On to our 4th matchup in the greatest games Sweet 16/poll/event of a lifetime we're engaged in...'98 vs. the Pigs facing the 1941 Orange Bowl.

1998 vs. #9 Arkansas

In 1998, Arkansas started the year 8-0 under first year head coach Houston Nutt. They played at #12 (and eventual national champion) Tennessee and lost in what became known as the Clint Stoener fumble game. Despite the loss they moved up from #10 in the polls to #9 - and they could still clinch the SEC West with a victory in this game.

But the Dawgs and Wayne Madkin had something different in mind. Madkin (freshman - threw for 224 yards) led a three-minute drive where he hit Kelvin Love to convert on 3rd & 18 and then a few plays later he hit Kevin Cooper to convert on 4th & 15. Brian Hazelwood booted a 27 yard field goal through uprights (barely) which were soon taken down by the students. MSU 22, Arkansas 21. The win gave State the tiebraker (both teams finished 6-2) they needed to win the West and advance to the SEC Championship Game. Here's the video:

Mississippi State vs. Arkansas, 1998 (via BulldogOzzy)

1941 vs. #9 Georgetown

Not to be confused with the 1941 season, this Orange Bowl went with the 1940 season - one that saw 2nd year head coach Allyn McKeen bring an undefeated 9-0-1 record to Miami, FL to face the 8-1 Hoyas.

I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't at the game nor did I even listen on the transistor radio. But I can give you a few facts, like: this is the only time Mississippi State ever won one of the bowl games in the current BCS (2nd appearance in the Orange Bowl - 1937 loss to Duquesne). The victory also sealed the program's only undefeated season (with the exception of 1903, which only had 5 games and 3 wins). Here's the video:

1941 Orange Bowl Highlights (via sparky39762)

- Great win last night against Kentucky. Taking the series from UK was just what the doctor ordered. State had to overcome some horrible calls by the umpires in Game 2, my good buddy Dirty Panda profiles them here. Now, hopefully State has locked up a 2 seed. Maybe we can move up enough not to face one of the national Top 8 seeds.

- MSU is now 15-14 in SEC play, tied with Vandy and Arkansas. As of now, Vandy is the 5 seed, MSU the 6 and ARK the 7. UGA is 8th at 14-14 and Ole Miss 9th at 14-15.

- Johnathon Holder has really come on strong - his name suggests he was born to be a closer. With a save in both games he now has 6, and still has a 0.00 E.R.A. You know your pitching staff is good when your All-American closer loses his job even though he has an E.R.A. under 3 (Caleb Reed).

- Did you know: Chris Stratton is the first MSU pitcher since Paul Maholm in 2002 to have 10 wins?

- Where you able to catch my 6 biggest 'what ifs' in MSU history this week? If you missed any of them, here are the links..

#6 - What if the 2001 and 2002 Recruiting Classes Would Have Panned Out

#5 - What if the 2005 Basketball Class Would Have Worked Out

#4 - What if Xavier Wouldn't Have Shot Lights Out in 2004

#3 - What if State Had Claimed the 1941 National Title

#2 - What if MSU Had Played All Home Games in Starkville

#1 - What if Cam Newton Had Come to State

I tried to keep it to 'what ifs' that would have made MSU better. One that probably could top list would be: what if State had never joined the SEC? Honorable mentions to this list were: what if the 1985 baseball team had won the College World Series and what if we could have played in the NCAA Tourney under Babe McCarthy (more than the one time).

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Could there big a bigger what if than this? Cam Newton - for all intents and purposes - was headed to Mississippi State until Auburn suddenly popped up on his radar and BAM - he heads for the plains.

We all know the story. Cam's father, Cecil Newton, wanted $180,000 for his son to play at Mississippi State. MSU would not pay, and so daddy made the decision for him - and from everything we know Cam Newton wanted to play for Dan Mullen in Starkville.

We're still unclear if the "money was too great" or if Cecil just didn't get the right price for his "rented mule"...but Auburn is off the hook and has a national championship to show for whatever they did or didn't do. Bottom line is...Cam Newton was an unbelievable talent, a runaway Heisman Trophy winner, who took an above average team and made them great.

