Bulldogs Win a Wild One in the Snow

Wayne Madkin scored on a six-yard scramble to give Mississippi State a 43-41 overtime victory over Texas A&M; on Sunday night in the snowy Independence Bowl.

Ja’Mar Toombs ran for a 25-yard touchdown on the Aggies’ first play of overtime to give Texas A&M; a 41-35 lead, but Terence Kitchen’s extra-point attempt was blocked by Willie Blade.

Eugene Clinton scooped the ball out of the snow and before he could be pulled down at midfield, he flipped the ball to Julius Griffith, who raced to the end zone for a two-point defensive conversion. That made the score 41-37 and gave the Bulldogs a chance to win with a touchdown on their possession.

The game was dominated by the running of Toombs and Mississippi State’s Dontae Walker and a rare Southern snowfall that covered the field.

Toombs ran for 193 yards and three touchdowns in 35 carries. Walker matched Toombs with three touchdowns, along with 143 yards in 16 carries.

Mississippi State rallied from a 14-point deficit with two touchdowns in the final 8:16 of the fourth quarter.

An interception by Marco Minor gave the Bulldogs the ball at the Aggie four with 2:50 left and trailing, 35-28.

On third down, Madkin faked a handoff and found Donald Lee alone in the end zone for a three-yard touchdown pass. The conversion tied the score with 1:30 left and forced the overtime.

About 30 minutes before kickoff snow blew into Shreveport with strong wind whipping from one end zone to the other.

By the second quarter, the turf was blanketed by snow. Plows were used during timeouts to make the goal lines, end lines and hash marks visible.

Snow fell throughout the game, at times coming down so hard it made watching the game difficult. Many of the 36,974 fans at Independence Stadium left at halftime.

Because both schools wear maroon and white, Mississippi State, the designated road team, wore white jerseys, pants and helmets. It was the first time the Bulldogs wore all white since 1970.