Tennessee wide receiver Peerless Price makes what would the go-ahead touchdown catch in the 1998 SEC Championship game. |
The day of December 5, 1998 was an eventful one in the annals of college football as three undefeated teams: The Tennessee Volunteers, the Kansas State Wildcats, and the UCLA Bruins all entered the game with a chance to earn one of the two spots in the inaugural BCS national championship game that would take place at the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona on January 4,1999.
The day began with the #3 Bruins going down to the Miami Hurricanes as running back Edgerrin James ran for 299 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Canes to a 49-45 upset to end UCLA's 20-game winning streak.
A few hours later, the #2 Wildcats were stunned in the Big 12 Championship Game by the Texas A&M Aggies on Brandon Stewart's walk-off 32-yard touchdown pass to Sirr Parker to give the Aggies a 36-33 double overtime victory.
That left the #1 Volunteers as the only one of the three teams standing as they faced the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game.
The Volunteers were the defending SEC Champions as they had won the 1997 SEC Championship with quarterback Peyton Manning at the helm as he threw for 373 yards and four touchdowns in the Vols' 30-29 win over the Auburn Tigers.
Many experts thought they would be a slight decline for the Volunteers coming into the 1998 season as Tee Martin took over for Manning at quarterback who had been selected as the #1 overall pick of the 1998 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts.
However, Martin would lead the Volunteers to a 11-0 regular season which included wins over the Florida Gators, the first win for Tennessee over Florida since 1992 and a 28-24 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks when the Vols cashed in a late Arkansas fumble to score the game-winning touchdown with 28 seconds to go in the game.
What made the undefeated regular season even more remarkable was the fact that the Volunteers had lost starting running back Jamal Lewis, who had rushed for 1,364 yards the previous season, had been lost to a knee injury in the fourth game of the season as the pair of Travis Henry and Travis Stephens would carry the load at running back.
While the Volunteers were seeking a second straight SEC title, the Mississippi State Bulldogs were looking for their first conference title since 1941, the only time Mississippi State had ever won the Southeastern Conference title.
The Bulldogs came into the game with an 8-3 record and a #23 ranking in the AP poll as the Bulldogs clinched the SEC West division title thanks to a 22-21 win over Arkansas two weeks prior to the SEC title game.
While the Bulldogs were two-touchdown underdogs to the Volunteers, their stout defense gave Mississippi State a chance to add even more chaos in the race to determine who would play for the national championship in the Fiesta Bowl.
After both teams went three-and-out to start the game, the Bulldogs got the ball at their 46-yard-line as running back James Johnson ran for 21 yards that with a five-yard face mask penalty on the Vols gave Mississippi State a 1st down at the Tennessee 28-yard-line.
The Volunteer defense would hold the Bulldogs to three yards on the next three yards to force a 38-yard field goal attempt by Brian Hazelwood which sailed wide left to keep the game scoreless.
Tennessee would drive into Mississippi State territory until Martin was sacked by Bulldogs linebacker Larry Campbell for a 11-yard loss which pushed the Vols back onto their side of the field where they would punt the ball back to the Bulldogs.
Following a Mississippi State punt, the Vols got the ball back at their nine-yard-line as they picked up one 1st down before facing a 3rd & 12 at their 18-yard-line when Martin fired a deep pass intended for Peerless Price only to have it be intercepted by Bulldogs cornerback Robert Bean at the Mississippi State 30-yard-line.
Bean would then zigzag his way through the field as he would run the pick back for a 70-yard touchdown to give Mississippi State a 7-0 lead with five seconds left in the first quarter.
Robert Bean gave Mississippi State its first touchdown with a 70-yard pick-six. |
The Vols would begin their next possession at their 20-yard-line as two runs by Henry for eight yards plus an offsides penalty on the Bulldogs gave Tennessee a 1st down at its 32-yard-line when Martin completed a 22-yard pass to Price to put Tennessee at the Mississippi State 40-yard-line.
The Bulldogs defense would hold the Vols offense to five yards on the next three plays which would lead to a Tennessee punt as the Mississippi State offense would take over at their five-yard-line.
A 16-yard run by running back Chris Rainey followed by an illegal procedure penalty would put the Bulldogs at their 21-yard-line where on 1st & 15, quarterback Wayne Madkin would be intercepted by Tennessee free safety Deon Grant, whose 24-yard return gave the Vols the ball at the Mississippi State 20-yard-line.
Two runs by Stephens for a total of seven yards would make it 3rd & 3 when Martin completed an eight-yard pass to Price to give Tennessee a 1st & goal at the Bulldogs' five-yard-line.
From there, Stephens would carry the ball on the next two plays with the second carry being a two-yard touchdown run that with the extra point tied the game at seven with 9:32 left in the second quarter.
