STARKVILLE, Miss. — Last week, Lideatrick Griffin’s 70-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter sparked a 20-point comeback for Mississippi State in an eventual win over Louisiana Tech.

On Saturday against N.C. State, Griffin made his presence felt a whole lot faster.

The sophomore took the opening kickoff back for a 100-yard touchdown, and Mississippi State’s defense cracked down from there en route to a 24-10 win at Davis Wade Stadium.

“He can take it home any second,” running back Dillon Johnson said of Griffin. “Any time he touches the ball, he’s a home run hitter.”

After Griffin’s kick return gave them a 7-0 lead 13 seconds into the contest, the Bulldogs (2-0) held the Wolfpack (1-1) to 4.5 yards per play — with most of the damage coming in garbage time. Defensive coordinator Zach Arnett’s unit held running backs Zonovan Knight and Ricky Person to 50 yards on 16 carries, while quarterback Devin Leary went 30-of-49 passing for 303 yards.

N.C. State scored its only touchdown with 1:06 remaining on a 4-yard pass from Leary to Thayer Thomas.

“We’ve got some dogs on defense,” Bulldogs safety Jalen Green said. “We played with a lot of swag and confidence. We’ve got a lot to show.”

Quarterback Will Rogers was 33-of-49 passing for 294 yards and two touchdowns for Mississippi State. Malik Heath and Jaden Walley each caught scoring passes from the sophomore.

“I thought he improved in the pocket this week,” Bulldogs coach Mike Leach said of Rogers. “I thought he took command of the offense and was kind of able to keep the energy going throughout the game.”

The Wolfpack missed their only chance for a tying touchdown in the first quarter when Green picked off a jump pass from Person in the end zone on third-and-goal.

N.C. State made a field goal early in the second quarter before the Bulldogs extended their lead to 14-3 on a 21-yard touchdown from Rogers to Heath with 1:09 left before halftime. The senior receiver made a tough grab in the back left corner of the end zone.

“He executed that in a contested part of the game against one of the ACC’s more respected corners,” Leach said. “I go whole practices and don’t see as good a technique as he had on that play. We need him to do it all the time.”

Rogers found Walley for a 4-yard score in the third quarter.

Knight and Person each totaled more than 100 yards on the ground last week in a 45-0 rout of South Florida as the Wolfpack ran for 7.3 yards per carry as a team. The duo struggled Saturday as Mississippi State tackled well on the perimeter and smothered N.C. State’s run game. The Pack averaged just 1.3 yards per carry.

The Bulldogs got little pressure on quarterback Austin Kendall in last week’s 35-34 win over Louisiana Tech, forcing just one sack thanks to an intentional grounding penalty. Mississippi State’s pass rush was far more successful Saturday, sacking Leary five times and forcing hurries and missed throws all night.

N.C. State will host Furman Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. Mississippi State will go on the road for the first time to play Memphis.