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Mississippi State bowl game history: Every bowl game the Bulldogs have played in

By Ethan Lee

TAMPA, FLORIDA - JANUARY 02: Nathaniel Watson #14, Will Rogers III #2, and Jett Johnson #44 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs wave a Mike flag in memory of Mike Leach after defeating the Illinois Fighting Illini 19-10 in the ReliaQuest Bowl at Raymond James Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - JANUARY 02: Nathaniel Watson #14, Will Rogers III #2, and Jett Johnson #44 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs wave a Mike flag in memory of Mike Leach after defeating the Illinois Fighting Illini 19-10 in the ReliaQuest Bowl at Raymond James Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /
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Bowl Season painted on the field before the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl game
SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA – DECEMBER 18: Bowl Season painted on the field before the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl game between the UAB Blazers and the BYU Cougars at Independence Stadium on December 18, 2021 in Shreveport, Louisiana. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

2000 Independence Bowl: MSU Bulldogs beat the Texas A&M Aggies in Shreveport’s snow

This might be the game Jackie Sherrill is most known for and it’s absolutely fascinating to think about for several reasons.

First and foremost, it was snowing in Shreveport, Louisiana. Why on earth would snow ever reach that part of the world? It simply doesn’t happen often. And when it does happen, folks really aren’t prepared for it.

Secondly, the Bulldogs got to face the program Sherrill previously coached: the Texas A&M Aggies. Sherrill had steadily coached Mississippi State for a while by this point, but before he coached in Starkville, he led the Aggies in College Station.

And when Texas A&M and Mississippi State play each other, one team has to wear white. Which, when you think about the fact that there was an apocalyptic level of snow in Shreveport, happens to give one team a bit of an advantage.

Mississippi State happened to be wearing white, by the way.

The game was a back-and-forth sort of affair with it ending up in overtime. Texas A&M would take a sizable lead and the Bulldogs would respond. MSU would jump ahead then the Aggies would fight back.

And then in overtime, State put the game away.

On December 31, 2000 in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana, Mississippi State and Jackie Sherrill managed to get a very memorable 43-41 bowl win. Which is a good thing, because it’d be a little bit before MSU got to play in another bowl game.

The game was a snowy, slushy, sloppy shootout. Neither team really ventured into throwing the ball around a lot and each of these teams managed to run for more than 200 rushing yards in this game.

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