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STARKVILLE, Mississippi (Ticker) -- South Carolina coach Lou Holtz's pain was Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill's gain. No. 23 Mississippi State overcame a sluggish offense to blank South Carolina, 17-0, in its Southeastern Conference opener and improve to 4-0 for the first time since 1965. Sherrill got the Bulldogs off to a 3-0 start in 1991, his first season in Starkville. Then came a 26-24 loss at Tennessee. Since 1965, Mississippi State blew chances at 4-0 in 1978, 1980-82 and 1985. "I'm glad this one is over with because every week it gets tougher and tougher," Sherrill said. "(South Carolina) has a lot of talent defensively. They're physical inside and they also can run with their outside people." Mississippi State (4-0, 1-0 SEC West) handed South Carolina (0-4, 0-2 SEC East) its 14th consecutive loss and kept Holtz winless in his return to coaching. The Gamecocks have scored just 12 points this season. The Bulldogs have won four straight SEC openers for just the second time in school history. A charter member of the conference, Mississippi State also won four straight SEC starters from 1938-41. Mississippi State has won nine straight home games, its best streak at Scott Field since winning 20 in a row from 1939-45. The Bulldogs increased their lead in the all-time series to 6-2. While unable to put points on the board, South Carolina has been competitive on defense and today was no different. Mississippi State was limited to just 181 yards and managed only 10 points on offense. "This is the third time we've outgained the opposition in our four losses," Holtz said. State's Scott Westerfield kicked a 43-yard field goal in the first quarter and Wayne Madkin tossed a 27-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Lowe in the final period. Defensive back Ashley Cooper returned an interception 52 yards for a score in the second period. Although not reflected it its record, South Carolina is turning things around under Holtz. Its four losses have come against teams which have a combined record of 12-1. "They are a much better team than last year," Mississippi State running back Chris Rainey said. "They had some success against us but we were just the better team tonight. We have to work much harder as a unit. We need to quit relying on the defense to save us." The Gamecocks had two drives deep into MSU territory but turned the ball over on downs each time. Things started ominously for South Carolina as its first possession ended with a punt out of its own end zone. Kelvin Love returned the kick 15 yards to the Gamecocks 28 but the defense held, forcing Mississippi State to settle for Westerfield's field goal 4 1/2 minutes into the contest. South Carolina put together its best drive of the game on the ensuing possession, marching 66 yards on 11 plays. After chewing up nearly six minutes, Holtz elected not to kick a field goal on 4th-and-1 from the Mississippi State 2. The move backfired as defensive end Conner Stephens sacked Phil Petty for a four-yard loss. Petty, one of three quarterbacks used by Holtz, completed 7-of-14 passes for only 96 yards. "We drove down there and had 4th-and-inches," Holtz said. "You second-guess yourself. We probably should have ran it. We had a missed assignment, that's why the sack came." "It's unfortunate that we lost again," Petty added. "We really thought we had a chance to win. We were close at times. We just couldn't get a break." With South Carolina facing 3rd-and-19 at its 47, Cooper returned Petty's pass the distance to give the Bulldogs a 10-0 lead with just 21 seconds left in the half. "We needed a big play," Cooper said. "They were moving the ball well offensively. I made the catch and thought I was going to fall. But the good Lord picked me up and I scored." "The turnover just before the half was critical," Holtz added. "I didn't think that play would be intercepted. He threw it high. Everything that can go wrong seems to go wrong." Trailing by 10 points, SC took the second-half kickoff and drove to the Mississippi State 19, where once again it could not convert a fourth down. Derek Watson, who rushed for 70 yards on 23 carries, was stopped for a two-yard loss on 4th-and-2, ending South Carolina's last serious threat. "We're definitely making progress," South Carolina linebacker Corey Atkins said. "They only got one offensive touchdown on us, so we gave the offense a chance." After an exchange of punts, Mississippi State put away the contest, driving 48 yards on seven plays and taking a 17-0 lead on Madkin's TD pass to Love with 1:21 remaining in the third period. Madkin was 9-of-16 for only 93 yards while Rainey rushed for just 45 yards on 13 carries. The Bulldogs were held to just 88 yards on 31 rushes.
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