OXFORD — Dan Mullen was beaming.
After the Mississippi State football team beat Ole Miss 55-20 Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in the Battle for the Golden Egg, the MSU coach found it hard to suppress a smile and was lively answering questions.
Mullen began his post-game press conference by talking about how proud he was of his team. With injuries and some close games that didn’t go the Bulldogs’ way, it was a challenging year for Mullen, his staff, and the team. But the victory in the regular-season finale helped make the season worth while.
“The kids stuck together,” Mullen said. “It shows someone’s character. This team never gave in throughout the course of the whole year. I’m so proud of them.”
The win helped MSU (5-7, 3-5 in the Southeastern Conference) finish sixth in the SEC Western Division, while the Rebels (5-7, 2-6) finished last.
MSU opened the season with a 21-20 loss to South Alabama. Westin Graves missed a 28-yard field goal with seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. MSU lost to BYU 28-21 in double overtime on Oct. 14. Austin MacGinnis made a 51-yard field goal as time expired to lift Kentucky to a 40-38 victory against MSU on Oct. 22.
Despite the disappointments, senior linebacker Richie Brown said beating Ole Miss to win the Egg Bowl trophy for the first time since 2013 was a good way to end his regular-season career.
“We’ve had some really tough games this year, a very tough season,” Brown said. “To end the year on this kind of note, it’s huge, especially for us seniors. We were really excited to get the trophy back.”
Even though MSU didn’t get to six wins to become bowl eligible, there might not be enough teams with six wins to fill the 80 spots needed for bowl games.
Entering the final week of the regular season, there are 76 spots taken by six-win teams. Army, which plays Navy on Dec. 10 in Baltimore, Maryland, and Hawaii will get placed after the other six-win teams because of Army’s two wins against Football Championship Series teams and Hawaii finishing 6-7.
South Alabama and Louisiana-Lafayette are the only two teams playing Saturday that can get to 6-6. South Alabama will play host to New Mexico State (3-8) and Louisiana-Lafayette will play at Louisiana-Monroe (4-7). South Alabama would finish with two wins against FCS teams but would have priority over 5-7 teams.
If 5-7 teams are needed, they are selected by their multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR). North Texas (984) and MSU (971) have the two highest APR scores that are guaranteed an opportunity to play in a bowl of the 5-7 teams. MSU has the same APR score as Texas, but it has priority based on the most recent single-year APR.
“The Camping World (Independence Bowl) guys are here. The Liberty Bowl’s here. We’re ready. We’ve got good grades,” Mullen said Saturday when he was asked about going to a bowl game.
Mullen watched as North Carolina State beat North Carolina 28-21 Friday to get to six wins. Mullen and North Carolina State coach Dave Doeren are good friends and Mullen said it was hard to root against Doeren and the Wolfpack but he knew a loss by the Wolfpack would help the Bulldogs’ cause of making a bowl.
“If we get that opportunity, I’ll love it,” Mullen said. “We’ll see. I don’t know, and I guess it’s (director of athletics) John (Cohen’s) decision, too, with what happens with all of that stuff. I do know this, if we do get the opportunity, as always, you’re going to get a team that plays really hard, you’re going to get a fan base that’s passionate about their team and is going to show up and support their football team.”
CBSSports.com projects MSU will play Navy in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 23 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Brown said he would like to go to a bowl game, but he wasn’t going to look into the different scenarios.
“You don’t know who’s going to do what or what’s going to happen. I’m still happy. Either way, I’m happy with how we finished the season,” Brown said.
If the Bulldogs don’t go to a bowl game, Mullen is happy with how his team responded after the adversity mounted following the first game. He wanted his team to learn life lessons, like working hard to get to the top of the mountain and not looking for a handout.
“What a successful season because there’s a lot of young men in that locker room that really learned that no matter what goes on, whatever adversities your facing, you buckle up and try to go harder,” Mullen said. “Don’t give in and keep pushing yourself to be the best you can be. In the end, you’re going to be able to taste success and be successful.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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