2003 GAME RECAPS
November 8, 2003
Davis Wade Stadium · Starkville, MS
Alabama
38
Mississippi State
0
In head coach Jackie Sherrill's last game against his alma mater, the Bulldogs
looked to upend the Crimson Tide for the fifth time in eight years. But things went
awry for Mississippi State on the third play from scrimmage, and Alabama ran away
with a 38-0 win at Scott Field.
On that third play, a third-and-16 from UA's 14-yard line, Brodie Croyle hit Zach
Fletcher with a short pass on the Alabama sideline. Fletcher got past one tackler and
sprinted down the field 86 yards for the score. Brian Bostick hit his first PAT of the
game, giving the Tide an early 7-0 advantage.
State did not fare well on its first possession, as a tipped pass fell into the hands
of a diving Charlie Peprah. Three plays later, `Bama scored when Croyle hit Tyrone
Prothro with a 17-yard TD pass. Bostick split the uprights to make it 14-0 before
four minutes had rolled off the clock.
The Bulldogs caught a break towards the end of the first quarter when Bostick
missed a 39-yard field goal. State got the
ball on their own 23 and got one first
down. Faced with a fourth-and-1 on their
own 42, the `Dogs went for it and got five
yards from Darnell Jones. A false start
penalty was charged, however, forcing
MSU to punt.
On the ensuing drive, Alabama got to
the MSU 21 before stalling. Bostick
came on and hit a 38-yard field goal to
give Alabama a 17-0 advantage.
The Tide's next possession saw
them score their third touchdown.
Croyle again found Fletcher, this time
on a 32-yard strike. Bostick's kick put
Bama up 24-0 at the half.
State had their most productive drive
of the game in the third quarter, getting
down to the UA 37. But the Bulldogs
lost six yards on a pass and fell back
another six on a sack. Those two plays
took MSU out of field goal range and
forced them to punt.
The Crimson Tide put together a 15-
play, 88-yard drive that was capped by
Shaud Williams' 3-yard run. Bostick
made the PAT to put Alabama up 31-0.
State again advanced into Alabama
territory, but two penalties put them in a
first-and-40 situation that they could not
overcome, forcing another punt.
Alabama put their final score on the
board with 1:19 to play. Tim Castille ran
the ball five times on the last drive,
including crossing the goal line from six
yards out. Bostick's extra point try was
good, giving the Crimson Tide the 38-0
win.
Alabama
14 10 0 14 = 38
Mississippi State
0 0 0 0 =
0
UA - Fletcher 86 pass from Croyle
(Bostick kick), 13:19, 1st
UA - Prothro 17 pass from Croyle
(Bostick kick), 11:28, 1st
UA - Bostick 38 FG, 10:35, 2nd
UA - Fletcher 32 pass from Croyle
(Bostick kick), 5:22, 2nd
UA - Williams 3 run (Bostick kick), 12:50, 4th
UA - Castille 6 run (Bostick kick), 1:19, 4th
UA
MSU
First Downs
19
10
Rushes-Yards
50-190
20-24
Passing Yards
211
128
Passes (C-A-I)
10-16-1 16-31-2
Total Offense
401
152
Fumbles-Lost
1-0
5-0
Penalties-Yards
9-71
8-78
Time of Possession
34:15
25:45
RUSHING: (UA) Williams 25-89 TD, Hudson
12-79, Castille 6-18 TD, Darby 1-4, Croyle 6-0.
(MSU) Conner 1-24, Norwood 5-9, Turner 3-5,
York 1-0, Nelson 1-(-1), Team 1-(-4), Fant 8-(-9).
PASSING: (UA) Croyle 9-14-1-183 3TD,
Pennington 2-1-0-28. (MSU) Fant 14-29-2-100,
York 1-1-0-28, Nelson 1-1-0-0.
RECEIVING: (UA) Fletcher 2-118 2TD, McLain
2-34, Fulgham 2-27, Prothro 2-20, Taylor 1-8,
Castille 1-4. (MSU) Scott 5-55, Conner 2-27,
Jenkins 2-9, Turner 2-0, Signaigo 1-17, Davis 1-9,
Norwood 1-6, Bivines 1-5, Reid 1-0.
Attendance: 48,242.
GAME NOTES
· With his 100 yards passing in the game, Kevin
Fant moved into second place all-time at MSU
with 5,325 career yards thrown.
· The shutout broke a 26-game streak in which
MSU had not been shutout...The last team to
blank the Bulldogs was LSU in 2001 (42-0).
· MSU's 152 yards of total offense was its lowest
tally since Memphis limited State to 127 yards
in the 2000 season opener.
· Bulldogs Nick Signaigo and Bernard Vinson
both made their first career starts.
The two longest-tenured head coaches in the Southeastern Conference went
against each other at Neyland Stadium. Phillip Fulmer's Volunteers looked to stay in
the hunt for another trip to the SEC Championship Game, while the Bulldogs were
looking for their third win of the year. The Big Orange prevailed, downing MSU 59-21.
