STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Saturday's game between No. 16 Mississippi State and Massachusetts had the look of a trap.

With the Bulldogs' matchup against unbeaten Alabama looming, the crowd at Davis Wade Stadium was less than enthused about the 11 a.m. local start, and a nonconference game against the Minutemen did nothing to fuel the announced 57,374 fans.

Then came Mississippi State's lackadaisical play on the field.

The Bulldogs (7-2) had to fight and claw en route to its first close win of the year. Thanks to Deddrick Thomas' 83-yard punt return late in the fourth quarter, MSU made it out alive with a 34-23 win.

It was the first time this season that Mississippi State has been in a game decided by less than 21 points. The Bulldogs have won four consecutive games.

"We've not really been in a lot of tight games this year. Coming into today, we knew we were in for a battle," coach Dan Mullen said. "I knew all week we were playing an excellent football team. They came in and played with a chip on their shoulder."

Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald carried the Bulldogs with his legs, as he has the past two seasons, rushing for 135 yards and two touchdowns on just 17 carries. MSU also got a strong workload from running back Aeris Williams, who had 24 carries for 114 yards.

"Anytime you have a running back that's always going to get you yards, always going to run hard, it's a great thing," Fitzgerald said. "(Williams) is a great running back and it really helps because guys have to respect him."

UMass (2-7) intercepted three of Fitzgerald's passes, one going for a touchdown, and put up 350 yards of offense against MSU's top 25 defensive unit.

Trailing 20-13 to start the second half, the Bulldogs scored on back-to-back offensive drives as Fitzgerald had 8- and 10-yard touchdown runs to retake the lead at 27-20. That didn't stop the Minutemen from staying in the game.

With the Bulldogs in control and moving the ball on offense, they tried a trick play, with a pass downfield from wide receiver Reggie Todd. The throw was intercepted, giving UMass new life.

The Minutemen drove inside the 10-yard line but managed only a field goal to make the score 27-23 with 8:11 left in the game. Mississippi State's defense came up with a stop on UMass' next possession, and then Thomas helped put the game away with an 83-yard return for a touchdown with 5:00 left.

"When I caught it, there was just space and I broke one tackle and it was just grass and my blockers from there on out," Thomas said.

MSU had 393 yards of total offense, with 254 coming on the ground.

For UMass, first-time starting quarterback Ross Comis created issues for MSU, completing 15 of 26 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown. Marquis Young rushed for 91 yards on 11 carries, and receiver Andy Isabella shredded MSU's defense for 158 yards on seven catches with a touchdown.

"We thought we had some matchups we could exploit," UMass coach Mark Whipple said. "(MSU) played good red zone defense on us. They're a hard team to play. The cowbells and all the other paraphernalia in the SEC makes it tough."

After surviving the scare on Saturday, Mississippi State has to take on Alabama -- ranked No. 1 in the polls but No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings -- at home next week. UMass, which had won two games in a row entering Saturday, looks to get back on track with a home game against Maine next week.

NOTES: The 23 points scored by Massachusetts were the most scored on Mississippi State in five games at Davis Wade Stadium this season. ... Bulldogs QB Nick Fitzgerald moved up two spots to fourth in SEC history for rushing yards by a quarterback, now carrying the ball for 2,303 yards in his career. The junior is third all-time in MSU history with 34 rushing touchdowns.