OXFORD — Asked to describe the scene in the visitors’ locker room at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Mississippi State defensive lineman Randy Charlton issued an invitation to media members.
“Come join us and find out,” Charlton said.
There was dancing. Even head coach Mike Leach got in on that. There was music. There were cigars with the smell and the smoke to match.
“That locker room looks like it’s on fire right now,” Leach said. “It looks like a damn dumpster fire.”
Thursday’s 24-22 MSU win over No. 20 Ole Miss helped the Bulldogs (8-4, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) stop their season from being a dumpster fire of its own.
Had the Rebels (8-4, 4-4 SEC) erased a late eight-point deficit (one that should have been larger) and rallied to win, MSU would have finished its 2022 season in the same place as it ended 2021.
The Bulldogs went into last year’s Egg Bowl at 7-4, losing 31-21 to Ole Miss in Starkville.
This year, they turned the tables, winning eight games — and winning in Oxford — for the first time since 2018.
“To be able to go out with a win against these guys, have a chance to win nine games, it’s huge,” quarterback Will Rogers said.
The victory — as hard fought as it was — cements Mississippi State’s improvement in Leach’s third season at the helm. This was supposed to be the year for the Bulldogs, and although it didn’t lead to a 10-win regular season or a New Year’s Six bowl game, Thursday’s win ensured positive momentum.
As Rogers pointed out, three of MSU’s four defeats this season came against some of college football’s best: LSU, Alabama and Georgia.
“I don’t think a lot of people understand that we’ve had three top-10 losses — three out of four top-10 losses,” Rogers said. “We’re a team that’s won some big games, and this was a huge game for us.”
It was Leach’s seventh win over a ranked team in just 36 games at Mississippi State, and it will likely leapfrog the Bulldogs over the Rebels in terms of the AP Top 25 and in terms of bowl standing.
MSU appears headed for a bowl date in the Sunshine State — possibly as strong as the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, the top SEC bowl outside the New Year’s Six.
Failing that, the Bulldogs could be headed for the lesser Pool of Six bowls, among them the ReliaQuest (formerly Outback) Bowl in Tampa and the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville.
Thursday’s win made lesser outcomes like the Texas, Las Vegas and Music City Bowls less likely.
Rogers said he will enjoy the victory until the Bulldogs’ bowl destination and opponent are announced Dec. 4.
“It’s probably my favorite win (to) date,” Rogers said. “I’ll remember this one for the rest of my life. It feels good. I’ll enjoy it for I guess a week or so, and then we’ll find out who we’re playing in the bowl game.”
Last year, Mississippi State accepted a bid to the Liberty Bowl, where a team decimated by COVID-19 was walloped by Texas Tech.
The 34-7 loss capped a somewhat disappointing season. The Bulldogs missed several opportunities to compile wins, settling for close losses instead — Memphis, LSU, Arkansas, Ole Miss.
There have been some of the same disappointments this year.
But with the win over Ole Miss in hand, the Bulldogs can enjoy the wait until their bowl game a good deal more.
“We kind of got tired of losing to these guys,” Rogers said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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