47 seconds remaining in the half to give the Bulldogs a 38-0 lead at the break. Mississippi State had more points in the opening half than the Trojans had total yards (31).

Troy scored on a Pruitt 5-yard run and a 74-yard burst by tailback Brandon Burks in the third quarter, but failed to add to the lead on an off-target field-goal snap, and Fitzgerald hooked up with wide receiver Donald Gray on a 49-yard scoring pass on the next play. Troy's Jed Solomon hit a 21-yard field goal with 27 seconds remaining for the final margin.