Dalton Runberg / The Collegian

Fresno State welcomed a Southeastern Conference opponent to Bulldog Stadium for the first time in program history with Mississippi making the trip to Fresno.

Sophomore quarterback Derek Carr led the Dogs down the field for the first touchdown of game finding junior wide receiver Rashad Evans for the two-yard pass for the early 7-0 lead.

Mississippi answered back quickly with Fresno State’s worst enemy running back Brandon Bolden, who ran for 225 yards, finding the seam for 21-yard touchdown run to tie the score seven apiece.

The Rebels get on the board again with quarterback Zack Stoudt finding wide receiver Melvin Harris for the 22-yard touchdown strike, but the ‘Dogs would block the extra point. Mississippi still led 13-7.

On the next drive, Carr started getting a rhythm with his wide receivers as he led his ‘Dogs down the field. The Bulldogs’ offense got tricky with Carr handing off to Saunders for the 26-yard touchdown run to give the ‘Dogs the 14-13 lead.

In the second quarter, Bolden finds the shifted his way through almost of the Fresno State defense to get the 12-yard touchdown run to extend Mississippi’s lead to 20-14.

The Rebels’ defense gets into the act with Mississippi cornerback Charles Sawyer getting the interception to impede the Bulldogs’ offensive attack.

Carr would get the offense on the same page on the on the next drive and the main contributor was Saunders, who torched the Rebel’s defense for to get the ‘Dogs in scoring position. Fresno State would settle for a field goal, but senior kicker Kevin Goessling shanks the attempt to keep the score 20-14.

The final play of the first half, Goessling tries to bring back memories from the Bulldogs’ game against Utah State in 2008 when he hit a 58-yarder to get the victory, this time the senior came up short on the 57-yarder.

At halftime, Mississippi leads 20-14.