MISSISSIPPIGAME STATE THIRTEEN UNIVERSITY Primary Contact: Joe Galbraith • [email protected] • Office - 662.325.0967 • Cell - 662.418.3970 Secondary Contact: Kyle NiblettMississippi • [email protected] State • Office (8-4, - 662.325.0972 4-4 SEC)• Cell - 662.418.9139 vs. Game One • Mississippi State (0-0, 0-0 SEC) at Memphis (0-0,Northwestern 0-0 C-USA) • Thursday, Sept. 1, (9-3,2011 • Liberty 5-3 Bowl Big • 7:10 p.m.Ten) CT • FSN Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013 - EverBank Field - 12 p.m. ET - ESPN2 eneral ame nformatIon G G I BULLDOGS SET FOR 2013 GATOR BOWL TURNOVERS HAVE GENERALLY TOLD STORY Mississippi State closes the 2012 season with its third-straight In recent seasons, no stat has been a better harbinger of suc- Team InformaTIon & STaTS trip to a postseason bowl game. The Bulldogs will face No. 17 cess for the Bulldogs than turnover margin. Over the last four MISSISSIPPI STATE NORTHWESTERN Northwestern on New Year’s Day in the TaxSlayer.com Gator seasons, State has won 23 of 25 games when victorious in the NR / NR / NR . .Ranking (AP / USA Today / BCS) . 17 / 21 / 20 Bowl at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. The game will be turnover column. Conversely, the Bulldogs have won just five Dan Mullen . Head Coach . Pat Fitzgerald televised nationally by ESPN2, and is scheduled to kick off at times out of 15 when losing the turnover battle. 29-21 . Career Record . .49-39 12 p.m ET. At the end of the regular season, MSU was tied for fifth 29-21 . Record at School . .49-39 Bob Wischusen, Danny Kanell and Allison Williams will call nationally with a plus-17 turnover margin. The Bulldogs are tied 2012 STATS the action on television, while Jim Ellis, Matt Wyatt and John for ninth nationally with 31 forced turnovers. 8-4 . Record . 9-3 Correrro will have the radio call on the Bulldog Sports Network. 4-4 . Conference Record . 5-3 NEARLY DONE AT HALF, CERTAINTY AFTER THREE 30.2 . Points Per Game . 31.5 MSU LOOKING TO EXTEND NATION’S LONGEST BOWL Since Dan Mullen took over the Mississippi State program 22.4 . Points Allowed Per Game . 22.8 WINNING STREAK in 2009, the Bulldogs have won 25 of 27 games led at halftime. Mississippi State defeated Wake Forest, 23-17, in last year’s Even more impressively, State has won all 28 games in which 389.4 . Total Offense Per Game . 397.8 Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, a fifth-straight it had a lead entering the fourth quarter. Overall, the Bulldogs 140.7 . Rushing Yards Per Game . 230.9 bowl victory, tied with Rutgers for the nation’s longest active have a 38-game winning streak when up to begin the fourth. 248.8 . Passing Yards Per Game . 166.8 bowl winning streak. 389.9 . Yards Allowed Per Game . .385.3 The Bulldogs are making their third-straight bowl appear- PASSING OFFENSE HAS BEEN RECORD-BREAKING 166.0 . Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game . 122.8 ance for the second time in school history (1998-2000) and are The Tyler Russell-led Mississippi State passing attack has 223.9 . Passing Yards Allowed Per Game . 262.6 looking to capture a bowl victory in three-straight years for the broken five different single-season team records: yards (2,985), INDIVIDUAL COMPARISON first time in school history. yards per game (248.8), completions (237), completion percent- Tyler Russell . Leading Passer . .Trevor Siemian age (.600) and touchdowns (26). 219-366-6-2791 yds-22 TD 116-197-2-1192 yds-6 TD MSU AND NORTHWESTERN MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME Led by Russell, MSU has passed for 300-yards in three-straight LaDarius Perkins . .Leading Rusher . Venric Mark For the third-straight bowl game, State will be playing an games (Nov. 10-24) for the first time in school history. The 186 att.-940 yds.-8 TD 213 att.-1310 yds-11 TD opponent for the first time in its history. While the Bulldogs Bulldogs have also thrown for over 300 yards four times in 2012, Chad Bumphis . Leading Receiver . Christian Jones and Northwestern have never met on the gridiron, MSU owns a tying the 1978 passing attack for the school record. 55 rec.-904 yds-12 TD 32 rec.-303 yds-0 TD 3-7-1 all-time record against Big Ten teams, including a 1-3 mark Cameron Lawrence . Leading Tackler . Damien Proby at neutral sites. 