Mississippi State
#22 Florida
Bulldogs Stun No. 22 Gators 10-7 In The Swamp
October 16, 2010 | Football
In a venue where Florida has historically flexed its muscles with ease against opposing foes, on this particular night it was Mississippi State delivering blow after to blow en route to a 10-7 upset against the No. 22-ranked Gators in front of stunned crowd of 90,517 at Ben Griffin Stadium.
It was MSU's first win at Florida since 1965.
The Bulldogs (5-2, 3-2), who have now won four in a row for the first time since 1999, turned to their running game early and often and found success throughout the night
Florida (4-3, 2-3), which has now dropped three straight for the first time since 1988, had no answer as Mississippi State ran for 212 yards and dominated the line of scrimmage.
"This is not an upset," said second-year MSU coach Dan Mullen, who won two national championships as an assistant under Urban Meyer at Florida. "We expected to win the football game."
Junior Vick Ballard, who earlier in the week predicted a win, led MSU with 98 yards on 20 carries, while quarterback Chris Relf grounded out 82. Relf only threw for 33 yards on 4-of-9 passing, but his arm wasn't needed as the Bulldogs were punishing on the ground.
In fact, in one stretch from the second quarter through the third, they ran the football 24-consecutive times.
And it was the ground game that produced MSU's touchhown, a 6-yard keeper by Relf with 45 seconds left in the opening quarter for a 10-0 lead. Mississippi State's first score was the result of a Sean Brauchle 31-yard field goal seven minutes into the game.
The Bulldogs' defense, led by Chris White's 11 tackles and 2 ½ sacks, shutout the Gators in the first half. But in the third, Florida finally scored when Omarious Hines found the end zone from 5-yards out at the 4:15 mark.
Late in the fourth, the Gators were again deep in MSU territory, but the scoring threat was thwarted when White recovered a Jeffery Demps fumble at the 17.
Still, Florida had a chance to send the game into overtime, but a Chas Henry 42-yard field goal with 4 seconds left was wide right, and the MSU sideline erupted with cheers and hugs.
As a result, the Bulldogs find themselves 5-2 for the first time since 2000 and one win shy of being bowl eligible for the first time since earning a berth to the Liberty Bowl in 2007.
And following a two-game road swing, MSU returns to Scott Field on Oct. 23 for homecoming against UAB. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
