Mississippi State Bulldogs

10 Biggest What Ifs in Mississippi State Sports History

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Sep 19, 2015; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs live mascot Bully XXI (Jak) is seen before the game against the Northwestern State Demons at Davis Wade Stadium. Mississippi State won 62-13. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Here are the 10 biggest ‘what ifs’ in Mississippi State sports history.

Things happen the way they happen, but what if something different happened? What would the domino effect be? How would things be different today?

Mississippi State sports have featured a lot of moments during its history in which certain events that could have taken place ultimately did not. Those moments shaped the present and the future, and now make up our past.

There’s a good and bad side to ‘what ifs’.

“What if Dak Prescott went to LSU” would certainly be an example of a good ‘what if’. Can you imagine the ramifications of such a move back in December of 2010? Would MSU have vaulted to No. 1 in 2014 without Dak Prescott? Would Dak have vaulted to become a NFL starting quarterback after playing under Les Miles? I think the answer to both of those questions is ‘no’.

There are many good ‘what if’ moments in MSU sports history….and maybe we’ll tackle those one day. But for today, we are going to look at the other side of the coin. The bad ‘what ifs’.

These are the things you think about when you you ponder the past and what might have been. The following 10 events in Mississippi State history changed the outcome of certain games, seasons, eras and in some cases the trajectory of an entire program.

The events (and/or non-events) in this list could have produced SEC and national championships if they had or hadn’t happened. The way you feel about Mississippi State athletics could be drastically different had they gone the other direction.

Without further adieu, let’s get started with number 10…

Apr 12, 2014; Columbia, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Steve Spurrier during half time of the South Carolina spring game at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

10. What if MSU hired Steve Spurrier in 1986?

After the dismissal of Emory Bellard following the 1985 season, there was a coaching vacancy. With a newly expanded stadium to help lure in potential candidates, MSU conducted a national search which ended by hiring former Bulldog great Rockey Felker – who was Alabama’s WR coach.

One of the candidates interviewed in that coaching search was Steve Spurrier. At the time, he was out of work after the USFL went belly up in the fall of 1985. He had been the head coach of the Tampa Bay Bandits (35-19 record).

Long held as a myth, Scott Stricklin comfirmed the almost-hire last week after taking the A.D. position at Florida:

Wouldn’t it have been incredible to have Steve Spurrier as MSU’s head ball coach? Obviously he would have left for Florida in 1990 just like he left Duke – but we could have had him for four years!

The 1986 season, in particular, stings. With Rockey Felker as head coach, the Bulldogs got off to a terrific start by beating Syracuse and then No. 8 Tennessee. They had a hiccup vs. Southern Miss, then beat Florida, Memphis, Arkansas State and Tulane for a 6-1 record and No. 13 national ranking before losing to Auburn and getting thumped a few more times. You better believe MSU would’ve been much better – perhaps winning 9 or 10 games that year – with Spurrier.

State was pretty putrid in the late 80s while Spurrier won a ACC title at Duke – at DUKE! If he was 20-13-1 in three years with the Blue Devils then I know he could’ve won at least 30 games in four years at MSU and possibly contended with Auburn for those SEC championships they won.

MSU still could’ve hired Jackie Sherrill, just a year early. He was just as available for the 1990 season as he was for the 1991 season.

9. What if Bob Tyler wasn’t so stubborn?

Bob Tyler was Mississippi State’s head football coach from 1973-1978. He had a combined record of 39-25-3, but due to forfeits his adjusted record is 21-44-2.

The NCAA penalties stemmed from defensive lineman Larry Gillard who accepted a discount at a local clothing store. One problem: every student got the same discount.

The NCAA declared Gillard ineligible for the 1975 season but Coach Tyler decided to fight the ruling by filing suit with the Chancery Court, which gave him an injunction allowing Gillard to play. The Bulldogs went on to a 6-4-1 record that year including a win over LSU in Baton Rouge.

Gillard continued to play in 1976. For only the third time in the history of MSU football, the Bulldogs won 9 games; only losing to Florida and Alabama. Wins included Auburn, LSU and OM. State finished third in the SEC that year.

