BATON ROUGE — The last time LSU had as many interceptions as it did Saturday night, it was Mississippi State that paid the price.

And the Bulldogs were once again victims of the Tiger secondary as five LSU interceptions led the way to a 29-7 win over Mississippi State.

The five picks were just short of the school-record six interceptions set in the Tigers’ 45-0 win over the Bulldogs to open the 2007 season. LSU head coach Les Miles said he felt like his team has show improvement from game one until now.

“I felt like our defense continues to play at a very high level. Certainly, the number of turnovers that we got and the short field was very significant,” Miles said.

Former Trinity Episcopal standout Stevan Ridley finished with 82 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. He also seemed to have a better handle on his fumbling problems this week, not dropping the ball once.

“Our offensive line does a great job for us, and I feel like I can run behind them every day of the week,” Ridley said.

“Our team is progressing, but we’re not happy here. We have to keep working.”

Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen said the negative four turnover ratio was devastating for the Bulldogs.

“That is two years in a row against this team that we are negative four in turnover ratio. You’re not going to win any football games turning the ball over in that fashion,” Mullen said.

“You have got to take care of the football, and we have to create turnovers on defense.”

Trailing 12-0 at the half, the Bulldogs scored on their opening possession in the third quarter, marching 81 yards down the field before Vick Ballard punched it in from the 1-yard line. The Bulldogs scored despite starting quarterback Chris Relf sustaining an injury during the drive.

But LSU, which failed to score a touchdown in the first half, responded with a scoring drive of its own on the ensuing possession. Tigers quarterback Jordan Jefferson hit several key passes before rushing 16 yards for a touchdown with 5:16 to go in the third.

Ridley said the Tigers’ first touchdown was important in regaining the momentum after the Bulldogs scored to open the third quarter.

“We needed that big time. We had a record of letting teams come back that we wanted to end,” Ridley said.

“Our offense was moving the ball, but we couldn’t seem to get six. We just had to keep pushing, because we knew it was only a matter of time.”

On the next possession, Mississippi State quarterback Tyler Russell, who replaced Relf after his injury, threw Mississippi State’s third interception of the night. Drake Nevis got the pick after Russell attempted to pass while being tackled, resulting in the ball traveling just a few feet in the air before Nevis pulled it in.

The turnover gave LSU the ball on the Bulldogs’ 28-yard line, setting up a three-play drive capped off by Ridley’s 2-yard touchdown run.

Patrick Peterson and Morris Claiborne got an interception apiece in the fourth quarter. LSU kicker Josh Jasper finished off a big night with a 21-yard field goal in the fourth, his fifth of the game and a school record.

Jasper’s first four field goals came in the first half on distances of 44, 32, 51 and 37 yards, respectively. Peterson and Claiborne each had an interception in the first half, giving them both two apiece on the evening.

“Our defense is awesome. Peterson and Claiborne are both great players, and I was happy to see them have such a good game that the rest of the country could see,” Ridley said.

LSU rose to 3-0 on the season. Mississippi State fell to 1-2.