But that is what happened in the 2000 Independence Bowl as the Mississippi State Bulldogs of the SEC faced off with the Big 12's Texas A&M Aggies in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Both teams entered the game with 7-4 records, but the main storyline entering this game was the fact that Missisippi State head coach Jackie Sherrill would be facing off against Texas A&M head R. C. Slocum, who had been Sherrill's defensive coordinator when Jackie was the head coach for the Aggies from 1982-88.
However, that storyline got lost in the shuffle when about 30 minutes before kickoff when it began to snow and would continue though the entire game, leaving the field at Independence Stadium in Shreveport almost entirely covered by snow and making it difficult for viewers on ESPN to watch the game, especially since the Bulldogs had decided to wear special white uniforms for the game.
But for those viewers who stuck with the game and the fans who remained in the bleachers, they got to see a heck of a game.
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| Texas A&M mascot Reveille had to fight off the snow to watch her Aggies play the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the 2000 Independence Bowl. |
The Bulldogs got the ball to start the game before gave it right back to the Aggies on the first play from scrimmage as quarterback Wayne Madkin lost the football when he was hit by defensive end Ronald Flemons at the end of a six-yard run, causing a fumble which Flemons recovered at the Mississippi State 20-yard-line.
Four plays later, A&M was in the end zone as running back Richard Whitaker scored on a nine-yard touchdown run to give the Aggies a 7-0 lead just 2:04 into the game.
After the A&M defense forced the Bulldogs offense to go three-and-out on their ensuing possession, the Aggies traveled 74 yards in 7 plays with running back Ja'Mar Toombs carrying the ball on all but one play of the drive putting together runs of 34 yards and 19 yards, capping the drive with a four-yard touchdown to push the A&M lead to 14-0 with 8:06 left in the first quarter.
Both teams would trade punts until the second quarter when Mississippi State put together their best drive of the game, going 59 yards in six plays with the drive culminating in a 40-yard touchdown run by Dontae Walker to cut the A&M lead in half to 14-7 with 9:22 left in the second quarter.
A&M would punt on their following possession, giving the Bulldogs the ball back at their 14-yard-line where Walker got the ball on the first three plays of the drive, running for 37 yards to give Mississippi State a 1st down at the Aggies 49-yard-line.
The drive stalled and the Bulldogs were forced to punt, but punter Pretniss Cole was able to pin the Aggies back at their five-yard-line.
The Bulldogs defense almost got a safety as linebacker Mario Haggan sacked quarterback Mark Farris on 3rd-and-six, forcing the Aggies to punt from their one-yard-line, giving Mississippi State great field position as A&M punter Cody Scates was only able to punt the ball 24 yards to the Texas A&M 25-yard-line, which was followed by a four-yard return by a four-yard return by Larry Huntington to give the Bulldogs the ball at the Aggies' 21-yard-line.
It only took three plays for the Bulldogs to get in the end zone as Madkin hit running back Dicenzo Miller for a four-yard touchdown pass that tied the game at 14 with 54 seconds left before halftime.
On the ensuing kickoff, Mississippi State attempted an onside kick, but A&M recovered the kick at the Bulldogs' 42-yard-line.
Then on the next play from scrimmage, Farris hit Robert Ferguson for a 42-yard touchdown to break the 14-14 tie with 46 seconds left in the first half.
Mississippi State defensive tackle Willie Blade blocked the ensuing extra point, keeping the score 20-14 as the first half came to a close.
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| Texas A&M running Ja'Mar Toombs plowed the snow for 193 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries. |
A&M got the ball to start the second half, but on the third play of the half Whitaker fumbled the football which was recovered MSU's Haggan giving the Bulldogs the ball at the Aggies' 13-yard-line.
Disaster nearly struck for Mississippi State when Madkin fumbled the football on the Bulldogs' first play from scrimmage as Madkin lost the football on a sack by A&M linebacker Cornelius Anthony, only to have Miller recover the ball for the Bulldogs at the Aggies' 17-yard-line.
Four plays later, Mississippi State had its first lead of the game as Walker punched it in for a one-yard touchdown that with the extra point gave the Bulldogs a 21-20 lead, 3:05 into the third quarter.
