1973 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

1973 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
1973 record	4–5–2 (2–5 SEC)
Head coach	Bob Tyler (1st season)
Home stadium	Scott Field
Seasons

1973 SEC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#4/1 Alabama †	8	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
#13/14 LSU	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Ole Miss	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
#19/NR Tennessee	3	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Georgia	3	–	4	–	0			7	–	4	–	1
Florida	3	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Kentucky	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Auburn	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Mississippi State	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	2
Vanderbilt	1	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
† – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll

The 1973 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University during the 1973 college football season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Bob Tyler, in his first year, and played their home games at Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi. They finished the season with a record of four wins, five losses and two ties (4–5–2, 2–5 SEC).

Schedule

Date	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	Result
September 15*	Northeast Louisiana		Scott Field • Starkville, MS	T 21–21
September 22	Vanderbilt		Scott Field • Starkville, MS	W 52–21
September 29	#16 Florida		Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium • Jackson, MS	W 33–12
October 6	Kentucky		Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium • Jackson, MS (Rivalry)	L 14–42
October 13*	at Florida State		Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL	W 37–12
October 20*	at Louisville		Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY	W 18–7
October 27*†	Southern Miss		Scott Field • Starkville, MS	T 10–10
November 3	#2 Alabama		Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium • Jackson, MS (Rivalry)	L 0–35
November 10	at Auburn		Cliff Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL	L 17–31
November 17	at LSU		Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	L 7–26
November 24	vs. Ole Miss		Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium • Jackson, MS (Egg Bowl)	L 10–38
*Non-Conference Game. †Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll.

Game notes

Vanderbilt

by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total Vanderbilt 0 14 7 0 21 • Mississippi State 7 14 14 14 49 Date: September 22 Location: Scott Field, Starkville, MS Game attendance: 25,136 Scoring summary 1 MSU Wayne Jones 15 yard run (Vic Nickels kick) MSU 7-0 2 VAN Paul Bragdon 8 yard run (kick failed) Tied 7-7 2 VAN Mark Dietrich 30 yard pass from Fred Fisher (Fred Fisher run) VAN 14-7 2 MSU Wayne Jones 3 yard run (Vic Nickels kick) Tied 14-14 2 MSU Bill Buckley 23 yard pass from Rocky Felker (Vic Nickels kick) MSU 21-14 2 MSU Vic Nickels 42 yard field goal MSU 24-14 3 VAN Martin 69 yard pass from Fred Fisher (Golden kick) MSU 24-21 3 MSU Tommy Strahan yard pass from Rockey Felker (Vic Nickels kick) MSU 31-21 3 MSU Wayne Jones 21 yard run (Vic Nickels kick) MSU 38-21 4 MSU Rocky Felker 16 yard run (Vic Nickels kick) MSU 45-21 4 MSU Ray Costict 1 yard run (Vic Nickels kick) MSU 52-21

Fullback Wayne Jones broke through Vanderbilt's defense for 117 yards and three scores in Mississippi State's rout of Vanderbilt and gave head coach Bob Tyler his first victory. Jones, a 215-pound senior, opened the scoring before the Commodores took charge with two scores. Jones then capped a 69-yard drive to pull State even. Jones' third touchdown came in the third after what turned out to be Vanderbilt's only score of the half. It was the Bulldogs' biggest win since 1952 versus Auburn.