ST PETERSBURG BOWL

| BOWL HISTORY | 1999 COTTON BOWL
#23 MISSISSIPPI STATE 11
#20 TEXAS 38
January 1, 1999 • Cotton Bowl • Dallas, Texas
Playing in their first traditional New Year’s Day bowl game since the 1941 Orange
Bowl, the Bulldogs faced an enormous task in trying to stop the University of Texas
and its Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams. Behind Williams’ Cotton Bowl
record 203 yards rushing and two touchdowns, the Longhorns snapped their seven-game
losing slide to Jackie Sherrill and defeated Mississippi State 38-11 in the
Southwestern Bell Cotton Bowl Classic.
Texas struck early in the contest behind the arm of quarterback Major
Applewhite. The freshman found Wayne McGarity late in the opening period on a
59-yard scoring strike, giving Texas an early 7-0 lead.
The Longhorns took advantage of good field position and a long pass play to take
a 14-0 lead, as Applewhite again called McGarity’s number for a 52-yard touchdown
with 5:11 to go in the first half.
Mississippi State would close out the scoring in the half with a 39-yard field goal
from senior Brian Hazelwood.
After showcasing their passing game in the first half, Texas began to exploit a
tired Bulldog defense with a running game that featured the NCAA’s career rushing
leader in Williams, who got the scoring started in the second half with a 37-yard
gallop to stretch the Longhorns’ lead to 21-3 just 2:26 into the second half. A Kris
Stockton field goal would extend the UT lead to 24-3 six minutes later.
The Bulldog offense, led by James Johnson’s 112 yards on the ground, still struggled
to find its niche against a stubborn Texas defense. An injury to star all-purpose
receiver Kevin Prentiss in the opening half made their task even more difficult.
Unable to keep the weary MSU defense off the field, the Bulldogs were victimized by
another Williams’ scoring run at the 2:42 mark of the third period as Texas grabbed
control of the contest with a 31-3 advantage.
Mississippi State 0 3 0 8 = 11
Texas 7 7 24 0 = 38
UT — McGarity 59 pass from Applewhite (Stockton kick), 2:17 1st
UT — McGarity 52 pass from Applewhite (Stockton kick), 5:11 2nd
MSU — Hazelwood 39 FG, 2:32 2nd
UT — R. Williams 37 run (Stockton kick), 12:34 3rd
UT — Stockton 47 FG, 6:39 3rd
UT — R. Williams 2 run (Stockton kick), 2:42 3rd
UT — Cavil 18 pass from Applewhite (Stockton kick), 0:14 3rd
MSU — Grant 5 pass from Wyatt (J. Johnson rush), 10:07 4th
MSU
UT
First Downs 18 27
Rushes-Yards 32-87 43-238
Passing Yards 205 225
Passes (C-A-I) 16-40-1 15-26-0
Total Offense 292 463
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-0
Penalties-Yards 9-89 5-55
Time of Possession 27:59 32:01
RUSHING: (MSU) J.Johnson 22-112, D.McKinley 2-7, Rainey 1-2, Prather 1-(-3),
Madkin 4-(-11), Wyatt 2-(-20); (UT) R.Williams 30-203 2TD, Mitchell 7-26, Brown
3-15, Applewhite 3-(-6).
PASSING: (MSU) Wyatt 12-24-0 156 1TD, Madkin 4-16-1 49; (UT) Applewhite
15-26-0 225 3TD.
RECEIVING: (MSU) Grant 4-62 1TD, K.Cooper 4-38, Love 2-33, Kelly 2-14,
J.Johnson 1-22, D.McKinley 1-20, Prentiss 1-8, Butler 1-8; (UT) R.Williams 5-45,
McGarity 4-132 2TD, Cavil 3-31 1TD, Lewis 2-26, Nunez 1-(-9).
Attendance: 72,611
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