After an Mississippi State, the Vols got the ball back at their 33-yard-line when Martin threw a bomb for Jermaine Copeland that would go for 40 yards which was followed by a 19-yard pass to Price to give Tennessee a 1st & goal at the Bulldogs eight-yard-line.
However, the Vols could not punch into the end zone as Martin threw two incomplete passes and was dropped for a six-yard loss to force a 31-yard field goal by John Hall to give Tennessee a 10-7 lead with 5:09 remaining in the first half.
Neither team would mount a scoring threat for the rest of the first half as Tennessee would go into the halftime break still ahead 10-7 and set to get the ball to start the second half.
Tennessee would pick up one 1st down before punting the ball back to the Bulldogs as the third quarter was a defensive stalemate as both teams traded punts until a little over six minutes to go in the carter when Vols linebacker Al Wilson picked off a Madkin pass and returned it for an apparent 32-yard pick-six.
But the touchdown would be negated by an illegal block on the return which meant the Vols offense would take over at the Mississippi State 33-yard-line.
A three-yard run by Henry would bring up 2nd & 7 when Henry fumbled the football as Bulldogs defensive tackle Kevin Sluder made the recovery to give Mississippi State the ball at their 32-yard-line.
The Bulldogs would drive to the Tennessee 47-yard-line before punting the ball back to the Volunteers who would begin their next possession at their 20-yard-line.
A 28-yard pass from Martin to Copeland would once again put Tennessee in Mississippi State territory at the Bulldogs' 48-yard-line only for Martin to throw three straight incomplete passes to force another Tennessee punt.
The Bulldogs would move into Tennessee territory as Madkin completed passes of 11 yards to Kevin Cooper and 15 yards to Kevin Prentiss to put the Bulldogs at the 46-yard-line as the Volunteer defense would allow only one more yard on the next three plays to force a Mississippi State punt.
Taking over at their 12-yard-line, the Vols would turn to Henry as he would get five straight carries for a total of 32 yards until Martin put the ball in the air as he would throw an incomplete pass on 3rd & 8 to force another Tennessee punt.
That is when Prentiss would receive the punt at his 17-yard-line and run it back for an 83-yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 14-10 lead with 8:43 left in the fourth quarter.
With their national championship hopes hanging in the balance, the Vols would begin their next possession at their 25-yard-line as Stephens ran for just one yard on 1st down before Martin completed an eight-yard pass to Copeland to set up 3rd & 1 when the junior quarterback kept the ball himself and run for two yards to pick up the 1st down.
A ten-yard holding penalty on the Bulldogs followed by a 13-yard run by Stephens would give the Vols a 1st & 10 at the Mississippi State 41-yard-line when Martin lofted a pass for Price, who made the catch in the left corner of the end zone for the 41-yard touchdown to give Tennessee a 17-14 lead with 6:15 to go in regulation.
After a 25-yard return by Prentiss on the ensuing kickoff, the Bulldogs would begin their next possession at their 30-yard-line when disaster struck as Madkin coughed up the football after a hit by Tennessee linebacker Corey Terry as fellow linebacker Corey Westmoreland made the recovery at the Mississippi State 26-yard-line.
It would take the Vols just one play to cash in on the fumble as Martin hit Copeland for a 26-yard touchdown, the second Tennessee touchdown in 28 seconds to extend the Volunteers' lead to 24-14 with 5:47 left in regulation.
Tennessee quarterback Tee Martin would throw two touchdown passes in a span of 28 seconds in the fourth quarter. |
The Tennessee defense would force the Bulldogs to go three-and-out on their next possession to give their offense the ball back at their 23-yard-line with 3:54 to play and a chance to run out the clock.
The drive would get off to a good start as Henry would get the ball on three straight plays as he gained 15 yards to give the Vols a 1st down at their 38-yard-line.
An illegal formation penalty would push the Vols back 5 yards to their 33-yard-line where they would face 1st & 15 as Henry would run for 14 yards to set up 2nd & 1 where for 17 yards to give Tennessee a 1st down at the Mississippi State 36-yard-line.
From there, Martin would take two knees to run out the clock as the Volunteers would come away with the 24-14 win to win their second straight SEC championship and more importantly secure a spot in the Fiesta Bowl where they would play for the national championship.
The Bulldogs would get an invitation to play the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl where they would get throttled as the 1998 Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams ran for 203 yards to give the Horns a 38-11 win as the Bulldogs finished the season with a 8-5 record and outside of the top 25 in the final AP & Coaches polls.
As for Tennessee, they would face the Florida State Seminoles in the Fiesta Bowl where Martin threw a 79-yard touchdown pass to Price in the fourth quarter which paved the way to the Vols winning the game 23-16 to give the Volunteers their first national title since 1951.