But what if he had come to MSU like it seemed he would in December of '09? State was an above average team themselves in 2010. Would the Dawgs have been national champions? I think so.

Let's go game by game...
Memphis - easy win.
Auburn - obviously State wins since the Tigers don't have Newton and we do.
LSU - State threw 5 INTs and lost 29-7..it was an exhibition of how not to play quarterback. Considering how fragile LSU was at the time and how Newton wouldn't have done that, I think MSU wins this one even if it was in Baton Rouge.
Georgia - We won this one anyway.
Alcorn State, Houston - Easy wins.
Florida - It's not 10-7, it's 27-7.
UAB, Kentucky - no contest.
Alabama - State was obviously blown away in this game, 30-10. It's hard to say whether Cam Newton would have been able to overcome that considering the loss of Nick Bell prior to the game. But considering these two facts I think the Bulldogs would have won: 1. Newton withstood all the pressures of a pending investigation and allegations of cheating during the entire month of November and still played great. 2. He overcame a 24-0 deficit that year, in Tuscaloosa, in the most heated rivalry in all of sports.
Arkansas - This game went into double OT, I think with Newton it's safe to say State wins in regulation.
Ole Miss - haha, win.

SEC Championship Game vs. South Carolina - Ah, win.

BCS Title Game vs. Oregon - This was the one big game where Newton didn't dominate, and that's why they only won by a field goal. Nick Fairley was huge in that game - would State have been able to make those plays? Well, of course, I will say yes...Pernell McPhee, Fletcher Cox and Co. could have gotten it done.

The biggest argument anyone could make against this would be regarding Nick Fairley's impact on Auburn's run. That's undeniable, Fairley might very well have been the single best defensive player in the nation. But his supporting cast? MSU's defense gave up 5 points per game less than the Auburn D which had the services of Fairley. State's D also had Fletcher Cox, Pernell McPhee, K.J. Wright, Chris White and Charles Mitchell who were all drafted into the NFL (over the next two years; Banks, Broomfield and Boyd likely to make it 8 after 2013 draft).

Maybe the second best argument someone could make would be that Cam Newton wouldn't have flourished under Dan Mullen/Les Koenning/Mark Hudspeth as much as he did under Gus Malzahn. That's easy to debunk: Alex Smith and Tim Tebow...and Chris Leak too.

It's too bad MSU wasn't able to have the services of Cam Newton for one year - it could have been a great ride. Even if we would have gone from 5 wins to 14, and back to 5 again. What if. What if.

For many Bulldog fans, the "good ole days" refers back to 1998-2000 when Mississippi State looked to be on the verge of being the next major break through program. Over the course of those three seasons, the Bulldogs won several games that made this list, but only in this match are two of those memorable wins pitted against each other.

It's time to decide, which game moves down the path to glory: MSU knocking off No. 3 Florida or the thrilling win over Texas A&M in the Snow Bowl.

MISSISSIPPI STATE (NR) 47 vs. University of Florida (#3) 35

If Mississippi State fans remember anything about this game, they probably remember the phrase: 3^rd and 57. That's right. The vaunted Florida offense had been rattled by the Bulldog defense, and when you combine that with a quarterback switch, bad things happen.

Mississippi State opened the 2000 season where they had closed out the 1999 season, on a winning note. However, a trip to Columbia resulted in a Mississippi State loss, and the Bulldogs dropped out of the polls before playing host to the Gators on the CBS game of the week on September 30.

At that time, many experts considered Scott Field one of the most difficult places to pull off a victory. The Bulldogs quickly showed why when they jumped out to an early 5-0 lead before taking a 16-11 lead into the half.

The stat that jumps off of the page is that the Bulldogs ran for 351 yards while holding Florida to a -78. Dontae Walker ran for 156 yards and a score, and Dicenzo Miller picked up 172 yards on the ground and a touchdown.

After the game, the goal posts came down, and I still have a piece of the flag. You should also go down the youtube rabbit hole with this game.

