I was surprised so many people mentioned 96 Bama game...

[Coach34]

as one of their top 3 games to have witnessed as a Bulldog. I thought it was a great and jumped around on the field like an idiot as well, but I figured it was down the list a little more for people. I guess it is the statement game for the 20-somethings though, so it shouldnt be that much of a surprise. I guess I was just really fortunate to have seen the 1980 game. The intensity of that game was almost as big as when we went to Atlanta, and kept growing because it had been so long since we had beaten them. Plus the Bear factor too.</p>

Good thread though people</p>

 

[Coach34]

as one of their top 3 games to have witnessed as a Bulldog. I thought it was a great and jumped around on the field like an idiot as well, but I figured it was down the list a little more for people. I guess it is the statement game for the 20-somethings though, so it shouldnt be that much of a surprise. I guess I was just really fortunate to have seen the 1980 game. The intensity of that game was almost as big as when we went to Atlanta, and kept growing because it had been so long since we had beaten them. Plus the Bear factor too.</p>

Good thread though people</p>

 

[Agentdog]

First of all, I wasn't at the 1980 game or it would be top 3.

It is my top 3 because I was there and:

I grew up 60 miles from Tuscaloosa, had friends who were Bama friends, and with the exception of 1980 went my entire childhood watching my favorite team lose to them and then endure the ridicule from friends for another year. '92 and '94.....I sat in the student section both years knowing we had a chance to finally beat them only to have our hearts ripped out. Also, '91 was a close call. All three of those years and the fact we were such huge underdog that year added to the euphoria of finally beating them.

As a whole, for the fan base and program, I think it was a big game because it saved Jackie's job. If you believe the rumors at the time. I know '96 was a bad year. However, everyone talks about when we fell apart in '00 or '01. But that game is when we started the climb. It really helped State football turn the corner and instill confidence that we could beat them. I think that game propelled the program over the hump and was the foundation for beating them 2 of the next 3. The game loses some of it's importance because of the later wins over them. However, if you would have told a State fan after the 1994 game, that we would beat them 6 times in the next 12 years, not many (if any) would have believed you.

Don't get me wrong, all the beatings of UF (86, 92,00, 04) were special. The AU wins and so on and so on. But Bama is a rival (ours not necessarily theirs) that we had not beaten but once since the 50s.

 

[megadawgmaniac]

The '80 game had far greater meaning and significance than any other game in modern MSU history. The '96 game had the significance of being the first ever home win over Bama. If not for those two games, I dare say we don't have our "glory years" of '98-'00.

AA - the floor is open for replies

 

[Coach34]

and it also depends what games you have attended as well. I personally put the win at Bama when JJ ran over them ahead of that one. Seeing and hearing the Bama fans whine and pout that day was incredible. I also put 92(?) Florida over that one because of the hype of the Gators, the win over UPig in 1998, and the win over Mississippi in Oxford to clinch our trip to Atlanta.

Thats just me though.

 

[JR]

MSU record against Bama from 1980 win to 1996 or 1980-1995 .....1-15 with 1980 being the only win

MSU record against Bama since 1996 game - 5-5

Do you get it now why the 1996 game was a big deal?

 

[SanfordRJones]

For me, it was a big deal because I grew up an Alabama fan and had since renounced it, during which time UA won a national championship and beat us 4 times, including an inexcusable loss at home in '94. The Ole Miss game has never meant as much to me personally as the UA game. The '92 Florida game you also mentioned is in my list, but it pales in comparison to the '96 Alabama game.

 

[Coach34]

I never said it wasnt a big deal...I just put the one in Tuscaloosa the next year as a better game that I went to. Winning in T-town > winning in S'ville

 

[SanfordRJones]

Winning in T-town > winning in S'ville

That's true if that is the only factor, but winning for the first time in 16 years vs. winning for the 2nd time in a row is a much greater disparity than home vs. road.
</p>

 

[Stormrider81]

MSU record against Bama from 1980 win to 1996 or 1980-1995 .....1-15 with 1980 being the only win

MSU record against Bama since 1996 game - 5-5

Do you get it now why the 1996 game was a big deal?

</p>Thanks for the math lesson. Have you been hanging out with McClure?

 

[Todd4State]

before 1996 just seemed invincible to us. It did not matter that we would play our best game, and that maybe they would play one of their worst, they would still win. And the thing that would make it worse was that you knew the officials were going to screw us, so you had to fight them as well. It also sucked because it seemed like their fans were so cocky, but yet their team would deliever for them. They would say things like "I believe in my team" whereas we would be thinking "how are we going to screw this up or when do we get screwed?"

