Mississippi State and LSU have been playing football against one another for a very long time.
The Bulldogs are LSU’s longest rival and only Ole Miss has played the Bulldogs more times than LSU. The 2016 game marks the 110th time the two teams have played each other. And thanks to a stretch between 1934 and 1970 in which every game in the series but three was played in Baton Rouge, there is no place outside the state of Mississippi where the Bulldogs have played football more often than Baton Rouge.
With so much history, there are many games to choose from when picking a subject for this week’s history article. Older MSU fans fondly remember that five year period in 1980-1984 when MSU dominated LSU, including a pair of wins at Tiger Stadium during that stretch. Fans a bit older might remember one of the bad nights in Baton Rouge when the Bulldogs were shorted a down in 1968 and lost a 20-16 heartbreaker.
But MSU fans of all ages will likely agree that there has never been a better night to be a Bulldog in Tiger Stadium than September 20, 2014. The Bulldogs entered that matchup with the #8 Tigers unranked, but sporting a 3-0 record and feeling very good about themselves. But few anticipated what would take place that night.
The Bulldogs scored on their first drive when Dak Prescott connected with D’Runnya Wilson on a 9 yard touchdown pass. Josh Robinson closed out the first quarter with a 3 yard scoring run, then set the Bulldogs up for a 27 yard Evan Sobiesk field goal after breaking a 66 yard run in the second quarter. State led 17-3 lead at half and would receive the second half kickoff.
On the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, every MSU fan’s worst nightmare came true. Dak Prescott had the ball stripped and LSU’s Danielle Wilson scooped it up and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. Suddenly it was 17-10 and the Tigers seemed to have all the momentum.
But Prescott would quickly atone for the fumble, as he broke loose on this iconic 56 yard TD run, then moments later hooked up with Jameon Lewis for a 74 yard TD pass that gave the Bulldogs a seemingly comfortable 31-10 lead midway through the third quarter.
MSU fans would have to endure a bit of a scare at the end, as LSU put together three fourth quarter touchdowns, including two in the final two minute, plus an unsuccessful Hail Mary on the game’s final play before they could enjoy the 34-29 victory. The win snapped a 14 game winning streak for the Tigers in the series, and was the first of three consecutive wins over top 10 teams that catapulted Mississippi State from unranked to #1 in all of the college football polls.