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MSU Falls to GA TECH in ORANGE BOWL
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After compiling the best regular season in Mississippi State football history, the seventh-ranked Bulldogs fell to No. 12 Georgia Tech, 49-34 in the 2014 Capital One Orange Bowl on Wednesday, Dec. 31 at Sun Life Stadium in Sun Gardens, Fla.
MSU (10-3, 6-2 SEC) is made its school-record fifth straight bowl appearance and 18th overall appearance dating back to 1937. The Bulldogs played in their third Orange Bowl and first since Jan. 1, 1941. That year, MSU topped Georgetown, 14-7. MSU’s first-ever bowl appearance was also in the Orange Bowl against Duquesne in 1937.
Led by National Player of the Year candidate quarterback Dak Prescott, the Bulldogs amassed 10 regular season wins for the first time in program history and will head to Miami with its highest ranking ever to enter a bowl game. Its previous high was No. 9 when entering the 1941 Orange Bowl.
Georgia Tech (11-3, 6-2 ACC) boasted one of
the nation’s top rushing offenses. Quarterback Justin Thomas lead a spread option attack that ranked third in the nation in rushing yards (333.6 ypg). Thomas ranked fourth nationally amongst quarterbacks with 965 rushing yards, just ahead of Prescott’s 939.
The two teams will faced off for the fifth time and first since 2009 in Mullen’s first season. The then 25th-ranked Yellow Jackets claimed a 42-31 win in Starkville on Oct. 3, 2009. Georgia Tech leads the all-time series 5-0.
This was not the Bulldogs of two years ago, which following a 7-0 start, were derailed entirely. This season was different. Although losing tow tough games down the stretch, MSU set a new standard for football expectations in Starkville, having reached No. 1 for the first time in school history.
Standout players running back Josh Robinson and linebacker Bernardrick McKinney have declared intentions to enter the 2015 NFL Draft. In total, 15 players from this past season will be graduating, leaving some significant holes to fill for MSU's currently 11th-ranked 2015 recruiting class, according ESPN.
Mississippi State will look to lean on its core of quarterback, Dak Prescott and wide receiver De'Runnya Wilson in 2015.
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