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Mississippi State returns to bowl

Dec 29, 2007 - 11:28 AM Central Florida (10-3) vs. Mississippi St (7-5) 4:30 pm ESTLiberty Bowl December 29MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) -- For the first time during theSylvester Croom era, Mississippi State has gone bowling.Mississippi State looks to put an exclamation point on itssurprising season when it faces Central Florida in the LibertyBowl on Saturday.The first black coach in the history of the SouteasternConference, Croom entered this season on shaky ground aftercompiling a 9-25 record in his first three seasons.However, Croom was able to turn things around this season,guiding the Bulldogs to the postseason for the first time sincea 43-41 victory over Texas A&M in the Independence Bowl in 2000.The highlight of the season for the Bulldogs was back-to-backSEC wins over Kentucky and Alabama, which both were ranked atthe time.With inconsistent play at quarterback, the Bulldogs rely on therunning of Anthony Dixon (980 yards, 13 touchdowns) andChristian Ducre (467 yards, three scores).A major reason why Central Florida is in a bowl for a secondtime in its history is because of Kevin Smith, who is on theverge of making NCAA history.Smith has rushed for 2,448 yards, putting him within 181 ofbreaking Barry Sanders' single-season record of 2,628 during his Heisman Trophy-winning campaign for Oklahoma State in 1988. Smith, who already has announced he would returnfor his senior season, has 29 TDs this campaign.But Smith will face a stern test against Mississippi State,which already have slowed some of the nation's top backs thisseason.The Bulldogs held Tulane's Matt Forte (second in the nation inrushing) to a season-low 47 yards on 14 carries in a 38-14victory on September 9.Perhaps even more impressively, the Bulldogs limited Arkansas'Darren McFadden - a Heisman Trophy finalist - to 88 yards on 28carries in a 45-31 loss on November 17.Central Florida, which won Conference USA, made its lonepostseason appearance in 2005, a 49-48 overtime loss to Nevadain the Hawaii Bowl.