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Mississippi State won the ReliaQuest Bowl in the most fitting way. The game, which is the program’s first since the death of head coach Mike Leach, saw a late game comeback and exciting finish.
In that matchup with Illinois, the Bulldogs overcame an early deficit to bring home their ninth win of the season.
Things didn’t go well from the start as the Illini took a quick 7-0 lead. That turned into a 10-3 advantage as the third quarter came to a close, but the Bulldogs would storm back with an epic fourth quarter performance.
After looking inept on offense over the first three sessions, Mississippi State would finally get the air raid attack going in the final frame. The team outscored their opponent 16-0 in the fourth quarter, leading to a 19-10 win.
And it wouldn’t come without a little drama.
The Bulldogs kicked a go-ahead field goal with just four seconds remaining in play, then turned in an awesome scoop-n-score on the final play to land that nine-point victory.
The comeback had fans immediately thinking of Mike Leach, and they quickly posted reactions to the win online.
FOR MIKE LEACH pic.twitter.com/hIyVGBo5oz
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) January 2, 2023
One person wrote, “Watching Mississippi State come through and get that win in the last seconds for coach Mike Leach was pretty inspiring.”
Another echoed that sentiment by saying, “Found myself shedding a few tears as MSU closed out the game and won to honor Mike Leach.”
The victory came in an emotional spot for the Bulldogs as they played their first game without Leach in three years. The 2022 season was the program’s best under the legendary head coach as they went 9-4.
The team will look to start anew with a different leader at the helm in 2023. For now, though, the players and fans will relish in this exciting comeback as they continue to think of Mike Leach.