Mississippi State vs. Illinois: Looking Into the All-Time Series

Looking into the history of Mississippi State vs. Illinois prior to their game in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

No. 22 Mississippi State will play Illinois in the Reliaquest Bowl on Monday, January 2nd, in Tampa, Florida.

This marks the Bulldogs' 13th consecutive bowl game, dating back to the 2010 season. It is the seventh highest active streak in the country, trailing Oklahoma State's 17 straight bowl games.

For Illinois, this marks the Fighting Illini's first bowl game appearance since 2019, when they lost 20-25 to California in the RedBox Bowl. It is also the team's first under head coach Bret Bielema.

Prior to January's matchup, Mississippi State and Illinois have only played each other twice in their respective team's history. The series is tied dead even at 1-1.

The first meeting between the two programs took place on Nov. 17, 1923, where the Bulldogs were shut out by the Fighting Illini 27-0.

The second, and most recent meeting prior to next month, was on Oct. 4, 1980, where the Bulldogs outlasted Illinois 28-21 under then head coach Emory Bellard, who is famously often credited for the creation of the wishbone formation.

An interesting note is that both games were played on Illinois' home field in Champaign, Illinois, making their upcoming matchup next month the first time the two teams will meet on neutral ground.

It will be interesting to see who breaks the tie when both teams head to  Raymond James Stadium on Jan. 2, 2023 with kickoff set for 11:00 AM CT.