Mississippi State Bulldogs football The Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represents Mississippi State University in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association ( NCAA ) and the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference . Over its history , Mississippi State has produced an SEC championship team in 1941 and a divisional championship team in 1998 , along with 16 postseason bowl appearances . The Bulldogs represented the SEC Western Division in the 1998 SEC Championship Game , falling to # 1 Tennessee 14 - 24 . Mississippi State has produced 38 All - Americans , 171 All - SEC selections , and 124 NFL players , including 11 first round draft picks 1 . The Bulldogs play their home games at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field , the second oldest football stadium in NCAA Division I - FBS , which has a seating capacity of 55 , 082 . The largest crowd was recorded on November 12 , 2009 , as the Bulldogs hosted # 3 Alabama , at 58 , 103 . Mississippi State competes in the annual Battle for the Golden Egg against in - state archrival Ole Miss , while also maintaining rivalries with Alabama and Kentucky . Jackie Sherrill , who was the head coach of the Bulldogs from 1991 to 2003 , is MSU ' s all - time winningest coach . Sherrill led MSU to 6 postseason bowl games and an appearance in the SEC Championship Game in 1998 . Allyn McKeen , who led the Bulldogs to its first and only SEC championship in 1941 , has the highest winning percentage ( . 764 ) . Some also credit McKeen with a national championship in 1940 . The team is currently coached by Dan Mullen , former Florida offensive coordinator , who led the 2006 and 2008 Gators to national championships . During his time at MSU , Mullen has led the Bulldogs to two consecutive bowl victories in 2010 and 2011 , and an undefeated record over in - state rival Ole Miss since his hiring . Notable seasons . 1941 SEC champions . The 1941 Mississippi State Bulldogs finished the year with a 7 - 1 - 1 record , and claimed the Southeastern Conference championship . The season included wins over Florida , Alabama , Auburn , and Mississippi . The Bulldogs tied with LSU , and were defeated by Duquesne . While Mississippi State won the conference championship in 1941 , they did not win the national championship . Alabama claims the 1941 season as a national championship , even though they finished the season with a 9 - 2 record , including losses to Mississippi State and Vanderbilt , and were ranked # 20 in the final AP poll . 1998 SEC Western Division champions . In 1998 , MSU finished the regular season with a 26 - 14 win over Alabama , a 22 - 21 win over Arkansas , and a 28 - 6 win over Ole Miss in Oxford , MS . At the end of the regular season , both MSU and Arkansas finished with 6 - 2 conference records , but by virtue of MSU ' s head - to - head win over Arkansas , MSU earned the right to play in the 1998 SEC Championship Game as SEC Western Division Champions . MSU . In that game , MSU was leading Tennessee in the fourth quarter before falling 24 - 14 before 74 , 000 fans in the Georgia Dome . They continued on to play in the Southwestern Bell Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas , Texas , against a heavily favored Texas Longhorns team . The Bulldogs lost the game 38 - 11 . 1940 season . The 1940 Mississippi State Bulldogs finished the season 10 - 0 - 1 and defeated Georgetown 14 - 7 in the 1941 Orange Bowl , with key wins over Florida , Alabama , and Ole Miss , while tying with Auburn 7 - 7 . The Bulldogs finished ranked # 9 and Minnesota was named national champions by all major polls . Some Bulldog fans retroactively claim the 1940 season as a national championship for Mississippi State , but the university neither claims nor acknowledges the feat . Recent history . 1999 season . The 1999 Bulldog team finished their season with a 10 – 2 record , earning a final ranking of # 12 nationally . During the 1999 season MSU fielded the # 1 ranked defense in the country . MSU beat in - state rival Ole Miss to finish the regular season . It was Jackie Sherrill ' s 6th win in his first 9 games against the Rebels . In the bowl game , the Bulldogs defeated Clemson in the Peach Bowl , 17 – 7 to finish 10 - 2 and ranked # 12 . That # 12 ranking is the highest final ranking of any FBS Division team in the State of Mississippi in over 40 years . 2000 season . The 2000 Bulldogs finished 8 – 4 ( 4 – 4 ) in what would be Jackie Sherrill ' s final winning season at MSU . The team reached the 2000 Independence Bowl where led by quarterback Wayne Madkin and running back Dontae Walker , under snowy conditions , they pulled out an exciting 43 – 41 overtime victory over Texas A & M . 