The Alabama–Mississippi State football rivalry, also known as the 90 Mile Drive or the Battle for Highway 82, is an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

between the

Alabama Crimson Tide football The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama (variously Alabama, UA, or Bama) in the sport of American football. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Asso ...

team of the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

and

Mississippi State Bulldogs football The Mississippi State Bulldogs football program represents Mississippi State University in the sport of American football. The Bulldogs compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...

team of

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

. Both universities are founding members of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC), and are currently members of the SEC's Western Division. The two campuses are located approximately 90 miles apart and are the two geographically closest SEC universities. In 1935, MSU Coach Major Ralph Sasse, on "orders" from his team, went to Memphis, Tennessee, to select the first bulldog mascot. Ptolemy, a gift of the Edgar Webster family, was chosen and the Bulldogs promptly defeated Alabama 20–7. Alabama–Mississippi State is one of the Southeastern Conference's longest-running series, dating back to 1896. Mississippi State is Alabama's most played opponent, while Alabama is MSU's third most played team behind Ole Miss and

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

. Aside from the

Alabama–Ole Miss football rivalry The Alabama–Ole Miss football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Ole Miss Rebels. They are charter members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and both have competed in the SEC West since 199 ...

, it also has been one of the league's most lopsided with Alabama leading the series 85–18–3 through the 2022 season.

Notable games

*1940: #11

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...

, 8–0–1 on the season, defeated the 7–1 #17 Crimson Tide 13–0 in Tuscaloosa. The Bulldogs forced 5 turnovers on downs and remained undefeated on the season. *1941: The

Maroons Maroons are descendants of African diaspora in the Americas, Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous peoples, eventually ethnogenesi ...

defeated

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

in Tuscaloosa in September 14–0 on their way to winning the school's only football SEC Championship. Despite Mississippi State's head-to-head win and conference title, and the fact that Alabama finished #20 in the final AP Poll, Alabama claims a national championship for this season. This has led to many Mississippi State fans and bloggers to clamor for the Bulldogs, who finished 16th in the final poll, to claim the title as well. *1956: The Crimson Tide snapped a 20-game winless streak by defeating the

13–12 in Tuscaloosa. *1974: 7–0

, ranked #4 at the time and the eventual SEC Champion, defeated 6–1 and #17

in a 35–0 rout in Tuscaloosa. *1976: The 6–1

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Crimson Tide, where Alabama won 34–17. Had the Bulldogs won, they would have later had to forfeit anyway. *1980: In what is often named the biggest win in Mississippi State football history, the

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Q ...

, snapping Alabama's 28-game winning streak. The Bulldogs held the prolific Tide

wishbone offense The wishbone formation, also known simply as the bone, is an offensive formation in American football. The style of attack to which it gives rise is known as the wishbone offense. Like the spread offense in the 2000s to the present, the wishbone ...

to 116 yards on the ground, one third of its season average up to that point. Trailing 6–3 in the final minute, Alabama drove to the MSU 4-yard-line before a big hit from Bulldog linebacker Tyrone Keys jarred the football loose, sealing the upset win for the Bulldogs. After the game, Alabama coach

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

visited the Mississippi State locker room to congratulate the team for the win. In 2007, College Football News' Pete Futiak named the game the 91st best ending in college football history since 1970. *1981: #8

avenged its loss from the previous year by defeating the #7

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, coming off a loss to

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

the week before, traveled to Starkville to take on the #19

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Bobby Humphrey Bobby Gene Humphrey (born October 11, 1966) is a former professional American football player who played for the Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins in the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Alabama. Colleg ...

rushed for a then- school-record 284 yards. *1996:

, 8–1 and ranked #10, fell to the 3–5

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Jackie Sherrill Jackie Wayne Sherrill (born November 28, 1943) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head football coach at Washington State University (1976), the University of Pittsburgh (1977–1981), Texas A&M University (1982–1988), a ...

his first win over his alma mater Alabama. Alabama, who missed an extra point earlier in the game, drove to the Mississippi State 39-yard line in the final minute but turned the ball over on downs. Alabama went on to win the SEC West anyway. *1999: The

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Crimson Tide, looking for their fourth straight win in the series. However, Alabama defeated MSU 19–7, aided by three turnovers, a blocked punt, and what Mississippi State fans considered to be a pair of "questionable" holding penalties. The win clinched the SEC West for the Crimson Tide and ended the Bulldogs' bid for their second undefeated season. *2006:

traveled to Tuscaloosa looking for its first SEC win of the season, while

came in at 6–3. The game featured a pick-6 by each defense, and the Bulldogs stuffed Tide quarterback

John Parker Wilson John Parker Wilson (born October 17, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. Wilson played college football at the University of Alabama. He went undrafted during the 2009 NFL Draft before signing with the Atlanta Falcons. College caree ...

just outside the goal line to end the first half.

Anthony Dixon Anthony Rishard "Boobie" Dixon (born September 24, 1987) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football for Mississippi State University ...

ran for 121 yards, and the Bulldog defense held the Tide out of the end zone in the second half to seal the upset win. *2007: The

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

17–12. The Bulldog defense held the Tide out of the end zone the entire game, and cornerback Anthony Johnson returned

's intercepted pass for 100 yards and a touchdown with 4 seconds to go in the first half. *2012: The

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. In the buildup to the game, Mississippi State fans used

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

to display "#WeBelieve 8–0" messages from all over the world, even including the

statue outside

Bryant–Denny Stadium Bryant–Denny Stadium is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States, on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. It is the home field of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Opene ...

, and many bloggers declared it to be the biggest game in Mississippi State's history. However, the game did not live up to the hype—Alabama won handily, 38–7, holding the Bulldogs to only 47 rushing yards. *2014: The

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Crimson Tide. Mississippi State had earned the #1 spot in all polls including the new College Football Playoff Rankings after defeating three top–10 teams in a row (#8

, #6

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, and #2

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

). The 99th game of the series between the two schools was considered by many to be the biggest game of the rivalry. After getting their opening points by tackling running back Josh Robinson in the Bulldogs' own endzone for a safety, Alabama went on to defeat the Bulldogs 25–20. Mississippi State quarterback

Dak Prescott Rayne Dakota Prescott (born July 29, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Mississippi State, where he twice received first-team All- SEC honors, a ...

, who had been considered a Heisman Trophy frontrunner for much of the 2014 season, became the conference leader in interceptions after throwing three picks during this game. *2017: The 16th ranked

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

on a crazy night where two of the top three teams in the CFP Rankings lost ( #1 Georgia and #3 Notre Dame). Alabama ended up rallying from a fourth quarter deficit due to a

Jalen Hurts Jalen Alexander Hurts (born August 7, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played his first three seasons of college football at Alabama, where he was part of the team t ...

26-yard TD pass to

DeVonta Smith DeVonta Smith ( ; born November 14, 1998) is an American football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, where he recorded over 1,800 yards with 23 touchdowns as a ...

with 25 seconds remaining and the Tide survived in a 31–24 thriller.

Game results

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alabama-Mississippi State football rivalry College football rivalries in the United States Alabama Crimson Tide football Mississippi State Bulldogs football

Notable games

Game results

See also

Notes

References