A Wild Halloween night in Lexington
The football game this weekend between Mississippi State and Kentucky marks the centennial of this SEC rivalry, with the first game between the two taking place in 1914 at Lexington. In spite of this rather long history, the two schools were relative strangers on the gridiron before 1990, having played each other a mere 17 times. The Bulldogs and Wildcats have met on the field annually since then, due in large part to the expansion of the SEC in 1992. The increase from 10 conference teams to 12 led to the creation of Eastern and Western Divisions, and Mississippi State and Kentucky have served as permanent cross-divisional opponents ever since.
Officially, Kentucky leads the series 21-20, but included in Kentucky’s win total is the 1976 contest, a 14-7 Mississippi State win that the NCAA later required MSU to forfeit. So the Bulldogs actually own the edge in terms of on-the-field results. MSU is currently riding a five game winning streak against the Wildcats that began in 2009, Dan Mullen’s first season.
While there have been a number of thrilling games in this series, today we will revisit the 1992 game that featured a ton of offensive fireworks and a game saving play by a walk-on special teams player. The game took place on Halloween night at Lexington’s Commonwealth Stadium. State entered the contest sporting a 5-2 record and #24 national ranking, while Kentucky was 4-3.
The Bulldogs stuck first when fullback Karl Williamson rumbled 4 yards for touchdown, giving State an early 7-0 lead. Kentucky then mounted three successive drives into the red zone, but each time had to settle for field goals. The Wildcats’ outstanding kicker Doug Pelphrey nailed his third field goal of the game in the second quarter to give UK its first lead at 9-7.
Bulldog tailback Michael Davis would answer the Wildcats with a bruising 39 yard TD run that put MSU back on top 14-9, but Kentucky’s Pelphrey closed out the first half with a 41 yard field goal, his fourth of the game, to draw the Wildcats within two at 14-12.
In the third quarter, the Bulldogs capped a long drive with Michael Davis’ second TD of the game, a one yard plunge, to extend the lead to 21-12. Kentucky then responded with a TD and Pelphrey’s fifth field goal of the game to retake the lead at 22-21 as the third quarter came to an end. UK expanded their lead to 29-21 early in the fourth quarter, as fullback Damon Hood scored the first of his two touchdowns.
State rallied to tie the game on the strength of a Tony James 6 yard run and a two point conversion run by Michael Davis to knot the score at 29. But Kentucky came right back and drove the length of the field, with Hood scoring his second TD of the night to put UK back on top 36-29.
With time running out, MSU mounted its final drive of the night, converting two fourth downs along the way and culminating the drive with a 6 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Greg Plump to wide receiver Willie Harris. With less than a minute left to play, State opted to go for the two point conversion and the win (overtime was not introduced in college football until 1996). The Bulldogs went with their bread and butter option play, and Kenny Roberts outran the UK defense to the corner of the end zone, giving MSU a 37-36 lead.
However, Kentucky was not yet finished. The Wildcats mounted a furious last minute drive and reached the MSU 26 yard with only two seconds left to play. Pelphrey was called on to attempt a 43 yard field goal that would win the game for Kentucky. But Jeff Artigues, a walk-on special teams player, saved the day for Bulldogs, as he dove in from the side and blocked the field goal to secure the win for MSU. The Bulldogs would go on to finish the season 7-4 and play in the Peach Bowl against North Carolina.
Here’s a superb video highlight that tells the story of the game in detail:
If past games serve as any indication, expect this year’s Mississippi State-Kentucky game to be a highly entertaining and closely contested affair.