Mississippi State’s Jerious Norwood fights for yards in Saturday’s 20-3 loss to Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. (Meredith SpencerThe Vicksburg Post)

[11/30/04]OXFORD Things seem to be coming in threes for Mississippi State.

Despite all the hoopla that surrounded Mississippi State in the past year, the product on the field yielded much the same result.

In the end, the Bulldogs (3-8) finished with another three-win season, quite similar to the previous three years in which they went 3-8, 3-9 and 2-10. MSU also lost the Egg Bowl to Ole Miss for the third straight time.

Not surprisingly, Mississippi State scored only three points in the 20-3 loss to Ole Miss on Saturday.

“We didn’t come out like we were supposed to,” quarterback Omarr Conner said. “Ole Miss came out pumped up and stayed in the game.”

Freshman quarterback Robert Lane led the Rebels on a 98-yard drive that put the Ole Miss ahead 17-3 in the third quarter and broke the Bulldogs’ will.

“We played poorly. We should have been better on defense,” said cornerback David Heard, a Vicksburg native who forced and recovered a fumble in the game. “You can’t let them have a 98-yard drive.”

Saturday’s loss ended a tumultous year of ups and downs for the Bulldogs.

Jackie Sherrill, MSU’s coach for 13 years, retired after last year’s Egg Bowl. The program underwent an NCAA investigation for rule violations.

In the midst of a media storm, MSU hired Sylvester Croom the first black head coach in the Southeastern Conference.

Croom preached discipline to his players throughout the offseason as he worked to resurrect the crumbling program. The players responded with a season-opening win over Tulane, but soon stumbled.

After an expected loss to powerful Auburn, the Bulldogs dropped a 9-7 heartbreaker to Division I-AA Maine. The Black Bears finished the season 5-6.

More losses followed as MSU ran its losing streak to five entering a home game against SEC power Florida.

But the Bulldogs pulled off a wondrous 38-31 victory over the Gators on Oct. 23 for their first SEC win in more than a year and only their second since 2001. Fans stormed the field, ripped up turf and tore down the goalposts in celebration. MSU carried that momentum to beat Kentucky the following week.

“Beating Florida and winning more games than last year, those are two positives that we can take into next year,” defensive back Quinton Culberson said.

But the Bulldogs lost their way in the home stretch, falling to Croom’s alma mater, Alabama, and then to Arkansas and Ole Miss.

The defense played well on Saturday, forcing three interceptions and a fumble, but the offense never got untracked. Mississippi State had only 88 total yards after three quarters and finished with 220.

“We didn’t play well offensively at all. In the first half we didn’t even show up,” Croom said. “The frustrating thing is that we were not able to establish any consistency in the running game.”

The Bulldogs’ two biggest playmakers couldn’t come through. Conner was 8-of-28 for 150 yards with an interception and a fumble. Tailback Jerious Norwood carried 11 times for 24 yards.

The good news for MSU is that the majority of its players will be returning for next season. The Bulldogs will lose three starters on offense and two on defense.

Both Conner and Norwood will return, along with top receivers Will Prosser and Tee Milons. In his first year starting, the sophomore Conner threw for 1,224 yards with six touchdowns and seven interceptions in nine games.

Norwood finished third in the SEC with 1,050 rushing yards and seven TDs.

Croom still has plenty of work cut out for him in his second season. The Bulldogs have lost 12 straight road games and haven’t defeated an SEC West opponent since 2001’s Egg Bowl victory. He also will have more time to continue to rid Starkville of its recent culture of losing.

“Everyone loves coach Croom on Mississippi State’s campus,” Culberson said. “He’s just a great coach, he’s a great motivator. He’s never talked down on his players. He always motivates them to do their best.”