1973 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

The 1973 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Bob Tyler, in his first year, and played their home games at Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi. They finished the season with a record of four wins, five losses and two ties (4–5–2, 2–5 SEC).

1973 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
1973 record	4–5–2 (2–5 SEC)
Head coach	Bob Tyler (1st season)
Home stadium	Scott Field

1973 Southeastern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Alabama $	8	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 13 LSU	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Ole Miss	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
No. 19 Tennessee	3	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Georgia	3	–	4	–	0			7	–	4	–	1
Florida	3	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Kentucky	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Auburn	2	–	5	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
Mississippi State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	5	–	2
Vanderbilt	1	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 15	Northeast Louisiana*	Scott Field Starkville, MS	T 21–21
September 22	Vanderbilt	Scott Field Starkville, MS	W 52–21
September 29	No. 16 Florida	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS	W 33–12
October 6	Kentucky	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (rivalry)	L 14–42
October 13	at Florida State*	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	W 37–12
October 20	at Louisville*	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	W 18–7
October 27	Southern Miss*	Scott Field Starkville, MS	T 10–10
November 3	No. 2 Alabama	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (rivalry)	L 0–35
November 10	at Auburn	Cliff Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	L 17–31
November 17	at LSU	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	L 7–26
November 24	vs. Ole Miss	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (Egg Bowl)	L 10–38
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[1]

Game summaries

Vanderbilt

1 2 3 4 Total Vanderbilt 0 14 7 0 21 • Mississippi State 7 14 14 14 49 Date: September 22 Location: Scott Field, Starkville, MS Game attendance: 25,136

Scoring summary 1 MSU Wayne Jones 15-yard run (Vic Nickels kick) MSU 7-0 2 VAN Paul Bragdon 8-yard run (kick failed) Tied 7-7 2 VAN Mark Dietrich 30-yard pass from Fred Fisher (Fred Fisher run) VAN 14-7 2 MSU Wayne Jones 3-yard run (Vic Nickels kick) Tied 14-14 2 MSU Bill Buckley 23-yard pass from Rocky Felker (Vic Nickels kick) MSU 21-14 2 MSU Vic Nickels 42-yard field goal MSU 24-14 3 VAN Martin 69-yard pass from Fred Fisher (Golden kick) MSU 24-21 3 MSU Tommy Strahan-yard pass from Rockey Felker (Vic Nickels kick) MSU 31-21 3 MSU Wayne Jones 21-yard run (Vic Nickels kick) MSU 38-21 4 MSU Rocky Felker 16-yard run (Vic Nickels kick) MSU 45-21 4 MSU Ray Costict 1-yard run (Vic Nickels kick) MSU 52-21

Fullback Wayne Jones broke through Vanderbilt's defense for 117 yards and three scores in Mississippi State's rout of Vanderbilt and gave head coach Bob Tyler his first victory. Jones, a 215-pound senior, opened the scoring before the Commodores took charge with two scores. Jones then capped a 69-yard drive to pull State even. Jones' third touchdown came in the third after what turned out to be Vanderbilt's only score of the half. It was the Bulldogs' biggest win since 1952 versus Auburn. [2]

References

1. 2011 Mississippi State football media guide.
2. "Bulldogs Rip Vandy, 52-21." Palm Beach Post. 1973 Sep 23.