STARKVILLE &045; A song from the group Jimmy Eat World blared these words from the scoreboard speakers at Davis Wade Stadium Saturday: &uot;Hey, don’t write yourself off yet Š try your best Š everything’ll be all right.&uot;

Perhaps the first words of encouragement Starkville’s Bulldogs have heard all year, as Mississippi State (0-4, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) has opened the season with four straight losses for the first time since 1968 when those Bulldogs went winless in 10 games.

Saturday’s abuser was LSU (5-0, 2-0 SEC), which is off to its best start since Cholly Mac’s 1973 team, as the Tigers controlled the fates for all but one possession with a commanding 41-6 victory to a sparse 45,835.

&uot;I love this team, the players and coaches that are a part of this team,&uot; Tiger head coach Nick Saban said. &uot;This is a joy, this is what you strive for as a coach. You always have a lot of worries relative to people winning big games and the next week, but I was really pleased with the way the team competed tonight.&uot;

Birdies covering the southeastern portion of America know LSU is notorious for let downs after big wins, such as last Saturday’s victory over Georgia, and they were a-talking leading up to the 8 p.m. kickoff.

But after a momentary stumble saw LSU punt and turn the ball over on its opening two possessions, the Tigers hushed the haters and rolled in part to Mississippi State flubs.

&uot;It was important for us to come out here and put to sleep the talk of LSU not coming back after big wins,&uot; said LSU quarterback Matt Mauck, who missed only seven of his 19 pass attempts for 171 yards. &uot;We had to realize that (Georgia) was one game and we have a whole season to play.

The quick-strike artists that they are, the Tigers wasted no time in plowing down the field after a State punt via air &045; Mauck found receiver Michael Clayton for 11 yards &045; and the old fashioned way &045; like a waterbug, tailback Shyrone Carey zipped outside, running up the LSU sideline for 35 yards to the Bulldog 1.

Three plays later, after two runs were stuffed by the State goal-line defense, Carey took an option pitch left from Mauck and fast forwarded himself to the front left corner of the north end zone for a 7-0 lead with 11 ticks left in the first quarter.

&uot;LSU is balanced. From top to bottom, this is the best balanced LSU team ever,&uot; said State head coach Jackie Sherrill, who has now lost his last nine games dating back to 2002. &uot;You just cannot get behind in a game like this. You get away from your game plan when you do.&uot;

A snowball rapidly began taking shape for the Bulldogs, as Fant badly overthrew Justin Jenkins on the drive after an LSU field goal made it 10-0, and Tiger free safety Jack Hunt didn’t have to budge to make the pick and return it to the State 2-yard line.

A play later Carey had his second touchdown of the night to make it a 17-0 ball game with 9:48 remaining in the second quarter.

&uot;You do not want to be one dimensional with a team like LSU,&uot; Sherrill said. &uot;They got a chance to get ahead, and we did not protect. Two fumbles and two interceptions hurt you.&uot;

After the two teams traded punts, State looked a though it would cut into its deficit heading into intermission, moving the ball successfully up to its own 46 after Fant found junior flanker McKinley Scott for 15 and a first down.