300-YARD PASSING GAMES IN SCHOOL HISTORY The last time MSU faced an Big Ten opponent was against 111 tackles, 10.0 TFL, 4.0 Sacks, 2 INT 108 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 0.5 Sacks Year 300-Yard Passing Games Consecutive Games W/300 Michigan in the 2011 TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl. The 52 points 2012 4 3 scored in the 52-14 triumph marked a new school record for ISSISSIppI TaTe chedule 1978 4 2 2012 m S S points scored in a bowl game. Date Opponent Result/Time 1999 2 2 1988 2 0 Sept. 1 JACKSON STATE (FSN) W, 56-9 MULLEN CAN MAKE HISTORY WITH GATOR BOWL WIN 1993 2 0 Sept. 8 * AUBURN (ESPN) W, 28-10 Should Head Coach Dan Mullen pick up the win vs. 2002 2 0 Sept. 15 at Troy (ESPN3) W, 30-24 Northwestern, he will become the only coach in the 113-year Sept. 22 SOUTH ALABAMA (PPV) W, 30-10 history of MSU football to capture nine wins in a season twice. 2010 2 0 Oct. 6 * at Kentucky (SEC Network) W, 27-14 Additionally, the fourth-year coach is trying to become the first Oct. 13 * TENNESSEE (ESPN2) W, 41-31 coach in school history to win three bowl games. BANKS WINS 2012 JIM THORPE AWARD Oct. 20 MIDDLE TENNESSEE (ESPN2) W, 45-3 Mullen’s 2012 squad is aiming to become the sixth team in All-American defensive back Johnthan Banks was named Oct. 27 * at Alabama (ESPN) L, 7-38 school history to win at least nine games (10 in 1940 and 1999; 9 the winner of the 2012 Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the Nov. 3 * TEXAS A&M (ESPN) L, 13-38 in 1974, 1980 and 2010). best defensive back in college football. Banks is the first player in Nov. 10 * at LSU (ESPN) L, 17-37 school history to win a major individual national award Nov. 17 * ARKANSAS (SEC NETWORK) W, 45-14 SPECIAL SENIOR CLASS The Maben, Miss., native and senior team captain was named Nov. 24 * at Ole Miss (ESPNU) L, 24-41 With an overall record of 29-21, the Mississippi State 2012 an All-American by nine different media outlets this past month, Jan. 1 vs. Northwestern (ESPN2) [Gator Bowl] 12 p.m. ET senior class is the winningest senior class in over a decade (the including first team honors from Walter Camp, FWAA, Phil Steele, 2001 class went 29-19), and only the fourth senior class to win Lindy’s and Scout. SerIeS hISTory 29 games since the end of World War II. BULLDOG QB JOINING SEC’S ALL-TIME GREATS Overall Series Record: . .Never Met Should the senior class nab a victory on Jan. 1, they will finish With 202 total yards in the Gator Bowl, junior quarterback in Jacksonville: . Never Met with the most triumphs by a senior class since the 2000 group Tyler Russell will become the 31st player in the 80-year history Last meeting: . Never Met collected 33 wins. They are just third senior class at MSU to play in three bowl games. of the SEC to join the 3,000 yard club for total offense in a single in Jacksonville: . Never Met season. Of the 25 members of the club that are done playing col- Last 10 meetings: . .Never Met NON-CONFERENCE DOMINANCE lege football, 16 have played in NFL, six have been drafted first Current Series Win Streak: . .Never Met With a 45-3 homecoming victory again Middle Tennessee overall in the NFL Draft, eight have been first-round draft picks and six have played in Super Bowl. roadcaST nformaTIon State on Oct. 20, MSU won its 15th-straight non-conference B I Additionally, with a 1:61 interception to passing attempt Kickoff . 11 a.m. CT game, the second-longest streak in school history. Should the Bulldogs win in the Gator Bowl, the streak will ratio, Russell currently ranks ninth in a single season in SEC TV . ESPN2 (Bob Wischusen, Danny Kanell & Allison Williams) history in that category (min. 300 attempts). Five of the eight Radio . Mississippi State Radio Network extend to 16, which is two shy of the school-record 18-game winning streak against non-league foes from 1941-47. Under players ahead of him on the list have either won a national Announcers . .Jim Ellis, Matt Wyatt and John Correro championship in college or a Super Bowl professionally. XM Radio Network . Channel 195 Dan Mullen, the Bulldogs are an astounding 16-2 against teams Sirius Radio Network . Channel 123 outside the SEC. in Starkville . 107.9 WFCA Wednesday 26 Thursday 27 Friday 28 Saturday 29 Sunday 30 Monday 31 Tuesday 1 2 p.m. 10 a.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 12 p.m. 11:30 a.m. 12 p.m. Arrival Press Conference Practice at UNF Practice at UNF FCA Breakfast at Celebration Players visit Wolfson Children’s Press Conference with Coach Kickoff vs. Northwestern (Sawgrass Marriott Resort) Church Hospital Mullen and Team Captains 12 p.m. 3 p.m. (Hyatt Regency Hotel) Postgame 6 p.m.