GAMEDAY College Football
ReliaQuest Bowl: Mississippi State 19, Illinois 10
(AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
By MARK DIDTLER
Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. - Massimo Biscardi made a 27-yard tiebreaking field goal with four seconds left, Marcus Banks returned a fumble 60 yards for a touchdown on the game's last play and No. 24 Mississippi State rallied to beat Illinois 19-10 in the ReliaQuest Bowl in the Bulldogs' first game since coach Mike Leach's death.
Banks' score came on Illinois' fifth lateral following a completed pass after the Fighting Ilini got the ball at their own 29. There was a scrum on the field as the game ended, but order was restored after a couple of minutes.
Will Rogers was 29 of 44 yards for 261 yards and one touchdown for Mississippi State (9-4, No. 22 CFP).
Tommy DeVito completed 23 of 34 passes for 253 yards for Illinois (8-5).
Reggie Love III rushed for 53 yards on 12 carries for Illinois. Fighting Illini running back Chase Brown, the nation's second-leading rusher in the regular season with 1,643 yards, sat out to prepare for the NFL draft.
Mississippi State was held without a touchdown until the first play of the fourth quarter, when Rogers connected on an eight-yard throw to Justin Robinson that tied the game at 10.
The Bulldogs averaged 32.7 points during the regular season.
Illinois, which entered allowing 12.3 points and held six opponents to under 10 points, played without defensive backs Devon Witherspoon and Sydney Brown. Both opted out ahead of the NFL draft.
DeVito put Illinois up 7-0 on a two-yard run with 2:49 left in the second quarter.
Mississippi State responded with a 38-yard field goal by Biscardi with nine seconds to go in the first half.
IIlinois went up 10-3 on a 52-yard field goal by Caleb Griffin midway through the third.
Mississippi State was limited to 50 yards on its first three possessions, while the next two ended on interceptions by Matthew Bailey and Kendall Smith.
Illinois tops the nation with 24 interceptions.
HONORING MIKE
Among the tributes to Leach, who died on Dec. 12 due to complications from a heart condition, was "MIKE" with a pirate logo as part of the "I" painted between the 20 and 30 on one segment of the field.
The Mississippi State band spelled out "LEACH" before a moment of silence was held before the game.
The Bulldogs had a pirate flag instead of the school logo on their helmets. Illinois' helmet had a logo similar to what was painted on the field.
Leach's nickname was "The Pirate."
January 2, 2023
| Scoring Summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Second Quarter | MissSt | Ill | |||
| Ill | TD | 2:49 | Tommy DeVito 2 yd run (Caleb Griffin kick) | 0 | 7 |
| MissSt | FG | 0:09 | Massimo Biscardi 38 yd FG | 3 | 7 |
| Third Quarter | MissSt | Ill | |||
| Ill | FG | 6:57 | Caleb Griffin 52 yd FG | 3 | 10 |
| Fourth Quarter | MissSt | Ill | |||
| MissSt | TD | 14:54 | Justin Robinson 8 yd pass from Will Rogers (Massimo Biscardi kick) | 10 | 10 |
| MissSt | FG | 0:04 | Massimo Biscardi 27 yd FG | 13 | 10 |
| MissSt | TD | 0:00 | Marcus Banks 60 yd fumble return | 19 | 10 |
| Team Stats | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi State | Illinois | |
| First downs | 21 | 19 |
| Rushing | 4 | 7 |
| Passing | 17 | 9 |
| Penalty | 0 | 3 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency | 6-14, 43% | 3-11, 27% |
| 4th down efficiency | 1-1, 100% | 0-0, -% |
| Rushes-Yards | 22-116 | 28-22 |
| Passing Yards | 274 | 253 |
| Return Yards | 10 | 97 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int | 30-45-2 | 23-34-0 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 0-0 | 7--38 |
| Punts | 5 | 6 |
| Punts-Average | 42 | 47.7 |
| Fumbles Lost | 1-0 | 1-1 |
| Penalties - Yards | 6-55 | 3-25 |
| Time of Possession | 28:15 | 31:43 |
| Mississippi State Passing | |||||
| Player | Cmp | Att | Yds | TDs | Int |
| W. Rogers | 29 | 44 | 261 | 1 | 2 |
| J. Walley | 1 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Illinois Passing | |||||
| Player | Cmp | Att | Yds | TDs | Int |
| T. DeVito | 23 | 34 | 253 | 0 | 0 |
| Mississippi State Rushing | ||||
| Player | Carries | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| S. Price | 7 | 68 | 9.7 | 0 |
| J. Marks | 10 | 50 | 5.0 | 0 |
| W. Rogers | 3 | 7 | 2.3 | 0 |
| Illinois Rushing | ||||
| Player | Carries | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| R. Love III | 11 | 40 | 3.6 | 0 |
| J. McCray | 7 | 17 | 2.4 | 0 |
| T. DeVito | 10 | -35 | -3.5 | 1 |
| Mississippi State Receiving | ||||
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| J. Robinson | 7 | 81 | 11.6 | 1 |
| L. Griffin | 5 | 53 | 10.6 | 0 |
| J. Walley | 5 | 43 | 8.6 | 0 |
| R. Harvey | 3 | 33 | 11.0 | 0 |
| A. Williams | 2 | 22 | 11.0 | 0 |
| J. Marks | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 0 |
| W. Rogers | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 0 |
| C. Ducking | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 0 |
| S. Price | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 |
| J. Jernighan | 1 | 0 | 0.0 |
0 |
| Illinois Receiving | ||||
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| I. Williams | 9 | 114 | 12.7 | 0 |
| C. Washington | 8 | 74 | 9.3 | 0 |
| T. Reiman | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 0 |
| G. Moore | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 0 |
| T. DeVito | 0 | 13 | 0.0 |
0 |
| M. Marchese | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 0 |
| R. Love III | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 |
| Mississippi State Interceptions | ||
| Player | Int | Yards |
| Illinois Interceptions | ||
| Player | Int | Yards |
| M. Bailey | 1 | 17 |
| K. Smith | 1 | 0 |
| Mississippi State Punting | |||
| Player | Punts | Yards | Avg |
| G. Georgopoulos | 5 | 210 | 42.0 |
| Illinois Punting | |||
| Player | Punts | Yards | Avg |
| H. Robertson | 6 | 286 | 47.7 |
| Mississippi State Punt Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| L. Griffin | 2 | 10 | 5.0 |
| Illinois Punt Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| I. Williams | 1 | 8 | 8.0 |
| H. Beatty | 1 | 2 | 2.0 |
| Mississippi State Kick Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| Illinois Kick Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| P. Bryant | 2 | 37 | 18.5 |
| R. Love III | 1 | 30 | 30.0 |
| T. Reiman | 1 | 3 | 3.0 |
| Mississippi State Missed FG | |
| Player | Length |
| Illinois Missed FG | |
| Player | Length |
| C. Griffin | 52 |