1977 was the same story – Gillard played. The Dawgs went 5-6 and won the Egg Bowl.

Gillard’s case was tried before the Mississippi Supreme Court which MSU did not win. The appeal was lost, and all games Gillard played in were forfeited by MSU.

The sad news is that had Coach Tyler accepted the original punishment of being suspended for the 1975 season, Gillard would have been eligible for ’76 and ’77.

Bob Tyler was also the athletic director at the time, and after losing the 1978 Egg Bowl many Mississippi State fans were ready for him to leave. MSU president, James D. McComas, was willing to let Tyler remain at his position as head coach but he had to relinquish the A.D. job. He refused to comply and resigned in January of 1979.

Coach Tyler had Mississippi State football in a great position in the mid-70s and had Ole Miss on the ropes.  He had secured two extremely rare nine-win seasons and won three of four Egg Bowls prior to the 1978 game in which State was heavily favored over a mediocre Rebel team.

Ultimately, Tyler’s stubbornness was his undoing as he cost the MSU program at least one bowl game and potentially much more in future success on the gridiron.

Dec 14, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks shooting guard Monta Ellis (11) reacts against the Milwaukee Bucks during the first half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

8. What if Monta Ellis and the 2005 recruiting class had panned out?

After the 2005 basketball season, Rick Stansbury had built Mississippi State into an excellent program. Four NCAA Tournament appearances in four years including a SEC regular season and tournament championship in that time frame. The bad news was State was losing 5 of its top 6 players to graduation (Frazier, Power, Roberts, Campbell, Harper). The good news was State was about to bring in a recruiting class that looked to be along the lines of the fab five.

At the top of the list was Monta Ellis – Parade Magazine’s Co-National High School Player of the Year (along with Greg Oden). Then you had the Delk twins – Richard and Reginald. Richard Delk was going to be a serviceable player in years to come, but was still one of the top 25 point gaurds in the country. Reginald was the big catch as he was a 4-star shooting guard. Vernon Goodridge was listed by some as the top center in the country, and at least top 5 by most recruiting ‘experts’. Throw Bernard Rimmer in there as he was part of this class, and then the big April splash which was Jamont Gordon, a 4-star. Ellis, Gordon, Goodridge and Reginald Delk were all listed in the Top 50 players around the country.

A few weeks after the signing class was finalized, Monta Ellis declared for the NBA draft and Gary Ervin (MSU’s lone returning starter) decided to transfer to Arkansas. This left Jamont Gordon to run the point as a true freshman and the young team was only able to muster a .500 record.

In 2007, Gordon was still the only one living up to his billing as the Delks were average players and Vernon Goodridge made himself into a complete bust averaging 2.3 PPG and 3.0 RPG (following 1.8 & 1.9 his freshman year). After the season everyone except Gordon (who almost left for the NBA) transferred: Goodridge to LaSalle, Rimmer to Georgia State, Reginald Delk to Louisville and Richard Delk to Troy.

After a decent 2008 leading State to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tourney, Gordon left for the NBA. None of the six players who signed with MSU in 2005 graduated. Stansbury was never able to get back to the level he had before this group arrived – and he was beset with players of questionable character and transfers until his tenure ended.

When you look at how good this class was supposed to be, there’s no limit to the success MSU could have achieved. Even if Ellis had still gone pro and Ervin transferred this class should’ve achieved much more. Reginald Delk and Vernon Goodridge were clearly the two biggest disappointments as they barely produced anything in their two years. 2008 should have been a run towards a national championship. 2009 could have been more of the same. But it wasn’t.

Nov 14, 2015; Starkville, MS, USA; A general view of Davis Wade Stadium during a game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide game. The Crimson Tide defeated the Bulldogs 31-6. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

7. What if MSU played all or most of its home games in Starkville?

Prior to the Jackie Sherrill era, there were so many times over Mississippi State’s football history when the Bulldogs actually played their “home” games in the opponent’s stadium. Can you believe that nonsense?

The most recent example was in 1991 when Florida paid MSU $1 million to play the game in Orlando, FL instead of Starkville.

