The bowl drought is over! I was there to see the first bowl game loss in 1996 (the Rose Bowl, 17 years ago, ouch!), and went back for more in 2000 (a blowout to Nebraska at the Alamo Bowl) and 2005 (blew a huge lead to UCLA in the Sun Bowl), and there were five or six other bowls in there where we competed, but couldn’t close the deal. Until today, that is! It wasn’t perfect (3 interceptions) but we had four picks of our own, Mississippi State wanted to do the usual second-half comeback that Cats fans are accustomed to, but their QB was having a seriously off day, and they couldn’t keep up the pressure enough to take charge.
It was tempting to make the trip down there, but it would have been a whirlwind tour. Adam, Daren, Rich, Liz and Nate went, but mostly they were staying for about 48 hours, which hardly seems worth the effort. The stadium looked about half full, even though MSU is relatively close by. Instead I watched the game from the comfort of my living room, while the rest of the family drifted in and out. Great win to close out a great season, those losses to Nebraska and Michigan really exasperated, but this makes up for it. Go Cats!