Maroon and White Nation
Fansided

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
23 of 27
Next
Gerri Green #4 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs takes the field during the 2019 Outback Bowl
TAMPA, FL – JANUARY 01: Gerri Green #4 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs takes the field during the 2019 Outback Bowl against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Raymond James Stadium on January 1, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

2019 Outback Bowl: MSU Bulldogs come up short against the Iowa Hawkeyes

At the end of what was often a disappointing 2018 Mississippi State football season, first year head coach Joe Moorhead led the Bulldogs to yet another loss. Despite having the best defense in the country with three future first round picks, MSU’s offense struggled and the Bulldogs couldn’t keep up with the Iowa Hawkeyes.

On January 1, 2019 in Raymond James Stadium located in Tampa, Florida, things got off to a slow and easy start for MSU as Jace Christmann kicked a couple field goals to give MSU a 6-0 lead in the first quarter.

How did Iowa respond? Well, the Hawkeyes scored 17 unanswered in the second quarter and made Mississippi State look silly.

The Bulldogs attempted a bit of a comeback in the second half as State responded by putting up 13 points in the third quarter to take a 19-17 lead over Iowa, but the Hawkeyes reclaimed that lead shortly before the fourth quarter began. State and MSU traded field goals in the fourth, but the Bulldogs ended up losing by a score of 27-22.

Nearly a year after Joe Moorhead first approached the Bulldogs talking about championship rings, the Bulldogs fell to 8-5 on the season.

Iowa couldn’t even muster 200 yards of offense in this game as the Bulldogs held the Hawkeyes to 199 yards of total offense. Iowa managed to throw for 214 yards, but State shut down anything that resembled a rushing attack and the Bulldogs held Iowa to -15 rushing yards.

Still. MSU lost.

Home/Mississippi State Football