NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Sixteenth-ranked Mississippi State used its defense to make itself at home on Saturday.

	Mississippi State's Ashley Cooper stops Vanderbilt's Jared McGrath for no gain.

Ellis Wyms had two of Mississippi State's six sacks, and the Bulldogs forced three turnovers in beating Vanderbilt 42-14. Victory in its first game away from Starkville this season gave Mississippi State (5-0 overall, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) its best record since 1944.

Vanderbilt (3-2, 1-2) came in averaging 363 yards a game, but Mississippi State countered with the SEC's stingiest defense and the sixth-best nationally and limited the Commodores to just 158 yards. It wasn't a pretty game as the teams combined for 23 penalties for 220 yards.

"Vanderbilt came out, and they tried to do some things," Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill said. "They had a good game plan, trying to take advantage of how we line up. But our kids are awful quick."

The Commodores, wearing gold jerseys for the first time since 1989, didn't help themselves as quarterback Greg Zolman fumbled the snap on the first play from scrimmage and Alvin McKinney recovered. Four plays later, Rod Gibson scored from 3 yards for a 6-0 lead, and the Bulldogs didn't look back, scoring the first 32 points.

"We never seemed to really recover from it," Zolman said. "We like to think we can overcome it, but we didn't today."

Wayne Madkin was 13-of-22 for a season-high 257 yards and two touchdowns, Gibson scored on a 2-yard run, and Scott Westerfield kicked two field goals as the Bulldogs totaled 454 yards and won their eighth straight regular-season game.

Mississippi State put the game out of reach by scoring 19 points in the second quarter, 10 in a span of 56 seconds.

Justin Griffith capped a 14-play drive with a 2-yard TD run with 6:53 left, and Westerfield kicked a 47-yard field goal on the Bulldogs' next possession. Mississippi State forced Vandy to punt and Madkin connected with Kelvin Love on the next play. Vandy cornerback Jimmy Williams fell as Love went 78 yards for the Bulldogs' longest TD play of the season and a 22-0 lead 6:00 before halftime.

Westerfield added a 34-yarder just before halftime after Robert Bean intercepted Zolman's pass, Vandy's third turnover.

"The quick start was real big," running back Chris Rainey said. "Our offense was kind of shaky last week (in a 17-0 victory over South Carolina). We just wanted to come out this week and work a little harder."

The loss ended Vanderbilt's three-game winning streak, but coach Woody Widenhofer, already assured of the team's best record since going 5-6 in 1994, told people not to be so gloomy.

"I'd say that brought us back to earth," Widenhofer said. "Our team has a lot of character, and I expect we'll bounce back and get ready for The Citadel."

Vanderbilt avoided being shut out by scoring two touchdowns in 73 seconds in the third quarter.

After Mike Martin recovered a fumbled punt, it took the Commodores 10 plays to score on Rodney Williams' 20-yard run up the right sideline on fourth-and-3 with 3:01 left. Madkin fumbled on Mississippi State's ensuing possession and Jamie Winborn, the SEC's leading tackler, returned it six yards for a TD, making it 32-14.

It wasn't enough, however, as Madkin drove the Bulldogs quickly downfield. He found Rainey on a screen pass for a 34-yard TD as time expired in the quarter.