The Other 1980 Bulldogs

Coach Bellard's Dogs were tough in 1980
The Other 1980 Bulldogs

As soon has someone hears the year 1980, 3 things come to mind: Ronald Reagan, the U.S. Hockey Team, and Herschel Walker. Georgia's unbeaten season that was capped with a Sugar Bowl victory over Notre Dame is the stuff of legend. However, in the shadow of that historic Georgia team was another successful yet forgotten set of Bulldogs. Coming off a 3-8 campaign in 1979, Mississippi State was on no one's radar for 1980. Head coach Emory Ballard, inventor of the wishbone offense, had previously been successful at Texas A&M.

Led by a stiff defense and option quarterback John Bond, the Bulldogs began the season 3-0 before dropping a heartbreaker to Florida in Gainsville, 21-15. Following a win over Illinois, State was stopped cold by in-state overachiever Southern Miss. With 18th ranked Miami playing host to the now 4-2 men in maroon, the season was teetering on the brink of getting out of control. With outstanding performances from their 4 All SEC players, the Dogs upset the favored Hurricanes in a thriller, 34-31. State would need the confidence and momentum as they returned home to face Auburn and Alabama in consecutive weeks. The Tigers struggled within the conference that year, but were unbeaten against non conference foes and were coming off of an 8-3 year in 1979. In other words, Auburn would be no cakewalk. They tested State mightily, Ballard's boys held off defeat 24-21. This would set up a showdown between the now 6-2 Bulldogs and the #1 ranked team in the nation and winners of 28 straight game, the Alabama Crimson Tide. Lead by legendary coach Bear Bryant, Alabama was the defending national champions and were led by a bruising defense.

There would be very little offense that first day of Novemeber, as neither side could muster much of a ground game. Mississippi State found itself up 6-3 as time was winding down. With the Tide pushing toward the endzone, the crowd in Jackson found itself restless in anticipation of a climatic ending. The hometown fans weren't let down as freshman defensive end Billy Jackson recovered a fumble inside the Bulldog 5 yard line with 6 seconds left. The upset shocked the Southeast as the Crimson Tide were knocked from their spot atop the polls, and opened the door for Vince Dooley's Georgia team to seize both the conference and national titles.

Following the great victory against the Tide, State turned its attention to the Tigers from Louisiana State. The option attack was clicking as the Bulldogs steamed to a 55-31 victory. The now 8-2 Bulldogs capped off the magic season with a 19-14 Egg Bowl win over its in-state rival, the "snobs" from Oxford, the Ole Miss Rebels. Following the regular season, Mississippi State accepted an invitation to play powerful Nebraska in the Sun Bowl. The Husker defense turned in a stellar performance as the Dogs fell 31-17.

Even though the loss to Florida prevented State from winning the SEC, and the bowl game loss ended the season on a sour note, the season was a noteworthy one for the Bulldogs. The landmark wins over Miami and Alabama helped cause the Bulldogs to be labeled "giant killers". Between the 1980 season and 2005, Mississippi State defeated 17 teams ranked in the Top 25. Not all, but most were considered upsets. For a program that has not won on a consistent basis, Mississippi State enjoyed a special season in 1980 that many fans still celebrate. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs from Athens took all the national attention away from those from Starkville.

Justin F. Cannon
Jcannon66@gmail.com