Mississippi State wins St. Pete Bowl vs. Miami at Trop

ST. PETERSBURG — The sound inside Tropicana Field was familiar, even if the source and time of year were different. Cowbells clanged through the Trop throughout pregame festivities and every time Miami (Ohio) faced a third down. They rattled whenever the Mississippi State Bulldogs drove into the end zone or popped a kick through the uprights.

And with five seconds left in the game, Tropicana Field flashed back to 2008, when the sound of cowbells surged. Nelson Adams reached the highest for MSU, but a whole horde of teammates burst through the center of the line on a 37-yard field-goal attempt by Miami. The defensive lineman batted down Nick Dowd’s kick. There would be no walk-off at the Trop. Mississippi State held on for a 17-16 win in the St. Petersburg Bowl.

“We had noticed on film that the kicker kind of kicked line drives, so all that was going through my head was, ‘Get your hand up,'” Adams said. “Everyone was pretty confident we were going to block it.”

The Bulldogs (6-7) finished sixth in the Southeastern Conference West division and qualified for the St. Pete Bowl despite a sub-.500 record because of their academic success. The RedHawks, who finished second in the Mid-American Conference East division, reached the bowl by rattling off six straight victories to follow an 0-6 start.

It was, by most standards, a down season for the SEC, but the conference got off to a perfect postseason start thanks to MSU. …

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