TAMPA, Fla. — As Mississippi State lined up for the winning field goal against Illinois in Monday’s ReliaQuest Bowl, Will Rogers had one simple thought.
“Make it,” he implored silently from the sideline. “Make it, please.”
The Bulldogs quarterback and his teammates had endured months of seemingly nonstop pain and loss. In May, former MSU receivers coach Dave Nichol died of cancer. Freshman offensive lineman Sam Westmoreland died at age 18 in October. And on Dec. 12, Mississippi State coach Mike Leach — a big reason Rogers chose to don maroon and white — died at 61 in a hospital in Jackson.
On the bench, Rogers pleaded. Could just one thing go right?
This time, it could.
Massimo Biscardi’s 27-yard kick sailed through the uprights, giving Mississippi State the lead for good with four seconds to go, and a defensive touchdown on the final play gave the Bulldogs (9-4, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) a 19-10 win over Illinois (8-5, 5-4 Big Ten) in Tampa, Florida.
“I know there’s a cowbell ringing down from heaven for them,” MSU coach Zach Arnett said of his players.
That would belong to Leach, whose influence was felt through Raymond James Stadium on Monday, three weeks after his sudden death from complications related to a heart condition.
MSU’s maroon helmets were stenciled with a white pirate flag. A shrine to Leach was placed in the wooden pirate ship behind the northeast end zone at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. And the late coach was honored in countless other ways, too.
But there was perhaps no better tribute to Leach than a win.
Rogers and Mississippi State, trailing 10-3 at the end of the third quarter, made sure of that.
Facing fourth-and-2 from the Illinois 8-yard line to open the fourth quarter, MSU evened the score as Rogers connected with Justin Robinson in the very back of the end zone. The play stood on review as the Bulldogs pulled level.
Mississippi State forced Illinois to punt on its two final possessions, forcing six punts and a missed field goal in the game.
The Bulldogs’ defense sacked Illini quarterback Tommy DeVito seven times and held Illinois to 0.8 yards per carry, curtailing the opposing offense for much of the game.
“I’m very proud of our defense, honestly,” Arnett said. “We’re kind of a veteran group over there, particularly up front, so we need those guys to play to the utmost of their abilities, because that’s kind of a veteran, experienced group. … I’m excited to see the stat sheet tonight. Very proud of those guys.”
That same stat sheet won’t be pretty on offense, particularly in a first half marred by missed opportunities.
Rogers was intercepted twice and the Bulldogs punted two more times before a 38-yard Biscardi field goal got MSU on the board with nine seconds to go in the first half.
It was an offensive performance Rogers joked would draw him the ire of his late mentor.
“He probably wouldn’t be too happy with me, first of all,” Rogers told ESPN postgame. “He’d probably be pretty upset.”
Perhaps the Bulldogs’ final drive — silhouetted against the pirate ship Leach would have loved so much — could have changed Leach’s demeanor.
Executing a true two-minute drill, Rogers and MSU cracked the vaunted Illini defense en route to Biscardi’s winning kick.
Rogers connected with Lideatrick Griffin for 19 yards and connected with Jaden Walley for another 10, while redshirt freshman Price ran four times for 48 yards on the possession — including a 28-yard scamper to get the Bulldogs down to the 2.
The run set up a short field goal for Biscardi, and the Coastal Carolina transfer knocked the football through the uprights.
Biscardi was emotional postgame — and he wasn’t the only one — as he weighed the importance of his kick and stared down the end of his final year of eligibility.
“That was my last game of my college career, and it was really special just to do it for Coach Leach and for all my teammates who have been by my side the entire year,” Biscardi said.
With one final play to run, Illinois tossed lateral after lateral in hopes of finding a winning score, but an errant toss was scooped up by Mississippi State cornerback Marcus Banks, who took it 60 yards to the end zone well after the clock reached zeros.
At the same time, players from both teams charged into each other at midfield in a short but lively postgame skirmish.
“It’s one of those things,” Illinois coach Bret Bielema said. “Thankfully cooler heads prevailed there in a short fashion.”
Arnett placed blame upon himself for poor clock management late in the game, saying he never should have left time on the clock after the winning kick.
But it’s just one of the things the first-time head coach will have to learn. Arnett said he has been so busy of late, he didn’t have much time to watch much Illinois game tape; linebackers coach Matt Brock called defensive plays Monday.
It was a sign of a coach and a team adjusting on the fly — but succeeding while doing so.
Even with the loss of its head coach, Mississippi State won its second straight game away from home against an eight-win team. MSU won nine games for just the ninth time in program history.
But not all wins are created equal. As the Bulldogs head into an offseason that should finally allow them the chance to relax, they’ll forever remember a win with this much significance.
“We were playing for so much stuff,” linebacker Jett Johnson said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Join the Discussion