Mississippi State Faces Toledo: Remember the Rockets’ 2015 Upset of Arkansas?

Bulldogs can’t take anything for granted Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium

The Toledo Rockets celebrate against the Arkansas Razorbacks at War Memorial Stadium. / Mark D. Smith-Imagn Images

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State has never played Toledo, but the Rockets do have experience playing against SEC teams.

Toledo didn’t play an SEC team until the 2013 season and with the most recent game being in 2019 against Kentucky, a 38-24 loss. The Rockets have also lost to Florida (24-6, 2013) and Missouri twice (38-23, 2013; 49-24, 2014).

To quote one of greatest sports movies ever, The Little Giants, even if you get beat 99 times out of 100 that still leaves (pause for dramatic effect) one time.

Toledo has it’s “one time” and it came in 2015 against Arkansas.

The Rockets traveled to War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Ark. for their first game of the 2015 season on Sept. 12. Here’s how they pulled off the upset:

The Razorbacks entered the game ranked 18th in the nation and were a contender for that season’s SEC championship. Toledo, meanwhile, was coming off a 9-4 previous season but was considered one of the favorites to win the MAC that year.

Toledo’s experienced defense held Arkansas scoreless until midway through the second quarter and with a 6-0 lead. The Rockets kicked a field goal before halftime to hold a 9-7 lead and extended that lead late in the third quarter to 16-7.

The Rockets' defense gave up 515 total yards, but the defense rarely broke and allowed the Razorbacks to score points.

Arkansas kicked a field goal in the fourth quarter to close the gap to 16-10 with 9:30 to play. The Razorbacks would get a late safety and had a shot at winning the game in the final seconds, but the pass fell incomplete and Toledo celebrated a 16-12 win.

So, Bulldog fans take caution, Saturday is far from an easy win.

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