After both teams punted on their ensuing possessions, the Aggies took over at their 17-yard-line and were able to drive the Bulldogs' 35-yard-line in seven plays as the third quarter came to a close.
Then on the first play of the fourth quarter, Farris hit Bethel Johnson for a 35-yard touchdown to put A&M back in the lead.
With the score 26-21, A&M decided to go for the two-point conversion which they made as Whitaker ran it in to make it a one-touchdown game as the Aggies pushed their lead to 28-21, nine seconds into the fourth quarter.
The A&M defense forced a three-and-out to give their offense the ball at the Mississippi State 39-yard-line where the Aggies put together a seven-play, 39-yard drive that saw Toombs carried the ball six times for 33 yards, with the last carry being a 13-yard touchdown run to increase the A&M lead to 35-21 with 9:20 left in the fourth quarter.
Down two touchdowns, the Bulldogs needed a score quickly and were able to get to back into the end zone just 63 seconds after Toombs' touchdown as Walker scored his third touchdown of the game on a 32-yard touchdown run to cut the Mississippi State deficit in half to 35-28 with 8:17 left in regulation.
The Aggies went three-and-out on their ensuing possession which was followed by a three-and-out by the Bulldogs, but was followed by an coffin corner punt by Cole, giving A&M the ball back at their six-yard-line with 4:34 to play.
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| Mississippi State running back Dontae Walker only carried the ball 16 times, but gained 143 yards and scored three touchdowns. |
After two runs by Toombs picked up zero yards, the Aggies went to air on 3rd-and-10 where disaster struck for A&M as Bulldogs cornerback Marco Minor picked off Farris' pass and returned it five yards to give Mississippi State a 1st-and-goal at the four-yard-line with 2:56 to go in regulation.
Two runs by Walker gained one yard forced a 3rd-and-goal from the three-yard line when Madkin hit tight end Donald Lee for the three-yard touchdown that with Scott Westerfield's extra point, tied the game at 35 with exactly 1:30 left in regulation.
The Aggies were unable to mount a drive as time run out in regulation forcing the game go into overtime where A&M got the ball to start the extra period where it only took them one play to get in the end zone as Toombs ran for a 25-yard touchdown to give A&M a 41-35 lead.
But before giving the ball back to the Bulldogs for their overtime possession, the Aggies had to kick the extra point when disaster struck as Blade blocked his second extra point of the game.
The loose ball was picked up by Bulldogs safety Eugene Clinton who started to run to the A&M end zone to try and get two points for Mississippi State.
It looked Clinton's try at two point was going to be stopped at midfield as he was about to be tackled until he lateraled the ball to cornerback Julius Griffith, who then ran in untouched to the end zone, to complete the return to give Mississippi State two points, making the score 41-37 and meaning that all the Bulldogs needed was just a touchdown and no extra point to win the game.
On the Bulldogs' first play from the 25-yard-line, Madkin picked up 19 yards on a run to the left side giving Mississippi State a 1st-and-goal at the six-yard-line.
Then after Walker was stopped for no gain on 1st down, Madkin called his own number again and ran in for the game-winning touchdown, to give the Bulldogs the 43-41 win.
However, it would be the last time Mississippi State would go to a bowl game under Sherill as the team would win only eight games over the next three seasons, leading to Sherrill's retirement following the 2003 season after 13 years in Starkville, where he finished with a 75-75-2 record and eight winning seasons.
As for the Aggies, they finished with a 7-5 record in 2000 as Slocum would remain as the Aggies' head coach for the following two seasons, leading them to a 8-4 record in 2001, then a 6-6 record in 2002, which was his last season in College Station as Slocum retired following the 2002 season after 14 years in College Station, finishing with a 123-47-2 record.
A decade after the retirements of Sherrill and Slocum, the Bulldogs and Aggies would become SEC West rivals as Texas A&M joined the SEC in 2012, making Mississippi State facing off with Texas A&M an annual thing.
But no matter what happens in the future of the A&M-Mississippi State series, their encounter in the 2000 Independence Bowl will likely go down as the most memorable meeting between the two programs.
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| Mississippi State linebacker Jason Clark does a snow angel after his Bulldogs defeated the Texas A&M Aggies 43-41 in the 2000 Independence Bowl. |
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