Mississippi State has only played in one SEC Championship game, and they made sure to keep it exciting, taking the lead over the No. 1 ranked Tennessee Volunteers with under nine minutes to play.
Very few expected the Bulldogs to be in that game in 1998. A few publications even had Mississippi State pegged to finish last in the division, but when it all sorted out, the Bulldogs were SEC West champions and headed to Atlanta.
Mississippi State trailed 10-7 with nine minutes to play. The Volunteers were forced to punt, and Bob Griese accurately predicted that Prentiss might find a way to take one to the house.
Sadly, the Mississippi State enthusiasm and dreams of a trip to a BCS bowl would be short-lived as Tennessee scored three plays later. The Bulldogs had not done much on offense all night; in fact, the only other touchdown scored by Mississippi State came on a 70-yard interception return by Robert Bean. Given the struggles of the Bulldogs' offense that night, the proverbial writing was on the wall.
Here is an interesting perspective of the game from a Tennessee fan.