The whole 1996 game was really eerie to. I remember it started at 8 o'clock at night, and then the game got delayed because of the parachuters. But I also remember how electric that crowd was before the game. I was in the band and when we came in, I thought "this is what it's like to go to a major college football game". I found myself trying to not get excited because I was waiting for the impending doom, so when that 4th down pass went incomplete, I was in absolute shock. After the game I couldn't really beleive how delusional their fans were. They were saying things like we should have let them win because they had a better chance of winning the SEC Championship Game for the West. (Not kidding)

But as far as saving Jackie's job- which I think it did in combination of the Egg Bowl win that year in Oxford- it also kind of signaled the end of Bama's dominance. The Monday after that game they basically fired Gene Stallings, and they've had a coaching carousel ever since. In all honesty, they probably should have kept Stallings around, because I'm sure that he was better than DuBose. (Long limb there, I know).

 

[Agentdog]

The Monday after that game they basically fired Gene Stallings,

That is a good point and something I forgot about. I agree that Stallings was probably a better coach and fit at Bama than any of his successors to date. It was definitely the game they started their downward spiral. They were 9-1 coming into that game. They had losing seasons 2 of the next 3 years.

 

[JR]

Since 1996 (including 1996 Just like I included 1980 above) MSU is 6-6 against Alabama.

Not sure its a math error as a typing one. </p>

 

[FQDawg]

Highlights from that game

 

[ram124]

'96 got the nod simply because it was the first time we had beaten Bama since 80. Plus, that was first time I had ever had the chance to rush the field (I was 12). Overall I had a better time at the '97 game because J.J's performance was so dominant, you just knew there was no way we could lose...plus, it does not get much better that beating Bama in Bryant Denny Stadium. </p>

 

[Stormrider81]

and then left out two games.

 

[KurtRambis4]

Not sure its a math error as a typing one.

you never make mistakes, jr
</p>

 

[DAWGS1.sixpack]

Ill go drink a beer after that!

 

[megadawgmaniac]

and it also depends what games you have attended as well. I personally put the win at Bama when JJ ran over them ahead of that one. Seeing and hearing the Bama fans whine and pout that day was incredible. I also put 92(?) Florida over that one because of the hype of the Gators, the win over UPig in 1998, and the win over Mississippi in Oxford to clinch our trip to Atlanta.

Thats just me though.

</p>

After watching Jackie take Felker's players and whip Tejas, I wasn't as impressed with the Florida win. Yeah, it was fun. I loved knocking the sign out of those idiots' hands. The '98 wins to go to Atlanta were nice, but somewhat expected. That defense, you knew all we had to do was score just enough. The Bama wins since '97 were a little more expected.</p>

Having never seen MSU beat Bama, knowing that beating Bama was nearly impossible, watching Uncle Roy's influence alter the '92 game, beating them in '96 > all in my book. The historical significance of that game outweighs the euphoria of all victories over Bama since then by a large margin.</p>

AA - '80 victory = Jimi Hendrix; '96 victory = Eric Clapton
</p>

 

[Mutt the Hoople.buhoops]

To show you how sure I was State would lose, I didn't even mind being over there. Normally, I'd stay away from their house because every time I saw State play on TV over there, they'd lose.

So, we had a nice family supper and kinda kept our eye on the game. When Kitchens completed that pass, I figured, "Well, that's it. Bama wins again." What happened next was a total, complete, utter surprise. When Fat Freddie misfired on that last pass, my then brother-in-law and I started whooping and hollering as loud as we could. My two oldest kids, then 2 years old and 9 months old, started crying at all the racket my ex-brother-in-law and I made.

 

[HD6]

along the lines of All Four Paws 2-4 record equals .500, or the infamous 7-5 is only one game about .500 thread. For an engineering school, we sure don't know our simple math.

 

[Todd4State]

along the lines of All Four Paws 2-4 record equals .500, or the infamous 7-5 is only one game about .500 thread. For an engineering school, we sure don't know our simple math.

</p>2 for 4 is .500- in baseball. (single player) I hope to God that's what he was thinking about. Sadly, I bet he was talking about our overall record.

 

[MSUCostanza]

is that AFP was the biggest Jackie worshipper in history, and she either (a) had no clue that we had been to 6 bowl games under him (2 wins, 4 losses), or (b) had no clue that a 2-4 record was not a .500 win percentage. Either way, it was comedy.

 

[HD6]

by medical definition, All Four Paws is a woman. Medically speaking only, though.

That being said, she didn't think of it that way. And I seem to recall some sarcastic remark about how stupid the other person was coming in that post. It was an all time great.

 

[MSUCostanza]

And I seem to recall some sarcastic remark

Surely not - not from AFP. I mean, this was the same person that a few months later told me that sarcasm wasn't humorous and it was hurtful.

 

[MSUCostanza]

They were saying things like we should have let them win because they had a better chance of winning the SEC Championship Game for the West. (Not kidding)

Which is now even funnier, considering they still won the West, and proceeded to get skull-17'd by Florida (the eventual MNC's) in the SECCG.