State Holds Off No. 24 Tulsa 28-26 For Armed Forces Bowl Victory

Thursday, December 31

Fort Worth, Texas (Amon G. Carter Stadium)

11:00 AM

Mississippi State

4-7

#22 Tulsa

6-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Tulsa

Mississippi State

Emmanual Forbes' 90-yard pick six in the third quarter was a huge momentum swing and gave Mississippi State a 21-13 lead.

Photo by: Austin Perryman/MSU Athletics

State Holds Off No. 24 Tulsa 28-26 For Armed Forces Bowl Victory

December 31, 2020 | Football

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By: John Cade, Assistant A.D./Communications and Brian Ogden, Assistant Director/Communications

FORT WORTH, Texas – Mississippi State (4-7) brought 2020 to a close with a victory on Thursday as the Bulldogs edged No. 24 Tulsa (6-3) 28-26 in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl at Amon G. Carter Stadium. State improved to 14-10 all-time in bowl games while Tulsa fell to 10-12.

The game started in exciting fashion as MSU's freshman Lideatrick Griffin returned the opening kickoff 53 yards to the Tulsa 39-yard line. Just three plays later, Jo'quavious Marks darted into the end zone for a 28-yard rushing touchdown and State led 7-0 just 1:19 into the contest.

But the remainder of the first half took a turn very much to the defensive side of the ball, as MSU did not score again and the Golden Hurricane managed only a pair of fields goals. The Bulldogs led 7-6 at the intermission.

In the second half, both teams' offenses seemed to get back on track.

After forcing a three-and-out on Tulsa's first drive of the third quarter, State marched 64 yards on nine plays for a touchdown. Quarterback Will Rogers capped the drive with a 13-yard scoring rush. Tulsa answered with a 7-play, 75-yard drive, Derenic Prince scampering in from 14 yards out as the Golden Hurricane cut the State lead back to one at 14-13.

Tulsa would force a turnover on downs on MSU's next drive, but the Bulldogs would return the favor on the ensuing drive when Emmanuel Forbes picked off TU quarterback Zach Smith and returned it 90 yards for a touchdown. State led 21-13 with 3:29 remaining in the third period.

After an MSU punt attempt went awry and left the Golden Hurricane with excellent field position, Tulsa drove 32 yards for a score. However, the ensuing two-point try failed, leaving the Bulldogs in the lead at 21-19 with 12:30 to go in regulation.

State then answered with a solid 11-play, 65-yard jaunt to take a 28-19 advantage. Rogers found Griffin on a 13-yard touchdown strike to cap the 4:29 march. The play ended a huge day for Griffin who amassed 155 all-purpose yards, including two kick returns of 40-plus yards.

The Bulldogs would then get what would be seemingly be the game clincher late in the fourth. With Tulsa driving inside the MSU 10-yard line, State's Tyrus Wheat intercepted Smith.Though the play didn't totally end the game, it did two big things at the time - halted a potential TU touchdown and gave State possession with the opportunity to run more time off the clock.

The Golden Hurricane was able to stop State quickly on the ensuing drive and score a touchdown to cut the margin to two at 28-26 with 1:23 on the clock. Tulsa's onside kick attempt was recovered by the Bulldogs and, as TU had no timeouts remaining, MSU was able to run the clock out for the victory.

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Quotable...

"They are a mature group and were ready to play. They weren't looking to redshirt and were ready to play. They have that dog mentality and were ready to step up. Everyone is stepping up, they are mature and ready to work. They did it in the offseason and it paid dividends for them." - Austin Williams on the Bulldogs' freshmen.

Notables from MSU's win against Tulsa...

Road Dawgs

For the first time since 1980, MSU defeated multiple opponents who were ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 in road or neutral contests. The Bulldogs claimed a victory over No. 22 Tulsa today coupled with the season-opening win at then-No. 6 LSU. In the 1980 campaign, State defeated then-No. 18 Miami (Fla.) 34-31 on Oct. 18, 1980 before claiming a 6-3 neutral-site win against then-No. 1 Alabama on Nov. 1, 1980.

No Fly Forbes

Forbes continued to give passers fits, with his fifth interception of the season. He returned it 90 yards for a touchdown, setting a new MSU bowl record and Armed Forces Bowl record for the longest interception return. It was the third interception return touchdown in Armed Forces Bowl history and the first since 2005.

The true freshman is the first Bulldog with five or more interceptions in a season since Mark McLaurin tied the school record with six in 2017, and he is currently tied for third in the FBS and leads the SEC. Forbes set the MSU single-season record and is tied for the career record for interception return touchdowns with three in 2020. The play is tied for the sixth-longest interception return in school history with Anthony Derricks' 90-yard return against Auburn on Nov. 1, 1997.

Weathering The Cold

Today's game was played in 37 degrees, which is tied for the seventh-coldest contest in program history. MSU is now 21-18 in games played in under 50-degree weather, including a 6-1 mark in bowl games. State is now 5-5 in games in under 40-degree weather, with it's previous most-recent win coming in a 51-50 victory at Arkansas on Nov. 21, 2015 (37 degrees).

"Tulu" Takes Off

Griffin was named the Armed Forces Bowl MVP after he totaled 138 kickoff return yards and caught his first career touchdown. He is the first Bulldog with more than 100 kick return yards since Keith Mixon totaled 106 yards on five returns against Arkansas on Nov. 19, 2016. It marked the most kick return yards by a Bulldog since Jameon Lewis posted 183 yards on five returns at Ole Miss on Nov. 24, 2012.

Freshmen For The Win

All four of MSU's touchdowns were scored by freshmen. Marks' 28-yard carry on the opening drive stands as MSU's longest rushing play of the season. Rogers ran for a score and threw for a score, connecting with Griffin. Forbes provided the fourth score on his interception return.

Rogers' Records

Rogers matched Wayne Madkins' (1998) MSU freshman record with his 11th passing touchdown of the year. He improved his MSU freshman-record marks in passing yards (1,976), passing attempts (346) and completions (239).

Along the way he broke Dak Prescott's single-season completion percentage record, connecting on 69.1 (239-of-346) percent of his passes. Prescott completed 66.2 percent (316-of-477) in 2015. Rogers is also MSU's current leader in career completion percentage. His completions rank third in MSU single-season history and his passing yards rank ninth.

Defensive Highs

Aaron Odom made the first solo sack of his career today and finished with 2.0 for the game. Sherman Timbs also added his first career sack. Londyn Craft led the team with a career-high nine tackles. Jay Jimison made a key play in the end zone to break up the second pass of his career, and Jevon Banks recorded his first career tackle for loss.