From 1932-1970, MSU played LSU in the state of Mississippi three times – 3! From 1933-1957, MSU played Alabama outside Tuscaloosa only twice! Played Auburn in Birmingham, Tennessee in Memphis, etc.

Then there’s all the games played in Jackson. That’s better than acting like a FCS school with someone in your own conference, but it didn’t really allow for Scott Field to grow like it should have – especially when all the biggest games were played in Jackson. What’s more, MSU has played in Columbus (12 times), Meridian (4 times), Tupelo (4 times), Greenwood (twice), Aberdeen (twice), Clarksdale and Gulfport.

There are two main areas where I think MSU was hurt the most: winning and tradition. Is there anything else that matters more than winning and tradition? How do you develop tradition if you aren’t playing in Starkville? How do the students rally together at football games if you aren’t playing games on campus? How do you expect to win games if you’re playing home games on the road? Bottom line – State would be a better historical program if they would have played their home games at home: Starkville, Mississippi.

It’s a shame our past administrators had virtually no foresight. You think Larry Templeton was bad – MSU A.D.’s from the 1930s to 1970s were horrible. The amazing thing is Mississippi State won big in the 40s despite this. We were a power back then and still played all these games on the road.

6. What if Pearl Harbor had been on January 7 instead of December 7?

World War II ended with the Axis Powers losing, so I’m not going to question God’s will for Pearl Harbor to be attacked by the Japanese and subsequently get America involved in the war. But I just wonder what would’ve happened if it had occurred a month later?

In 1941, Mississippi State was 8-1-1. One of those eight wins was a 14-0 defeat of Alabama – AT Alabama. Apparently the 16-0 defeat to No. 10 Dequesne was enough to boot State out of the Top 20 (at the time), and the win against No. 14 Ole Miss wasn’t enough to get them back in the rankings, but whatever.

It appears as though rankings didn’t matter because Alabama somehow jumped from No. 18 to a split national championship with Minnesota (who the NCAA recognizes) after beating No. 2 Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.

1941 SEC Champions: 8-1-1 Mississippi State.

1941 National Champions: 9-2 Alabama.

Mississippi State did not go to a bowl game that year due to extenuating circumstances related to the United States entering World War II. Georgia (2nd) and Alabama (3rd) represented the SEC instead. If not for Pearl Harbor being bombed just prior to bowl season, the Crimson Tide would have been sitting at home and it would have been Mississippi State in the Cotton Bowl.

If Alabama could jump from No. 18 to become national champs by beating Texas A&M, then surely Mississippi State College (at the time) could’ve done the same. At the very least, it would take away one of the Tide’s claimed national titles.

5. What if the 2001 and 2002 football recruiting classes hadn’t decimated the program?

From 1997-2000, Jackie Sherrill lead MSU to a 33-15 record and an SEC West championship. That run started with a 1997 recruiting class which featured an unusually large number of junior college players. At 57 years old and knowing the end of his career was just around the bend, JWS went for broke in 2001 and signed 12 junior college players that ended up destroying the program.

On paper, it was a good class….in reality it was a nightmare. A preseason No. 18 team ended 3-8 that year. The 2002 class had just as much talent but via the high school route…with only about half of them lived up to the billing – and many others contributed to the demolition of the program. But what if these two classes had at least been decent teammates – what if they would have lived up to their potential?

The West is a behemoth of a division right now, but in 2001 the East was more powerful. Nick Saban was able to elevate LSU back to a SEC Championship, but they were the only ranked team from the West that year. Part of the reason was that Mississippi State was supposed to be good. Everyone else in the division ended the year 7-5; those should have all been wins for MSU but only Ole Miss was.

BYU was No. 10 and 11-0 when they came to Starkville but the Dawgs almost beat them anyway – if this team were better, I believe the Dawgs win that one. Basically, State should have won every game except at No. 2 Florida and vs. LSU. The Tigers won the West with a 5-3 record that year – State would have been 6-2 and had their 2nd division championship.

