Fournette returns, No. 20 LSU defeats Miss St., 23-20

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Leonard Fournette 's bruised left ankle didn't stop him from exhibiting his usual mix of hard-nosed and explosive runs. His fumbles, however, gave Mississippi State the breaks it needed to turn a game that had the makings of a comfortable LSU victory into a rather tense affair. Fournette rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns, and the 20th-ranked Tigers withstood the Bulldogs' late rally for a 23-20 victory on Saturday night. "We're fortunate it finished like it did," LSU coach Les Miles said. "It's a great lesson for us." Danny Etling completed 19 of 30 passes for 215 yards in his first start for LSU (2-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference), including a 37-yard touchdown strike to D.J. Chark . "I continue to get more and more comfortable with the first team guys," Etling said.