2007 season . The Bulldogs finished 8 – 5 and won the Liberty Bowl over the Conference USA Champion the University of Central Florida . Other notable wins include away victories at Auburn University and the University of Kentucky and home wins versus the University of Alabama and Ole Miss . With the win over Ole Miss , Mississippi State claimed the Egg Bowl trophy . 2010 season . Mississippi State defeated the Georgia Bulldogs and the Florida Gators in the same season for the first time in team history . The Bulldogs also defeated the Ole Miss Rebels 31 - 23 for the Bulldogs ' second consecutive win over the in - state rival . MSU finished the season with a 52 - 14 win in the Gator Bowl over traditional college football power University of Michigan Wolverines . The Bulldogs finished the 2010 football season ranked 15th by the Associated Press , the highest final ranking for the school in the AP poll since finishing 13th in the nation after the 1999 season . Nick Bell . On Tuesday , November 2 , 2010 , 20 - year - old defensive end Nick Bell , who had undergone surgery that Sunday for a type of skin cancer , died after a rapid deterioration of his health ; he had been scheduled to begin chemotherapy that day . His loss was mourned by the university and head coach Dan Mullen , who decided to meet with Bell ' s family on Monday night - when it became clear he was deteriorating - instead of attending the meeting of the Jackson Touchdown Club ; Athletic Director Scott Stricklin went instead . 2011 season . MSU won 7 games , including beating the Ole Miss Rebels for the 3rd straight time . It was also the MSU ' s 4th win in the last 5 against Ole Miss . The Bulldogs went on to beat the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the Music City Bowl 23 - 17 . The win in the Music City Bowl was the Bulldogs ' 5th straight bowl win , which is currently tied for the longest bowl win streak in the NCAA . Notable Coaches . Allyn McKeen . From 1939 to 1948 , Allyn McKeen coached at Mississippi State , where he compiled a 65 - 19 - 3 record . In 1940 , he was named the Southeastern Conference football individual awards SEC Coach of the Year after leading Mississippi State to its only undefeated season in school history . The following year , his squad captured the first and only Southeastern Conference championship in program history . Jackie Sherrill . After three years away from the game , Sherrill was hired as head coach at Mississippi State University in 1991 . He took over a program that hadn ' t had a winning season since 1986 ( and had won a total of 14 games in that stretch ) and hadn ' t had a winning record in Southeastern Conference play since 1981 . Sherrill began his Mississippi State career with an upset victory over a familiar foe from his A & M days , the Texas Longhorns ( who were the defending Southwest Conference champions ) . In thirteen seasons in Starkville , Sherrill coached the Bulldogs to a record of 75 – 75 – 2 . His 75 wins are the most in school history . He led the team to an SEC West title in 1998 , and a berth in the Cotton Bowl Classic . A year later , he notched a 10 – 2 record and # 12 final ranking . That # 12 ranking was the highest final ranking achieved by any NCAA Division I - A school in Mississippi in over 30 years . Sherrill , along with Bill Snyder of Kansas State , were among the first to use the rich JUCO systems of their respective states to help their programs progress . Although Sherrill won only eight games in his last three seasons , he built Mississippi State into a consistent winner despite playing in the same division as powerhouses like Alabama , Auburn and LSU . He also finished with a winning record against in - state rival Ole Miss ( 7 – 6 ) . Under Sherrill , the Bulldogs went to six bowl games ; before his arrival they ' d only been to seven bowls in 96 years of play . Sherrill also achieved notoriety by having his team observe the castration of a bull as a motivational technique prior to a game versus Texas . Unranked Mississippi State subsequently beat the # 13 ranked Longhorns . Sherrill retired after the 2003 season , which was followed by the NCAA levying probation for four years on the program . Despite a prolonged 3 year investigation by the NCAA , Mississippi State was not found guilty of any major violations , and Sherrill was never personally found guilty of any NCAA rules violations at either Mississippi State or Texas A & M . Memorable Games . 1980 Alabama Crimson Tide On Nov . 3 , 1980 . Emory Bellard ' s Bulldog squad downed the Paul W . Bryant ' s No . 