Oral History: Former Bulldogs weigh in on MSU-ALABAMA series

By KRISTEN SPINK
 In 1996, the underrated Mississippi State University Bulldogs hosted the No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide. In a game televised on national TV, State upset the Tide 17-16.

On State’s final drive of the game, sophomore tight end Reggie Kelly caught a 69-yard pass to set up the game-winning field goal by Brian Hazelwood.

Kelly and Hazelwood went on to defeat Alabama the final two years of their careers.

Kelly:I remember that game as if it was yesterday. It was my sophomore year at Mississippi State, and we had had a mediocre year thus far until we played the Alabama Crimson Tide. They were ranked high nationally, and they were expected to come down to Starkville and pretty much run the table with us.

Nobody gave us a chance to win that game. It was a nationally-televised game, so we wanted to make sure we put our A-game out there on the field, and we did just that. Instead of them dominating the game, we did the opposite and defended our turf, defended our home and ended up beating them.

I can remember that key play when I caught that 69-yard pass. Derrick Taite rolled and boot-legged out to the left, and I ran a drag route about 10 yards deep, and he threw a perfect spiral right to my hands. I can remember I wanted to really make a big play for my team. I did whatever it took to do that. Toward the end of the play, I ended up running out of gas, and the Crimson Tide player caught me from behind, but I think it was a big play, and it definitely got our fans back into the play and definitely set Brian Hazelwood up for the field goal.

It was a big night. After the game, the fans and students bombarded the field and tore the goalposts down. It’s a thing I will always remember.

Hazelwood:We had played them really close up to that point. Right before that Reggie Kelly had caught a really long pass.

Alabama was the place where I learned how to kick at their kicking camp, so I kind of liked Alabama out of high school because I had learned from them, and  I thought I maybe had an opportunity to go play for them coming out of high school. But they got hit with sanctions, and the best thing that ever happened to me was being able to come to Mississippi State, so knowing going into that I could go back and beat a team that I did like growing up, Alabama, and feeling like I could win a game for the team.

Going out on the field, the team had put us in a really good situation, and so that was my opportunity to win it.

This weekend, the rivalry continues as MSU travels to Tuscaloosa to take on the No. 1 Crimson Tide. Kelly and Hazelwood said they believe going in as the underdog puts a chip on the Bulldogs’ shoulder.

Kelly:It’s going to be a great game in a great atmosphere. It’s two teams undefeated and two SEC rival teams, so it doesn’t get much better than that. I think this is what SEC football is all about, the best of the best competing on a great stage in a great hostile environment.

Whenever you’re the underdog and going up against a team that’s heavily favored, those are pretty much what dreams are made of. Those are the kinds of games you dreamed of when you were a kid, going up against the odds and shocking the world. We’ve seen it happen time and time again, and nothing could be more evident than that 1996 season when we shocked Alabama, so I know our guys can do it.

Whenever you’re an underdog, that puts a chip on your shoulder. That’s what we had back then, and that’s what the team has right now. A chip is on your shoulder where you feel like you’re not being respected and feel like you’re not getting the credit due, and Alabama is a great team and a dominant force in all of collegiate football, but yet as a Mississippi State Bulldog right now, you want to earn that respect and let the world know that you can compete, and not only compete, but beat a really high-caliber type of team like an Alabama Crimson Tide.

I think the guys are going to play with tremendous passion. They’ll be playing for respect with a chip on their shoulder, and when teams have those three factors in the mix, they normally play extremely well.

Hazelwood: One of the big things in football or any sport is momentum and having a confidence in who you are as a team and how the game flows. In football especially, it’s a game of turnovers and field position, so the guys coming in this week being 7-0 and having the momentum with the whole season, I feel like having a chip on your shoulder never hurts.

I feel like these guys feel the same way we did. We always had a chip on our shoulder. We never really got the respect we deserved, and we were a lot better than what people always predicted us to be, and I think that’s just a part of being at Mississippi State in general for the most part.

Alabama is a great team. There is no doubt. They have so many NFL players on their team right now, so just being able to play with those guys and be able to get a win would be one of the biggest in the history of Mississippi State because of the ramifications it would play on where we would stand in the West and putting us at 8-0.

Even my senior year in ’98 when we beat Alabama and went to the SEC Championship that year, we had still lost three games, so being 8-0 at this point with the opportunity to move forward and advance would be huge for the program.

Kelly has been impressed with the play of the tight ends this year, and Hazelwood knows the atmosphere in Tuscaloosa will be one to remember.

Kelly: My young tight ends are really making a big impact for the Mississippi State offense. Those guys are playing extremely well.