Today's Countdown to Kickoff is Day 98.
As in, the 1998 season which produced Mississippi State's lone SEC Division championship of this 1992-2023 era. Divisions are done now. The expanded SEC is going to a full-league standings method of determining who plays in the Championship Game.
TV and TV watching fans prefer it this way. School fans, even coaches? There's a sense something is lost when a middling team has a great year in a lesser division and gets a straight-up shot at a conference title the future format just won't allow. Oh, well, we move on…
…but only after looking back at State's signature season of the second half of the 20th Century. It did not produce the best record at 8-5, 6-2 SEC to be sure. '99 topped both marks. Probably only two games count as 'all timers' and one was a loss.
But we who were there and those who endured allllll the agonizing seasons farther back still smile about a great '98 by measures that matter more.
Jackie Sherrill's eighth Bulldog team came about for unique reasons not likely to ever be duplicated. Frankly, Sherrill had lost some steam by '95 and fans muttered his time was done. But of all folk it was the NCAA which lit his fire again with a mid-decade investigation and two years of penalties.
So Jackie wanted to show 'em one more time. His revival coincided with the golden age of junior college football in Mississippi. Jucos were loaded with prospects unable to sign with powers out of high school and largely forgotten.
Limited to about a 60% size signing class Sherrill loaded up on JC talent and boy was there talent brought in making up most of the recruited roster. More good timing had some quality prep players reaching their college prime times.
1997 was a turnaround season ending in disappointing, as an Egg Bowl loss kept 7-4 State at home while Ole Miss went bowling. But for '98 expectations were rightly high with a pair of capable quarterbacks in Matt Wyatt and Wayne Madkin; Jame 'JJ' Johnson to haul the ball with power and speed; an excellent and veteran offensive line in front of 'em; and a payback-minded Joe Lee Dunn assembling a wicked defense.
Oh, and a primo kicking game headlined by explosive Kevin Prentiss, another of those juco stars. He would come oh so close to wrecking '98's SEC script.
State rolled to a 5-1 start with only a shootout loss at Oklahoma State spoiling things. Wins over Vanderbilt and South Carolina came by a combined 80-0 score. Then came two weekends getting teeth kicked in at LSU 41-6 (insiders knew Sherrill despised losing to the Tigers far more than the nominal rivals) and watching Mike Leach's Kentucky offense come out 37-35 ahead in Lexington.
But the Dogs got themselves right at Alabama's expense with JJ owning the day. The big moment was a wild afternoon on Scott Field against Arkansas with State scoring the first touchdown and no more. Brian Hazelwood banged five field goals through including the 22-21 game-winner after a frantic Madkin-led drive in the waning minutes. Those were the days of tearing down goalposts and let me tell you: getting clanked in the skull by that yellow pipe hurts. I kept shooting the celebrating anyway.
With Arkansas also losing to Tennessee all State had to do was win the Egg Bowl and take the West on tie-break. Despite a bad hamstring JJ vaulted the goal line twice, Joe Lee unleashed hell on his former program, and State was headed to Atlanta.
Where, in the now-gone Georgia Dome, the Bulldog offense was completely shut down and let's just say sideline ire with officiating nearly drew flags itself. But special teams and defense kept it a game and around eight minutes of the fourth quarter Prentiss made magic with his 83-yard punt return touchdown for a 14-10 lead.
The dream lasted until Tee Margin found Peerless Price in the end zone ahead of Adesola Badon for the lead; then after a turnover the Vols scored again for TDs within just 32 seconds. Tennessee survived and went on to win the BCS Championship.
State went to the original Cotton Bowl and was steamrolled by Ricky Williams and Texas. On the drive back from Dallas the thought flashed briefly, was it worth it?
Oh absolutely heck yes. 1998 was worth it in every twist and turn, up and down. The team Cotton Bowl watch given me afterwards sits on a display behind this chair right now.