It’s likely the Bulldogs would have lost to #2 Tennessee in the SEC Championship Game and gone on to play Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. The Vols would’ve gone to the Rose Bowl and played Miami (FL) for the national championship.

Heading into 2002, Mississippi State would’ve likely been equally ranked when heading to No. 15 Oregon in the season opener. Would Kevin Fant have accepted that discount on the tires? Probably so, and Kyle York still would’ve started and State was probably doomed in that game. The rest of the games – I don’t see why the Dawgs wouldn’t have gone 9-3 that year. The West wasn’t that great – Alabama won the division with a 6-2 record, but couldn’t go to the SEC Championship Game since they were on probation…so another possible trip to Atlanta missed.

2003 was the 2-10 disaster, but it certainly shouldn’t have been.

Basically, what I’m saying is, if the 2001 and 2002 recruiting classes could’ve lived up to half their potential we could’ve been looking a sustained run of success from ’97 to the mid-00s. The Western division didn’t end the season with three ranked teams in it until 2005…the opportunity was there to win it a couple of times. How long would Jackie Sherrill have stayed before retiring? I have to think he would’ve been the head coach until he was 65 (2008). And ’08 was the year Croom was fired, could we have had Mullen anyway? I don’t know but I know we wouldn’t have had the Croom years.

Those six years from ’01-’06 were tough to take, and those two recruiting classes were the center of the problem. It’s too bad all that talent was wasted, but it was.

4. What if Allyn McKeen was retained after the 1948 season?

Outside of his comment: “I already know what hell is like. I once coached at Ole Miss”, I can’t think of a reason why MSU’s baseball stadium is named after Dudy Noble. He only won a few Southern Conference baseball titles in a nearly three decade tenure as head coach, and he fired Allyn McKeen when he was Athletic Director. Terrible move.

In 1939, Allyn McKeen took over as head coach and immediately produced with an 8-2 season. He is without a doubt Mississippi State’s most successful coach in football history going 65-19-3 (.764).

The 1940 team still holds the only undefeated season in program history as they finished 10-0-1 with an Orange Bowl victory over No. 9 Georgetown. Tennessee finished that year undefeated and untied for the SEC crown. State was one of just five undefeated teams in the country, however, and finished 9th in the final AP poll.

1941 is considered by many to be Mississippi State’s best season. Perhaps adding to the justification of a national championship banner, the Maroons only played three home games that year – and only one of them was a SEC game (Florida). State beat Alabama 14-0 on the road, however, the Tide claim a national title (as we’ve discussed in this post).

Allyn McKeen guided the program to a 8-2 record in 1942 before skipping the 1943 season due to World War II. In 1944, the Maroons were 6-2. Then 6-3 in 1945, 8-2 in ’46, 7-3 in ’47 and finally 4-4-1 in 1948 which resulted in Coach McKeen’s ouster.

Does one lackluster year erase eight previous years of tremendous success? McKeen averaged over seven wins in an era of 9-10 games per year. Losing three of four to Ole Miss ultimately tarred a great career that could have set Mississippi State on a path to become an upper tier SEC program had he been allowed to continue.

MSU would go 0-8-1 in 1949 under Slick Morton. The program would not win as many as eight game again (which McKeen did 56 percent of the time) until 1974.

3. What if Gene Morgan hadn’t gotting injured in the 1985 College World Series

Forever and always Mississippi State fans will talk about the 1985 baseball team. The group that featured Will Clark, Rafeal Palmeiro, Bobby Thigpen, Jeff Brantley and others who came so close to bringing State that elusive national championship. They won the SEC and then hosted a Regional where they beat out a Michigan team that featured Hall of Famer Barry Larkin.

The College World Series featured some tough breaks that cost this team ultimate glory. After winning the first two games in Omaha, they were cruising towards a victory, up 3-0 in the 5th vs. Texas, when Gene Morgan was hit in the leg by a line drive up the middle. He continued to pitch, but lost his dominant stuff and the Longhorn’s stormed back for a 12-7 victory.

Regardless of the outcome in that game with Texas, MSU was going to play Miami the next day – that’s just the way the old format was set up. But since the Bulldogs were facing elimination, Ron Polk threw Jeff Brantley on three days rest instead of saving him for the championship the following day.