Tennessee put their first points on the board early in the first quarter when
Casey Clausen hit Chris Hannon from
18 yards out for the score. James
Wilhoit hit the PAT to give Tennessee a
7-0 advantage.
MSU scored on the ensuing drive, as
Kevin Fant hit Justin Jenkins for an 19-
yard strike. Brent Smith made the extra
point to tie the game at 7-7.
Tennessee scored on two straight
possessions, with Clausen hitting
Derrick Tinsley for the first score and
Jabari Davis crossing the goal from two
yards out to put the Vols up 21-7.
State got great field position after
Nick Turner returned a punt to the UT
37. The `Dogs didn't move the ball from
there, but tried for a field goal. Smith's
54-yard try had the distance, but sailed
just left.
The Vols put up another touchdown
when Clausen and Mark Jones got
together on a 38-yard reception, giving
Tennessee a 28-7 advantage.
State drove into UT territory near the
end of the first half, but Gibril Wilson
picked off a Fant pass to end the threat.
MSU never threatened the Vols in
the third quarter, and Tennessee put up
24 points in the period. Clausen threw
two more TD passes, both to Hannon,
to make it five on the afternoon. Davis
also got another touchdown run, while
Wilhoit made three extra points and a
26-yard field goal. At the end of the third
period, State was down 52-7.
Tennessee tacked on one more
score when William Revill broke a 13-
yard run for the final Vols score.
State got their second score when
Fred Reid got in the checkerboard end
zone from one yard out. Smith hit Nick
Signaigo on the two-point conversion to
make it 59-15. MSU would get one
more touchdown on a quarterback
sneak by reserve Kyle York. The two-
point conversion failed, to make the
final score 59-21 in favor of Tennessee.
Mississippi State
7 0 0 14 = 21
Tennessee
14 14 24 7 = 59
UT - Hannon 18 pass from Clausen
(Wilhoit kick), 9:28, 1st
MSU - Jenkins 19 pass from Fant
(Smith kick), 5:48, 1st
UT - Tinsley 12 pass from Clausen
(Wilhoit kick), 2:09, 1st
UT - Davis 2 run (Wilhoit kick), 11:57, 2nd
UT - Jones 38 pass from Clausen
(Wilhoit kick), 1:49, 2nd
UT - Hannon 30 pass from Clausen
(Wilhoit kick), 12:30, 3rd
UT - Davis 1 run (Wilhoit kick), 10:46, 3rd
UT - Hannon 5 pass from Clausen
(Wilhoit kick), 7:45, 3rd
UT - Wilhoit 26 FG, 2:14, 3rd
UT - Revill 13 run (Kerr kick), 9:08, 4th
MSU - Reid 1 run (Smith pass), 3:43, 4th
MSU - York 1 run (pass failed), 0:28, 4th
MSU
UT
First Downs
16
28
Rushes-Yards
32-96 37-177
Passing Yards
192
358
Passes (C-A-I)
19-32-2 22-36-0
Total Offense
288
535
Fumbles-Lost
2-1
0-0
Penalties-Yards
6-24
3-25
Time of Possession
27:56
32:04
RUSHING: (MSU) Norwood 10-47, Turner 7-
41, Reid 7-39 TD, York 1-1 TD, Fant 7-(-32). (UT)
Davis 9-67 2TD, Riggs 13-51, Fleming 2-17,
Larkins 5-16, Tinsley 1-14, Revill 1-13 TD,
Houston 3-6, Team 1-(-2), Clausen 2-(-5).
PASSING: (MSU) Fant 13-24-2-125 TD, York 6-
8-0-67 (UT) Clausen 21-34-0-342 5TD, Leak 1-2-
0-16.
RECEIVING: (MSU) Jenkins 5-69 TD, Turner 4-
37, Scott 3-26, Bivines 2-16, Hargro 1-31, Reid 1-
10, Conner 1-8, Davis 1-1, Norwood 1-(-6). (UT)
Jones 5-90 TD, Swain 4-75, Hannon 4-69 3TD,
Banks 2-63, Tinsley 2-24 TD, Houston 2-10,
Fayton 1-12, Larkins 1-8, Fleming 1-7.
Attendance: 104,223.
GAME NOTES
· With his TD reception in the game, Justin
Jenkins tied the MSU career record with 17
and set a new MSU single-season record (9).
· Nick Turner established a new school record
with 344 all-purpose yards, smashing the old
record of 312, set in 1998 by J.J. Johnson
· The crowd of 104,223 was the largest an MSU
team had ever played in front of.
· UT's 59 points tied for the fifth-most MSU had
ever allowed in one game.
November 15, 2003
Neyland Stadium · Knoxville, TN
Mississippi State
21
Tennessee
59