1 - ranked Crimson Tide team 6 - 3 and brought to an end one of the most dominating runs in the history of the Alabama program . Alabama Quarterback Don Jacobs led the Tide on a furious 44 - yard drive in the game ' s closing minutes . With the ball on the Mississippi State four yard line and just 25 seconds left in the game , Jacobs was nailed in the backfield by Bulldog defender Tyrone Keys and fumbled the ball . State ' s Billy Jackson recovered and one of the greatest eras of Alabama football came to an ignominious end . 2000 Florida Gators On Sept . 30 , 2000 . The Florida Gators came into Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville , Mississippi ranked third in the nation . The unranked Mississippi State Bulldogs ran for 351 yards , 172 yards and a touchdown for Dicenzo Miller , and 156 yards and a touchdown for Dontae Walker . Bulldogs quarterback Wayne Madkin also ran for two touchdowns . The Bulldogs compiled 517 total yards of offense . A frustrated Steve Spurrier rotated three quarterbacks including Rex Grossman . Grossman went 13 for 16 with 231 yards and two touchdowns . All together , the Gators had 494 yards and four touchdowns through the air . Mississippi State won the game 47 – 35 , breaking Florida ' s 72 - game winning streak against unranked teams . Rivalries . Ole Miss . The Battle of the Golden Egg ( nicknamed the Egg Bowl ) is an annual college football game between in - state rivals Ole Miss and the Mississippi State . While the 2 teams have played each other since 1901 , with 2003 being the year in which the 2 teams had played each other 100 times and now having played each other a total of 108 times , the first game officially known as " The Battle of the Golden Egg " was in 1927 . Ole Miss leads the series with a 60 – 42 – 6 record . Since the Egg Bowl was moved back to the respective campuses in 1991 , Mississippi State has won 12 games to Ole Miss ' 9 . The games prior to 1991 had been played at Veterans Stadium in Jackson , MS where each team would alternate annually as the home team . Currently , Mississippi State has a three game win streak in the series and has also won 4 of the last 5 vs Mississippi . Alabama . The Alabama – Mississippi State rivalry , sometimes referred to as the 90 Mile Drive or the Battle for Highway 82 , is an annual football game between the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and the Mississippi State University Bulldogs . Both universities are founding members of the Southeastern Conference , as well as the Western Division . The two campuses are located approximately 90 miles apart , and are the closest SEC schools in terms of distance . Entering its 97th meeting as of the 2012 football season , Alabama - Mississippi State is one of the Southeastern Conference ' s longest - running series , dating back to 1896 . Kentucky . The annual rivalry game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the University of Kentucky Wildcats rotates between Lexington , Kentucky and Starkville , Mississippi . The game became a permanent rivalry when the Southeastern Conference assigned permanent interdivisional rivals . Mississippi State has won 4 of their last 5 vs . Kentucky and 12 of the last 20 . The Kentucky rivalry is more pronounced as a basketball rivalry with Mississippi State , with MSU having won 3 straight , until the 2009 - 2010 basketball season when Kentucky won both matchups in overtime . Texas A & M . The Mississippi State - Texas A & M rivalry , also known as the Maroon and White Bowl , is the annual football game between the Texas A & M Aggies and the Mississippi State University Bulldogs . The series is known mostly for The Snow Bowl , which is the 2000 Independence Bowl , in which Mississippi State won 43 - 41 in overtime . Both schools are land grant agricultural colleges and both of their colors are maroon and white . Both also had Jackie Sherrill as their head coach . The series will be renewed and be played annually starting in the 2012 season when Texas A & M joins the Southeastern Conference Western Division . These schools have played each other 5 times Since 1912 . Bowl history . Mississippi State has an all - time bowl record of 10 - 6 , highlighted by wins in the 1941 Orange Bowl , the 1963 Liberty Bowl , the 1999 Peach Bowl , and the 2011 Gator Bowl . Most recently , the Bulldogs defeated the Conference USA champion UCF Kinghts 10 - 3 in the 2007 Liberty Bowl , the Michigan Wolverines 52 - 14 in the 2011 Gator Bowl , and the Wake Forest 23 - 17 in the Music City . The Bulldogs have won their last 5 bowls , which is currently tied for the longest bowl winning streak in the NCAA . Traditions . The Cowbell . The most unique and certainly the most resounding symbol of Mississippi State University tradition is the cowbell . Despite decades