Coupled with the intense heat, Brantley didn’t have his usual dominate stuff….and even though MSU was in a position to win in the 9th inning, Bobby Thigpen (who hit a grand slam in that game) gave up a walk-off home run to the Hurricanes.

If Morgan is never hit by that line drive, MSU most likely wins the game vs. Texas….and even if they lose to Miami the next day without Brantley pitching, they play either Texas or Miami in a winner take all championship game two days later with Jeff on five days rest. Just some bad luck.

2. What if Cam Newton chose MSU over Auburn?

In December of 2009, Cam Newton appeared to be headed to Mississippi State until Auburn suddenly popped up on his radar and just like that he heads for the plains.

Cam’s father, Cecil Newton, wanted $180,000 for his son to play at Mississippi State. MSU would not pay, so daddy made the decision for him. Cam wanted to play for Dan Mullen who had coached him previously at Florida.

We’re still unclear if the “money was too great” or if Cecil just didn’t get the right price for his “rented mule”…but Auburn is off the hook and has a national championship to show for whatever they did or didn’t do. Bottom line is…Cam Newton was an unbelievable talent, a runaway Heisman Trophy winner, who took an above average team and made them great.

That sounds a lot like the 2010 MSU football team that went 9-4 and narrowly lost to Cam Newton’s Auburn team. Would it have been Mississippi State instead of Auburn hoisting the 2010 BCS trophy if Cam had come to Starkville?

The biggest argument anyone could make against this would be regarding Nick Fairley’s impact on Auburn’s run. That’s undeniable, Fairley might very well have been the single best defensive player in the nation. But what about his supporting cast?

MSU’s defense gave up 5 points per game less than the Auburn D which had the services of Fairley. State’s D also had Fletcher Cox, Josh Boyd, Pernell McPhee, K.J. Wright, Chris White, Charles Mitchell, Johnthan Banks who were all drafted into the NFL.

It’s too bad MSU wasn’t able to have the services of Cam Newton for one year – it could have been a great ride. Even if we would have gone from 5 wins to 14, and back to 5 again. What if.

1. What if MSU basketball had been allowed to play in the NCAA Tournament during Babe McCarthy’s tenure?

An unwritten rule that said Mississippi State could not play a school using black players prohibited some of the school’s greatest basketball teams from playing in the NCAA Tournament.

Not until 1963’s “Game of Change” did MSU play in the big dance, but prior to that there were several teams that should have done so if not for the prejudice of the times.

1957: 17-8, ranked 15th in final AP poll

1958: 20-5, ranked 15th in final AP poll

1959: 24-1, ranked 3rd in final AP poll – SEC Champions

1961: 19-6 – SEC Champions

1962: 24-1, ranked 4th in final AP poll – SEC Champions

None of those teams went to the NCAA Tournament despite their elite play (only one SEC team made it during this era, so State would have gone in 1959, 1961 and 1962).

The NCAA Tournament was comprised of 23-25 teams during this time period. State was so highly ranked in 1959 and 1962 they would’ve had a bye into the Sweet 16 (as they did in 1963), needing only two wins to make it to the Final Four and four wins for a national championship. The 1961 team, however, wasn’t highly ranked due to some non-conference losses but they would’ve still been in the tourney.

Instead of just one Final Four, how many would we have? Would Mississippi State have a national championship if we were allowed to play in the NCAA Tournament?

There’s no way to tell for sure, but two 24-1 seasons with top 5 teams certainly leave a lot to the imagination. What’s more, the program could have gained experience by playing in the big dance and then maybe the 1963 team wouldn’t have bowed out so early (although Loyola did win the national title) when they had sneak off just to play in it.

Coach McCarthy only coached two more years at MSU. Like Allyn McKeen in football, he was only at State for a short, but ultra-successful, period of time. The Bulldogs basically went into the crapper for 30 years except for a few glimpses of hope in the late 70s. How would things have been different if more Final Four banners hung from McCarthy Gym and Humphrey Coliseum?

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