2000 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

2000 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
Independence Bowl champion
Independence Bowl, W 43–41 ^OT vs. Texas A&M
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 22
AP	No. 24
Record	8–4 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach	Jackie Sherrill (10th season)
Offensive coordinator	Sparky Woods (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple I formation
Defensive coordinator	Joe Lee Dunn (5th season)
Base defense	3–3 stack
Home stadium	Scott Field

2000 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
No. 10 Florida x$		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 19 South Carolina		5	–	3					8	–	4
No. 20 Georgia		5	–	3					8	–	4
Tennessee		5	–	3					8	–	4
Vanderbilt		1	–	7					3	–	8
Kentucky		0	–	8					2	–	9
Western Division
No. 18 Auburn x		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 22 LSU		5	–	3					8	–	4
Ole Miss		4	–	4					7	–	5
No. 24 Mississippi State		4	–	4					8	–	4
Arkansas		3	–	5					6	–	6
Alabama		3	–	5					3	–	8
Championship: Florida 28, Auburn 6
$ – BCS representative as conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2000 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University as a member of the Western Division of the Southern Conference (SEC) during the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by tenth-year head coach Jackie Sherrill, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 8–4 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, tying for third place in the SEC's Western Division.^[1] Mississippi State was invited to the Independence Bowl, where Bulldogs defeated Texas A&M in overtime. The team played home games at Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	2:30 pm	at Memphis*		Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	FSN	W 17–3	34,113	[2]
September 14	7:00 pm	at BYU*		Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	ESPN	W 44–28	60,278	[3]
September 23	11:30 am	at South Carolina	No. 25	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	JPS	L 19–23	79,949	[4]
September 30	2:30 pm	No. 3 Florida		Scott Field Starkville, MS	CBS	W 47–35	43,816	[5]
October 7	2:30 pm	No. 15 Auburn	No. 20	Scott Field Starkville, MS	CBS	W 17–10	43,917	[6]
October 21	8:00 pm	at LSU	No. 13	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, Louisiana (rivalry)	ESPN2	L 38–45 ^OT	90,584	[7]
October 28	1:30 pm	Middle Tennessee*	No. 20	Scott Field Starkville, MS		W 61–35	42,933	[8]
November 4	12:30 pm	at Kentucky	No. 18	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	PPV	W 35–17	62,159	[9]
November 11	11:30 am	Alabama	No. 15	Scott Field Starkville, MS (rivalry)	JPS	W 29–7	44,114	[10]
November 18	1:00 pm	Arkansas	No. 13	Scott Field Starkville, MS		L 10–17 ^OT	40,010	[11]
November 23	7:00 pm	at Ole Miss	No. 23	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (Egg Bowl)	ESPN	L 30–45	48,811	[12]
December 31	7:00 pm	vs. Texas A&M*		Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA (Independence Bowl)	ESPN	W 43–41 ^OT	36,974	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[14][15]

Rankings

See also: 2000 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	25	—	20	15	13	20	18	15	13	23	—	—	24
Coaches Poll	—	—	—	—	25	—	20	14	14	21	18	16	13	23	—	—	22
BCS	Not released									—	—	—	12	—	—	—	Not released

References

1. "2000 Southeastern Conference Year Summary". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
2. "Tigers sputter, stall vs. State". The Commercial Appeal. September 3, 2000. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Mississippi State thumps BYU". Great Falls Tribune. September 15, 2000. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Carolina defeats Miss. St". Florence Morning News. September 24, 2000. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "'Dogs take bite out of Gators". The Commercial Appeal. October 1, 2000. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Tigers' unbeaten streak is no more". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. October 8, 2000. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Bulldogs lose in overtime". Hattiesburg American. October 22, 2000. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Miss. State races past MTSU". The Tennessean. October 29, 2000. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Bulldogs smother Wildcats". The Montgomery Advertiser. November 5, 2000. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Another game, another loss". Ledger-Enquirer. November 12, 2000. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Hog-eat-Dawg world". Sun Herald. November 19, 2000. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Deuce, Ole Miss roll to 45–30 Egg Bowl win". The Anniston Star. November 24, 2000. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Bulldogs' sled clips Aggies in OT". Waco Tribune-Herald. January 1, 2001. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "2000 Mississippi State Bulldogs Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
15. "2000 NCAA Football Statistics (Mississippi State)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved October 20, 2024.