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OXFORD, Mississippi (Ticker) -- Eli Manning made his first start at Mississippi State a memorable one. Manning set a school record with five touchdown passes -- three to Chris Collins -- as the Rebels routed Murray State, 49-14, in the season opener for both teams. The younger brother of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was nearly perfect, completing 20-of-23 for 271 yards and no interceptions. Five Mississippi State quarterbacks have thrown four TD passes in a game, most recently Romaro Miller against Louisiana State in 1998. Manning showed his promise by coming off the bench and throwing three fourth-quarter TDs in the Rebels' loss to West Virginia in last year's Music City Bowl. He picked up where he left off against the Mountaineers, throwing four TD passes in the first half, including strikes of 17 and 21 yards to Collins in the first quarter that gave the Rebels (1-0) a 14-7 lead. In the second period, Manning fired a 23-yard TD to Omar Rayford before finding Collins again for a five-yard score that made it 28-7 at the half. After Joe Gunn scored on a one-yard TD in the third quarter, Manning completed his impressive outing with a six-yard TD toss to Bo Hartsfield. Gunn paced the Rebels on the ground with 65 yards on 15 carries. Mississippi's Jason Armstead capped the scoring with a 93-yard kickoff return with 20 seconds remaining in the game. Stewart Childress completed 13-of-24 for 125 yards and an interception for the Racers (0-1).
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