Remembering the Jackie Sherrill era at Mississippi State, the most important HC Hire

With Sherrills lawsuit reaching an end, I think it is a great time to remember the Jackie Sherrill era at MSU. Who is the most important HC in MSU FB history.

At the time of Sherrill's hire, SI wrote a smear piece in attempts to mock both Sherrill and MSU as both inferior pawns who desperately needed one another.

quote:

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You can't imagine what that sort of talk means to Bulldog fans until you understand how much frustration they have endured over the years, and how much ridicule they have absorbed. Starkville (pop. 18,000) may be the most aptly named college town in America. It lies in flat, drab farmland in northeast Mississippi, far removed from an interstate highway and 18 miles from the nearest commercial airport. It has always been the Southeastern Conference's most forlorn outpost, everybody's least-favorite road trip

So Sherrill, who would have laughed at Mississippi State as recently as a couple of years ago, told Zacharias and Templeton what a "great opportunity" he saw in Starkville. They liked that, because they had probably never heard it before.

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It is amazing to me reading these older articles how shitty these writers have always been. If you care to read more LINK

This hire was monumental. No coach at MSU had any success since Allyn McKeen(who coached in the 1940's). Not even Darrell Royal would stay long enough to do anything significant. Emory Bellard relied on Bob Tylers players. Tyler is arguably State's best coach in the pre modern era, but the NCAA shadow makes his record look worse than it appears due to BS violations. More on that later when we explore Sherrills time with the NCAA(I will not go into his trouble at Texas A&M in that regard).

1991: the beginning of the modern era for Mississippi State Football, and just 1 year before the 1st SEC Expansion. Jackie Sherrill is hired, and the Egg Bowl is moved back to campuses. Another interesting note is that the Southern Mississippi series ended this year. And this was the turning point of State never competing with Southern Mississippi in the sport again.

Sherrill would beat Cal State Fullerton in his first win as MSU's Football coach before taking on the Texas Longhorns in an intresting timing to say the least to face them. Odd the great mighty Texas Longhorns had no problem finding their way into Starkville, and they certainly wanted to find their way out quickly as the KANG defeated the #13 team 13-6 in a game that not only was State's biggest since 1980, but proved that Sherrill was going to show something State has not seen in 5 decades: a winner.

Sherrill would get his first SEC Win over Kentucky after dropping his first 2 SEC games to Tennessee and Florida. His first SEC road win over Auburn sparked a great late season run which inluded a TD loss at Alabama(a team that shutout State the previous year) and a win at LSU which stunningly would be the last win at Tiger Stadium for MSU until 23 years later(and State would only beat LSU one more time in this span). Finally Jackie gets a huge win over Mississippi(their first in Starkville vs the Rebels since 1942) who had won 7 of the last 8 games over the Bulldogs and this led a definitive final statement on the season that Mississippi State was not around to be pushed around in the SEC anymore. This is a new MSU and it was a battle to even get that perception(a battle that I still fight to this day).

1992: State would ultimately lose their bowl game in the 1991 season and that would not change in 1992. State was preseason ranked in 1992 and began the season in Austin Texas. Which is when the legendary story of how Jackie Sherill castrated a bull at a football practice. LINK

This was the first year of the SEC Divisons and Mississippi State was assigned to the SEC West with Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, and Ole Miss. They were assigned "permeant SEC Eastern Division Opponents" in South Carolina and Kentucky.

Sherrill began the SEC home slate with Florida in Starkville, MSU had been paid by FL in recent years to play their home games in Orlando and Jacksonville, so to be able to host Florida was big for State as Spurriers Gators were ranked #13. State would embarss Florida on Thursday Night ESPN television, but it came at a price. Sleepy Robinson, the starting QB, got injured. And this ultimately cost MSU a chance at the first ever SEC Championship Game.

State would drop a game in SC but they would take ALabama down to the wire before losing to them in Starkville, and ended the season with a brutual Egg Bowl loss before dropping a bowl game to UNC.

1993: not much memorable about this season, State would tie Arkansas in Little Rock, which was their only non loss to Arkansas on the road until 2013. But ultimately a 4-5-2 season was highlighted by another Egg Bowl victory, and an ALabama forfeited win.

1994: The best record in the Sherrill era thus far was this 8-4 season which included States first win in Oxford since 1970. And a win vs the great Peyton Manning in Starkville. and yet another Peach Bowl loss. Which was a talking point now being 0-3 in bowl games.

1995: 3-8 Yuck

1996: State started out the season 3-5 heading into a battle with number 8 Alabama in Starkville. Arguably one of the best wins in school history, the bulldogs get their first(on the field) win over Alabama since 1980 and would begin a stretch of winning over Alabama that State has not seen even to this day. One of the many highlights of the Sherrill, beating Alabama ultimately pushed Stallings out, and made Alabama realize that another SEC program was here to compete. State would end the season with a shutout win in Oxford and this would build some momentum for years to come.