BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - It hardly mattered that LSU's normally overpowering running game amassed only half of its usual average against Mississippi State.

Suddenly sizzling LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger more than made up for it with a second straight performance approaching the 300-yard plateau in a 37-17 victory over the sinking Bulldogs on Saturday night.

The way Mettenberger has been throwing the ball lately, the Tigers find themselves on one hand looking forward to next year while at the same time wondering what could have been this year if it hadn't taken the talented quarterback and his young receiver corps eight games to get the passing game going.

The Tigers' latest triumph moved them up to No. 8 while dropping Mississippi State out of the The AP Top 25 Poll.