Mississippi State 43 vs. Texas A&M 41 (OT)-2000 Independence Bowl

The year 2000 found a way to bring about some amazing football games, and this one became an instant classic. While the play on the field was intense, it was a freak snowstorm that rolled through Shreveport, covering the field in snow. Adding to the intrigue, depending on when you say a century starts and ends, the Bulldogs won the last game of the 21^st century.

The Bulldogs struggled early with the center-quarterback exchange, and Texas A&M jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter. As had been the case for most of the season, the MSU running backs took over.

Dontae Walker put the Bulldogs on the board with a 40 yard run, and Dicenzo Miller scored on a 5-yard screen pass to tie the game.

After the half, the teams battled back and forth. Walker added two more touchdowns, and Wayne Madkin hooked up with Donald Lee on a three-yard touchdown to tie the game and force overtime.

In overtime, the Bulldogs made what might have been the signature play of the game. After A&M scored a touchdown, Willie Blade blocked the point after and Eugene Clinton and Julius Griffith combined to score on the defensive conversion. A few plays later, Madkin found the end zone to a Maroon and definitely WHITE victory.

Here is another youtube rabbit hole.

A few thoughts about both games--We need that logo back on our helmets. Bad.... Also, who has some exciting drive home stories from Shreveport? I heard it took 6 or more hours to get to Jackson.

So what say you Bulldog fans, which of these great games advance?

News and notes will be quick today but there are some things that you guys need to know about. Also, happy Friday!

A word on Friday from my friends above here (Not Safe For Work - Language)

• Most important thing first: State again used strong pitching and got just enough hitting to power past #6 Kentucky 3-1 last night. Another night, another great outing from Chris Stratton, who improved to 10-1 pitching 6 1/3 innings striking out 8 while allowing 6 hits and one measly run. State slugger Wes Rea busted (bursted?) out of a 1 for 41 slump with a 2 RBI single early in the game. That ended up being all the State hurlers needed, as Stratton, Ross Mitchell and Jonathan "Blutarsky" Holder held Kentucky to just 1 run. This pitching staff was again solid across the board as they've been the majority of the year. Groundball machine Kendall Graveman on the bump for the maroon tomorrow as we go for the series win.
  

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Yesterday thecristilmethod detailed our first, 1st round game: '04 vs. Bama vs. '63 vs. Loyola. Don't expect the same kind of amazing graphics and videos here, because well, as my pen name suggest - I am lame and don't know how to do stuff. On to the matchup....

1996 vs. (2 seed - #7 in AP) Cincinnati

If for some reason you were unaware that Mississippi State made the Final Four its one and only time in 1996, well, this is the Elite 8 game that proceeded that. Here's a picture of Erick Dampier on the blocks with 2nd team All-American Danny Fortson courtesy of LIFE:

Like some of the other big wins during the '96 run, Mississippi State got out to an early lead with a hot start. But coming out of halftime Cincy made a run to cut the lead to three, and Dampier got his fourth foul with 11 minutes to go. That's when freshman Tyrone Washington came in to bang around with Fortson.

Washington averaged 1.8 PPG during the regular season, but he managed seven with four rebounds and kept the Bearcats from taking over while Dampier was on the bench. State eventually tore the game open behind Dontae Jones' 23 points and won 73-63; advancing to the Final Four.

2002 vs. #6 Kentucky

After the above game, there were no big basketball victories between then and now: 2002 vs. UK. The program sank a bit, and this game was this official 'coming back to relevance party' for MSU.

Mario Austin went off in this game, here's a picture of him doing so...

Yikes. He had 32 points and 8 rebounds...plus a big play, but I'll get to that in a sec.

Kentucky, led by Tayshaun Price, jumped out to a 21-2 lead in the game. They had a 40-24 halftime lead and a 48-32 lead with 15 minutes to play. State's intensity forced UK turnovers and the Dawgs battled their way back into the game. The day belonged to Mario Austin, and with :07 left he was unguarded as he knocked down his first career 3-pointer (and only one that season) to tie the game and send it into overtime.

In OT, MSU's momentum sealed the victory 74-69.