Todd4State
07-20-2016, 12:41 AM
I have been fortunate enough to watch us defeat everyone in the SEC in Starkville except for Mizzou and that's only because we haven't played them in Starkville yet. Assuming they don't join the Big 12 again. So, I picked my most memorable for each SEC team.
SEC Games
Egg Bowl 1999- Probably my personal favorite. I honestly remember being down 20-6 and not being worried one bit. That was just how that team rolled. Probably the most incredible Egg Bowl I have ever witnessed. We tie the game with 27 seconds or so left by throwing to a wide open CJ Sirmones who then went into isolation after game. Then Cutcliffe made the unforgivable sin of trying to throw a Hail Mary on Robert Bean who kicks the ball to Eugene Clinton setting up Scott Westefield game winner. And then the best Dawg Pound Rock ever followed. And then we tore down the goal posts. But that's what made that Egg Bowl win cool- the fans got to celebrate with the team. 1999 was the best MSU team I have ever seen. What gets forgotten sometimes is Fred Smoot having an absolutely sick INT to foil an Ole Miss TD and Dicenzo Miller running up the middle on a beautifully blocked running play (Iso?) and Barrin Simpson and Josh Morgan having 20 tackles apiece between them.
Alabama 1996- First of all the game started with the parachute guy who broke his leg. Then we came out and drove down and Robert Isaac squirted through the line and broke free to score a TD. Alabama ties it. Derrick Taite then throws it to God knows who and Lamont Woodberry did his best Eric Moulds impression to catch it for a TD. I think it was underthrown and was supposed to go to whomever the WR was in the back of the end zone but I'm not sure. Bama comes back and scores a TD but misses the extra point. And then they take the lead on a field goal. Reggie Kelly then breaks some defender for Alabama's ankles and we get a FG to take the lead. I was just waiting on Alabama to break our hearts again- but then Paul Lacoste had a huge sack that took them out of field goal range and then Bama threw a poor pass on fourth down and then everyone went crazy. I thought that would be a once in a lifetime win for us but then we beat them the next two years as well. And no I was not at MSU/Bama 1980.
Auburn 2014- I've seen us beat Auburn a few times including 1999 but since this is Davis Wade only this one is the most memorable for me. We had College Gameday in town and Dak an Josh were at their pinnacle. That was the first time I really remember "Don't stop Believing" even though I'm sure we did it before. It was unbelievable to watch us have a Heisman contending QB and knowing that we were the number one team in the country afte that win which was convincing. Bear's first TD really set the tone and we just kind of rolled from there. And when Auburn got some momentum back Quadry Antione ripped the ball from Auburn.
LSU 1999- I was at Baton Rouge in 2014 which was my most memorable win over LSU by far but again- Davis Wade only. Again, it was your typical 1999 MSU football win. I still believe that Rod Gibson scored and I think if they had instant replay they wouldn't have been able to overturn it. At any rate, Gibson scored the play before so it's moot as far as I'm concerned. We also had a big blocked punt in the end zone where we got a safety and our defense only allowed one TD on the first drive.
Arkansas 1998- We essentially won the SEC West and beat Houston Nutt in the process. We came out clicking on all cylinders on offense and JJ Johnson looked great but then got hurt and we pretty much stalled the rest of the game aside from getting a bunch of field goals. Until the last drive where we were down 21-19 and then Wayne Madkin made two impossible plays on a third and long and a fourth and long to set up Brian Hazlewood's game winning field goal. Chris Rainey had a huge run on that drive which made the field goal almost a chip shot.
Texas A&M 2014- I don't really have a choice since the Snow Bowl tribute disaster is my only other option. But it was in the midst of our great 2014 run to number one. Dak and Josh proved they weren't flukes and we pretty much dominated the Aggies.
Tennessee 1994- We beat Peyton Manning after being down 21-7. Eric Moulds made a ridiculous catch on 4th and long on a ball that Derrick Taite just threw up for grabs (anyone see a theme here?). And then we rolled out and threw to 300 pound TE Kendall Watkins to finish the game off. That win set us up for an 8 win season.
Vanderbilt 1998- I picked this one because this was the game where the Dawg Pound Rock started and Wayne Madkin made his debut. I also remember JJ Johnson running over someone for Vandy and the DB's helmet came flying off. And we went on to win 42-0.
Florida 2000- 4th and 53 and it seemed like everyone played well in the most lopsided 47-35 win ever. Dontae Walker and Dicenzo Miller were absolute beasts and then you had Smoot covering everything else that wasn't water. And I still don't believe Spurrier's story about one of our fans beating up their water boy. The hardest thing that his team hit that day was his visor being thrown down into the well manicured Scott Field turf.
