The LSU–Mississippi State football rivalry, sometimes informally known as Cowbells vs Cajuns, is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

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 ...

between the LSU Tigers and Mississippi State Bulldogs. Both universities are founding members of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC), and are currently members of the SEC West with a total of 117 meetings. This rivalry is LSU's longest and Mississippi State's second behind the

Egg Bowl The Egg Bowl (traditionally named the “Battle for the Golden Egg”) is the name given to the Mississippi State–Ole Miss football rivalry. It is an American college football college rivalry, rivalry game played annually between Southeastern ...

against the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

. LSU leads the series 75–36–3.

History

From 1923 to 1930, every game was played in the state of

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, and LSU hosted every game from 1934 to 1957, and only four games in the series were played outside of

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

from 1934 to 1973 in order for State to realize a larger gate by playing at Tiger Stadium, which had a much larger capacity than the Bulldogs' home fields in Starkville and Jackson.The Knights Who Say
Bayou Blogger Relocated
Retrieved June 21, 2014. Due to SEC expansion, the schools will not play each other in 2024 and 2025, the first break in the series since 1943, when the Maroons did not field a team during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The 2024 season marked the first time since 1925 the schools did not meet in a season in which both fielded a team.

Notable games

*1991: William "Sleepy" Robinson led

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

to a 28–19 victory in Tiger Stadium.

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

's Todd Kinchen had a then-school record 248 receiving yards in the loss. *1999: The #7 Bulldogs gutted out a 17–16 win over the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

at Scott Field. Rod Gibson the clinching touchdown in closing minutes. *2000: After falling behind 31–17, the

rallied to beat the Bulldogs 45–38 in overtime. *2009:

outgained the

by over 100 yards and drove down to the 1 yard line in the final minute, but a goal-line stand by LSU saved the lead for a 30–26 Tiger win. *2014:

Dak Prescott Rayne Dakota Prescott (; born July 29, 1993) is an American professional football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, twice earning first-team ...

led the then-unranked Bulldogs to a 34–29 upset in Baton Rouge, snapping the

' 14-game win streak in the series. The Bulldogs actually led 34–10 in the fourth quarter, but LSU scored 3 late touchdowns to almost close the gap. However, the Tigers'

Hail Mary The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the ...

on the final play was intercepted by Will Redmond. Josh Robinson ran for 197 yards for the Bulldogs. This was Mississippi State's first win over LSU since 1999, and their first on the road in Baton Rouge since 1991. Mississippi State reached #1 in the rankings a few weeks later, and finished 10–3 on the season. *2017:

came into Starkville ranked #12 under first-year head coach

Ed Orgeron Edward James Orgeron Jr. (; born July 27, 1961), nicknamed "Coach O", is an American former American football, college football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at Louisiana State University (LSU), a position he held from midw ...

, but it was the unranked Bulldogs who won in a 37–7 rout. Nick Fitzgerald threw two touchdown passes and ran in two more, and the Bulldogs outgained the Tigers 465–270. It was also the first win over LSU at home in Starkville for the Bulldogs since 1999 and the first time they beat a ranked LSU team there since 1984. *2022: Brian Kelly, in his SEC debut for the Tigers, led the team to a 31–16 comeback victory in Tiger Stadium. LSU Nickel Back Jay Ward earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors following his impressive performance. Ward finished with 11 tackles, along with 1.5 tackles for loss and the game-sealing interception.

Game results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:LSU-Mississippi State football rivalry College football rivalries in the United States LSU Tigers football Mississippi State Bulldogs football

History

Notable games

Game results

See also

References