Remembering the 1998 Mississippi State – Kentucky game

With homecoming, Mississippi State is celebrating the 1998 season. It’s just a little weird to celebrate that against Kentucky.

The 1998 Mississippi State football season is something that many MSU Bulldogs fans like to look back on fondly. And it was a pretty good year that provided some unexpected highs (and frustrating lows) for the Bulldogs. For a program that historically hasn’t always had a ton to brag about, this was definitely a year to hang your hat on (even if it was perplexing).

During that 1998 season, Jackie Sherrill and Miss. State managed to win eight games, make it to Atlanta, dropped the SEC Championship game against Tennessee, and then was crushed by the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl.

So, there were good and bad moments!

On one hand, this Mississippi State football team found a way to win the SEC West all while losing five games (four of those losses came during the regular season. It was admittedly a bit of a weaker SEC West than what we’ve got now.

On the other hand, Mississippi State lost five games.

Still, this is a season to celebrate and it happened 25 years ago. So, good time to celebrate it. But, well, there are some perplexing elements of celebrating that particular season during this particular weekend’s matchup.

Especially considering one particularly perplexing element: the 1998 Mississippi State – Kentucky game.

Mississippi State football to celebrate 1998 season during game against Kentucky Wildcats

It’s a little weird to celebrate Mississippi State’s 1998 team this weekend for a few reasons. Just shy of exactly 25 years ago to the day, the Bulldogs faced off against an interesting Kentucky team with an eclectic (though successful) offense. Sherrill’s team, at home, went toe-to-toe with the Wildcats in a high-scoring affair that must have been thrilling for fans to watch.

The game didn’t end up all that great for MSU. The Bulldogs lost. All because they couldn’t halt what was a truly bizarre offense at the time.

MSU fell 37-35 during that 1998 game against Kentucky.

Which leads to this, our first reason why it’s weird to celebrate the 1998 season during this weekend: because nearly exactly 25 years ago, Mississippi State lost to the very team that they’re facing in Starkville this weekend.

That’s right! Mississippi State is celebrating the 1998 season during a game against Kentucky nearly exactly 25 years after the Wildcats beat the Bulldogs!

And now feels like an appropriate time to introduce another perplexing element: Mike Leach.

There’s a weird sort of full circle moment for this Mississippi State – Kentucky game

That’s right, the same Mike Leach that was just coaching the Mississippi State Bulldogs a season ago is the same Mike Leach who happened to be an integral part of the Kentucky team that beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs back during the 1998 season. He was there at Kentucky helping Hal Mumme build the Wildcats with the Air Raid offense.

Small world, right?

So, let’s take another look at this, because Mississippi State is celebrating the 1998 season during a game against Kentucky nearly exactly 25 years after Mike Leach helped the Wildcats beat the Bulldogs.

And all of this is happening in a season in which the Bulldogs are struggling mightily after Leach’s tragic passing back in December.

When he became the head coach, Zach Arnett elected to gut the offensive side of MSU’s coaching staff in favor of hiring (in this order) Brad Peterson to help in an off the field capacity, Chad Bumphis for wide receivers, Will Friend for offensive line, and then Kevin Barbay to be the offensive coordinator (it’s still weird that Arnett hired position coaches before an offensive coordinator and that the OC didn’t get a say in the offensive position coaches).

So… to recap, Mississippi State is celebrating the 1998 season during a game against Kentucky nearly exactly 25 years after Mike Leach helped the Wildcats beat the Bulldogs and this celebration is happening in a year after which Leach’s last coaching staff was dumped in favor of an offensive coaching staff that is struggling to lead an Air Raid roster to success.

This is a weird weekend already. Just bizarre and bonkers for Mississippi State football fans. Let’s go celebrate 1998, I suppose.