Georgia 2010- I think this is an incredibly underrated win in MSU history. It was Dan Mullen's second year and we hadn't beaten Georgia since 1974. We came out and Relf ran a beautiful option play which he pitched to Vick Ballard who scored. Later Arceto the secret weapon Clark came up with a TD catch that sealed the deal for us. Georgia scored late but it was garbage time at that point. This win along with the also underrated Florida win on the road spurned us on to the Gator Bowl that year.
Kentucky 1999- I had a lot to choose from but this was probably the most exciting. This was back when MSU/Kentucky Joe Lee Dunn/Hal Mumme was ESPN Thursday night/ESPN2 fodder. This was the game where JLD came out with 10 DB's and UK had to call a TO on their first play. We scored on our first drive but then UK scored 22 unanswered points. We came back of course and then we had Westerfield set up for what looked like a game winning FG which he missed. But thankfully since UK only knew how the throw the ball and no one could run on us anyway- we got the ball back and Matt Wyatt led a drive to set up an even more exciting last second game winning FG which Westerfield did not miss and kept us undefeated.
South Carolina 1999- We shut out Lou Holtz in his first year there to help make sure his first season was a winless one. I remember Ashley Cooper scored on a tipped pass that he picked off and then Kevin Love scored on a post pattern. I also remember USC being on the goal line and going for it on 4th down against our best defense ever and getting completely stuffed to preserve the shut out.
C-USA Games
Southern Mississippi 2014- I had never seen us play USM up until that point and Dan made sure it was a good one as we shut them out 49-0 in 2014. Dak to Bear on the seam post and the game was over. The funniest part was USM stopping us on the goal line on 4th down and our guys looking around like "WTF?"
Tulane 1994- Best homecoming win ever. Derrick Taite set a then school record for passing yards and TD passes because Tulane was going to stop the run no matter what and just let us completely burn them the whole game to the tune of 66 points. It was fun to look like 1990's Florida for a day.
Memphis 2010- Typically this was always a tough game for us that we would somehow win. But this one set the tone for Dan Mullen's we're not going to lose to another OOC team streak. We came out and beat them 49-7 and did pretty much whatever we wanted to. It was coldly efficient- I remember Vick Ballard running through the middle of their defense almost untouched and Tyler Russell picking their secondary apart as a freshman.
Louisiana Tech 2015- La Tech had a solid team and they took a 14-0 lead. But then Dak took over and we tied the game and then right before the half we blocked a punt to take the lead and pull away from them. And then after the game we all got to watch Ole Miss lose to Memphis.
SEC Games
Egg Bowl 1999- Probably my personal favorite. I honestly remember being down 20-6 and not being worried one bit. That was just how that team rolled. Probably the most incredible Egg Bowl I have ever witnessed. We tie the game with 27 seconds or so left by throwing to a wide open CJ Sirmones who then went into isolation after game. Then Cutcliffe made the unforgivable sin of trying to throw a Hail Mary on Robert Bean who kicks the ball to Eugene Clinton setting up Scott Westefield game winner. And then the best Dawg Pound Rock ever followed. And then we tore down the goal posts. But that's what made that Egg Bowl win cool- the fans got to celebrate with the team. 1999 was the best MSU team I have ever seen. What gets forgotten sometimes is Fred Smoot having an absolutely sick INT to foil an Ole Miss TD and Dicenzo Miller running up the middle on a beautifully blocked running play (Iso?) and Barrin Simpson and Josh Morgan having 20 tackles apiece between them.
Alabama 1996- First of all the game started with the parachute guy who broke his leg. Then we came out and drove down and Robert Isaac squirted through the line and broke free to score a TD. Alabama ties it. Derrick Taite then throws it to God knows who and Lamont Woodberry did his best Eric Moulds impression to catch it for a TD. I think it was underthrown and was supposed to go to whomever the WR was in the back of the end zone but I'm not sure. Bama comes back and scores a TD but misses the extra point. And then they take the lead on a field goal. Reggie Kelly then breaks some defender for Alabama's ankles and we get a FG to take the lead. I was just waiting on Alabama to break our hearts again- but then Paul Lacoste had a huge sack that took them out of field goal range and then Bama threw a poor pass on fourth down and then everyone went crazy. I thought that would be a once in a lifetime win for us but then we beat them the next two years as well. And no I was not at MSU/Bama 1980.
Auburn 2014- I've seen us beat Auburn a few times including 1999 but since this is Davis Wade only this one is the most memorable for me. We had College Gameday in town and Dak an Josh were at their pinnacle. That was the first time I really remember "Don't stop Believing" even though I'm sure we did it before. It was unbelievable to watch us have a Heisman contending QB and knowing that we were the number one team in the country afte that win which was convincing. Bear's first TD really set the tone and we just kind of rolled from there. And when Auburn got some momentum back Quadry Antione ripped the ball from Auburn.
