The 1970 Vanderbilt game – a long losing streak finally ends
The decade of football from 1964-1973 was not kind to Mississippi State. The Bulldogs managed just one winning season – 1970 – during that period. The late 60s were particularly brutal, win totals of 2, 1, 0, and 3 during the 1966-69 seasons.
Even worse was a streak of 29 consecutive SEC games in which the Bulldogs did not post a win. Only a pair of ties in 1968 broke up the streak of utter futility. On September 25, 1965, the Bulldogs upset #8 Florida 18-13, and State would not taste victory again in SEC play until September 26, 1970. That victory against Vanderbilt is the subject of today’s look back into MSU football history.
Quarterback Joe Reed (19) breaks loose on a 55 yard TD run during the first quarter of MSU’s 20-6 win over Vanderbilt in 1970.
Despite the fact that Vanderbilt and Mississippi State are both charter members of the Southeastern Conference, the two schools have played football against one another rather infrequently. The first game in the series was played in 1904, and in the intervening 110 years, the Commodores and the Bulldogs played just twenty additional times. State leads the overall series 12-7-2.
Coach Charley Shira’s 1970 Bulldog team carried a record of 1-1 into the game, posting a 14-13 upset win over Oklahoma State in their season opener but falling 34-13 to Florida in Gainesville. Vandy sported a 2-0 record entering the contest, which was played at Memphis Memorial Stadium (now known as Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium), before a sparse crowd of 16,615.
The two teams struggled early to put together any kind of offense. But late in the first quarter, MSU quarterback Joe Reed would get the Bulldogs on the scoreboard with a 55 yard touchdown run that put State up 7-0 as the quarter ended.
On the very next possession, Vanderbilt fumbled at their 35 yard line and Steve Whaley made the recovery for the Bulldogs. Taking advantage of the short field, State added a second touchdown. Behind the running of Reed and tailback Lewis Grubbs, State mounted a six play drive that concluded with a five yard touchdown pass from Reed to wide receiver David Smith.
The Commodores would answer before halftime though, as quarterback Watson Brown led Vanderbilt on a 65 yard touchdown drive, capped off by a 13 yard touchdown run by Steve Burger. The extra point attempt sailed wide of the uprights and the Bulldogs led 14-6 at halftime.
The third quarter was dominated by the defenses, as neither team was able to mount any kind of an offensive threat. Penalties also hampered both teams’ efforts on offense during the quarter. But in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs put the game away with a six play 75 yard drive. During that drive, Reed completed a 29 yard pass to Smith, and then followed up with a 20 yard completion to Sammy Milner. Reed finished the drive with his second rushing touchdown of the night from six yards out. The PAT failed but State had a 20-6 lead which would end up as the final score.
Riding the momentum from the Vanderbilt win, MSU knocked off Georgia 7-6 the following week. The Bulldogs would later claim a third SEC win as they defeated Ole Miss 19-14 to finish the season with a 6-5 record.
The final record so exceeded preseason expectations that Shira was named SEC coach of the year for the 1970 season.