WATCH: Mississippi State ices ReliaQuest Bowl win with defensive touchdown off lateral attempt
Mississippi State finished the season out the right way in honor of their late coach Mike Leach. After Leach passed away following the season, MSU opted to still play in the ReliaQuest Bowl game against Illinois. On Monday afternoon, the Bulldogs capped off a solid season by beating the Illini to move to 9-4 and end the year on a positive note on the field.
The end of the game was an exciting one as well, as MSU notched two late scores, including a walk-off defensive score as time expired. The Bulldogs actually scored 16 straight points to end the game. Those scores: a touchdown to tie it at 10-10 on the first play of the fourth quarter, a field goal from the 27 with seven seconds left, and a last-play lateral gone awry for Illinois, resulting in Mississippi State scooping up a dropped lateral and running the other way for a touchdown as the clock hit all zeroes.
It was quite the way to end the game, and a real bad break for those who had Illinois +3 before the game. Take a look at this craziness to end the ReliaQuest Bowl:
Illinois actually seemed to be making some dangerous moves to get a decent way down the field, but as the play wore on and more laterals meant more backwards progress, Illinois eventually ran out of fuel, dropping the ball for an MSU defender to pick up straight off the bounce.
A fitting way to end the season. There was definitely something in the air on that Bulldog sideline to help them pull out the win.