LSU 1999- I was at Baton Rouge in 2014 which was my most memorable win over LSU by far but again- Davis Wade only. Again, it was your typical 1999 MSU football win. I still believe that Rod Gibson scored and I think if they had instant replay they wouldn't have been able to overturn it. At any rate, Gibson scored the play before so it's moot as far as I'm concerned. We also had a big blocked punt in the end zone where we got a safety and our defense only allowed one TD on the first drive.
Arkansas 1998- We essentially won the SEC West and beat Houston Nutt in the process. We came out clicking on all cylinders on offense and JJ Johnson looked great but then got hurt and we pretty much stalled the rest of the game aside from getting a bunch of field goals. Until the last drive where we were down 21-19 and then Wayne Madkin made two impossible plays on a third and long and a fourth and long to set up Brian Hazlewood's game winning field goal. Chris Rainey had a huge run on that drive which made the field goal almost a chip shot.
Texas A&M 2014- I don't really have a choice since the Snow Bowl tribute disaster is my only other option. But it was in the midst of our great 2014 run to number one. Dak and Josh proved they weren't flukes and we pretty much dominated the Aggies.
Tennessee 1994- We beat Peyton Manning after being down 21-7. Eric Moulds made a ridiculous catch on 4th and long on a ball that Derrick Taite just threw up for grabs (anyone see a theme here?). And then we rolled out and threw to 300 pound TE Kendall Watkins to finish the game off. That win set us up for an 8 win season.
Vanderbilt 1998- I picked this one because this was the game where the Dawg Pound Rock started and Wayne Madkin made his debut. I also remember JJ Johnson running over someone for Vandy and the DB's helmet came flying off. And we went on to win 42-0.
Florida 2000- 4th and 53 and it seemed like everyone played well in the most lopsided 47-35 win ever. Dontae Walker and Dicenzo Miller were absolute beasts and then you had Smoot covering everything else that wasn't water. And I still don't believe Spurrier's story about one of our fans beating up their water boy. The hardest thing that his team hit that day was his visor being thrown down into the well manicured Scott Field turf.
Georgia 2010- I think this is an incredibly underrated win in MSU history. It was Dan Mullen's second year and we hadn't beaten Georgia since 1974. We came out and Relf ran a beautiful option play which he pitched to Vick Ballard who scored. Later Arceto the secret weapon Clark came up with a TD catch that sealed the deal for us. Georgia scored late but it was garbage time at that point. This win along with the also underrated Florida win on the road spurned us on to the Gator Bowl that year.
Kentucky 1999- I had a lot to choose from but this was probably the most exciting. This was back when MSU/Kentucky Joe Lee Dunn/Hal Mumme was ESPN Thursday night/ESPN2 fodder. This was the game where JLD came out with 10 DB's and UK had to call a TO on their first play. We scored on our first drive but then UK scored 22 unanswered points. We came back of course and then we had Westerfield set up for what looked like a game winning FG which he missed. But thankfully since UK only knew how the throw the ball and no one could run on us anyway- we got the ball back and Matt Wyatt led a drive to set up an even more exciting last second game winning FG which Westerfield did not miss and kept us undefeated.
South Carolina 1999- We shut out Lou Holtz in his first year there to help make sure his first season was a winless one. I remember Ashley Cooper scored on a tipped pass that he picked off and then Kevin Love scored on a post pattern. I also remember USC being on the goal line and going for it on 4th down against our best defense ever and getting completely stuffed to preserve the shut out.
C-USA Games
Southern Mississippi 2014- I had never seen us play USM up until that point and Dan made sure it was a good one as we shut them out 49-0 in 2014. Dak to Bear on the seam post and the game was over. The funniest part was USM stopping us on the goal line on 4th down and our guys looking around like "WTF?"
Tulane 1994- Best homecoming win ever. Derrick Taite set a then school record for passing yards and TD passes because Tulane was going to stop the run no matter what and just let us completely burn them the whole game to the tune of 66 points. It was fun to look like 1990's Florida for a day.
Memphis 2010- Typically this was always a tough game for us that we would somehow win. But this one set the tone for Dan Mullen's we're not going to lose to another OOC team streak. We came out and beat them 49-7 and did pretty much whatever we wanted to. It was coldly efficient- I remember Vick Ballard running through the middle of their defense almost untouched and Tyler Russell picking their secondary apart as a freshman.
Louisiana Tech 2015- La Tech had a solid team and they took a 14-0 lead. But then Dak took over and we tied the game and then right before the half we blocked a punt to take the lead and pull away from them. And then after the game we all got to watch Ole Miss lose to Memphis.