of attempts by opponents and authorities to banish it from scenes of competition , diehard State fans still celebrate Bulldog victories loudly and proudly with the distinctive sound of ringing cowbells . The precise origin of the cowbell as a fixture of Mississippi State sports tradition remains unclear to this day . The best records have cowbells gradually introduced to the MSU sports scene in the late 1930s and early 1940s , coinciding with the ' golden age ' of Mississippi State football success prior to World War II . The most popular legend is that during a home football game between State and arch - rival Mississippi , a jersey cow wandered onto the playing field . Mississippi State soundly whipped the Rebels that Saturday , and State College students immediately adopted the cow as a good luck charm . Students are said to have continued bringing a cow to football games for a while , until the practice was eventually discontinued in favor of bringing just the cow ' s bell . Whatever the origin , it is certain that by the 1950s cowbells were common at Mississippi State games , and by the 1960s were established as the special symbol of Mississippi State . Ironically , the cowbell ' s popularity grew most rapidly during the long years when State football teams were rarely successful . Flaunting this anachronism from the ' aggie ' days was a proud response by students and alumni to outsider scorn of the university ' s ' cow college ' history . In the 1960s two MSU professors , Earl W . Terrell and Ralph L . Reeves obliged some students by welding handles on the bells to they could be rung with much more convenience and authority . By 1963 the demand for these long - handled cowbells could not be filled by home workshops alone , so at the suggestion of Reeves the Student Association bought bells in bulk and the Industrial Education Club agreed to weld on handles . In 1964 the MSU Bookstore began marketing these cowbells with a portion of the profits returning to these student organizations . Today many styles of cowbells are available on campus and around Starkville , with the top - of - the - line a heavy chrome - plated model with a full Bulldog figurine handle . But experts insist the best and loudest results are produced by a classic long - handled , bicycle - grip bell made of thinner and tightly - welded shells . Cowbells decorate offices and homes of Mississippi State alumni , and are passed down through generations of Bulldog fans . In 1974 , the SEC adopted a rule against artificial noisemakers that made it illegal to ring a cowbell during games . Despite creative efforts by MSU fans to circumvent the ruling and continue the tradition , the ban was in effect until 2010 . That spring , the 12 schools of the SEC agreed to a compromise on artificial noisemakers , acknowledging the role cowbells play in the history of Mississippi State University by amending the conference by - law . In the fall of 2010 , on a one - year trial with specified restrictions , cowbells were permitted in Davis Wade Stadium for the first time in 36 years . And due to MSU fans ' notable adherence to the rules outlined by the league , cowbells will continue to be allowed with similar restrictions in place . In 2012 , the rule was made permanent by the SEC . Maroon and White . Maroon and White are the distinctive colors of Mississippi State University athletic teams , dating back over a century to the very first football game ever played by the school ' s student - athletes . On November 15 , 1895 , the first Mississippi A & M football team was preparing for a road trip to Jackson , Tenn . , to play Southern Baptist University ( now called Union University ) the following day . Since every college was supposed to have its own uniform colors , the A & M student body requested that the school ' s team select a suitable combination . Considering making this choice an honor , the innaugural State team gave the privilege to team captain W . M . Matthews . Accounts report that without hesitation Matthews chose Maroon and White . First round draft picks . Mississippi State has had 12 players selected in the first round of professional football drafts . Coaching Staff . Head coaches . The program has had 32 head coaches since it began play during the 1895 season , and has played more than 1 , 050 games over 111 seasons . . Since December 2008 , Dan Mullen has served as Mississippi States ' head coach . Historic coaching hire . Mississippi State made history on December 1 , 2003 , when it hired Sylvester Croom as its head football coach . Croom was the first African - American named to such a position in the history of the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) .