Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom, above, tips his hat to the crowd following MSU’s 28-7 win on Saturday. The victory was Croom’s first as head coach of the Bulldogs. (Brian LodenThe Vicksburg Post)

[9/5/04]STARKVILLE As the final seconds ticked off the Davis Wade Stadium clock Saturday night, the near-capacity maroon-clad Mississippi State home crowd of 52,112 began bellowing “Croooom.”

The man had arrived.

Behind a tenacious defense and a second-half offensive surge, Mississippi State defeated Tulane 28-7 for Sylvester Croom’s first victory as a head coach.

“All day, and on the bus ride over, I kept thinking, 28 years to get to this day,'” Croom said. “And now it’s here. A dream that was an impossible dream at one time, today became a reality.”

As has been his nature since his hiring as the first African-American head football coach in the storied history of the Southeastern Conference, Croom shifted the significance of the victory to his players.

“It’s never been about me,” Croom said. “It’s always been about the players. When it gets to a point when it’s not about the players, it’s time to hang up the whistle.”

Croom’s Bulldogs used a mixture of a defense that harassed Tulane quarterback Lester Ricard into a 16-for-31 performance and two interceptions. The Bulldogs held the Green Wave to 205 yards of total offense and only one touchdown.

“The Mississippi State teams of the 90s were really good on defense,” said MSU defensive end Willie Evans. “We are a fundamentally sound defense right now and we can play against anybody.”

Near the end of a scoreless first half, MSU’s Clarence McDougal intercepted Ricard in the end zone after the Wave had driven to the MSU 6 yard line.

“Any time a team scores right before the half, it has a tremendous impact on the team,” Croom said. “I thought we showed a lot by stopping them there.”

The teams went into halftime tied at 0, but MSU came out firing in the second half. Croom said there was no major shift in strategy at the break.

“You writers make such a big deal about making adjustments at halftime,” he said. “There really isn’t that much. You only have 20 minutes and you have to go to the bathroom and all. If you don’t have the gameplan in by halftime, there’s no sense trying to come up with one then. It’s not a big deal.”

The Bulldogs made it look like one.

Norwood rushed for 91 of his game-high 113 yards in the second half, and a spirited offense scored two quick touchdowns to take a 14-0 lead.

“We came out fighting in the second half,” Norwood said. “I think we got stronger as the game went on.”

Norwood scored the first MSU touchdown two minutes into the third quarter after Ricard was intercepted by Darren Williams. The junior from Brandon went untouched 9 yards for a 7-0 lead. Less than five minutes later, Omarr Conner connected with freshman tight end Eric Butler on an 11-yard TD pass to extend the lead to 14-0.

“The opportunity we had late in the first half was big, but we did not convert and it turned into a 14-point swing,” Tulane coach Chris Scelfo said. “I am not disappointed in our offense, but I am disappointed in the fact that we had two great drives in the first half and did not score any points.”

The Wave scored their only touchdown early in the fourth quarter on a 59-yard completion from Ricard to Chris Bush to slice the lead in half.

The Bulldogs responded on the next drive, moving 85 yards in six plays. Norwood’s 43-yard run highlighted the drive and Fred Reid drove in from 5 yards out for a 21-7 lead.

MSU added a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Conner, a highly touted quarterback from Noxubee County, went 9-for-17 with 102 yards and a touchdown. He came out in the third quarter for two series, while junior Kyle York took the snaps. Croom said afterward that Conner was near exhaustion.

During the final moments, Croom was doused with a bucket of ice water that “almost gave me a heart attack.” Players jumped around the sideline as a mass celebration unfolded around the coach.

“I knew if we would have lost, people would have been skeptical about coach Croom,” said MSU defensive back David Heard, who starred at Vicksburg High. “We’re all glad we got that win for him. This one was definitely for coach Croom.”