1985 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

The 1985 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University during the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. Head coach Emory Bellard was fired after the season, the Bulldogs' fourth consecutive losing season.^[1]

1985 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	5–6 (0–6 SEC)
Head coach	Emory Bellard (7th season)
Defensive coordinator	Melvin Robertson (7th season)
Home stadium	Scott Field (capacity: 32,000)
Seasons ← 1984 1986 →

1985 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Tennessee $	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	1	–	2
No. 5 Florida	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	1	–	1
No. 13 Alabama	4	–	1	–	1			9	–	2	–	1
No. 20 LSU	4	–	1	–	1			9	–	2	–	1
Georgia	3	–	2	–	1			7	–	3	–	2
Auburn	3	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Ole Miss	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	1
Vanderbilt	1	–	4	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
Kentucky	1	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Mississippi State	0	–	6	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
$ – Conference champion Florida ineligible for SEC championship due to NCAA probation. Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 7	Arkansas State*	Scott Field Starkville, MS		W 22–14	28,122	^[2]
September 14	Syracuse*	Scott Field Starkville, MS		W 30–3	26,832
September 21	vs. Southern Miss*	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS		W 23–20	54,300	^[3]
September 28	No. 11 Florida	Scott Field Starkville, MS		L 22–36	34,588
October 5	Memphis State*	Scott Field Starkville, MS		W 31–28	26,012
October 12	at Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY		L 19–33	58,345
October 19	Tulane*	Scott Field Starkville, MS		W 31–27	30,420	^[4]
October 26	at No. 6 Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL		L 9–21	68,700
November 2	at Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)		L 28–44	60,210	^[5]
November 16	at No. 19 LSU	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	TigerVision	L 15–17	76,099
November 23	vs. Ole Miss	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (Egg Bowl)		L 27–45
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[6]

Roster

1985 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 15 Don Smith Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Emory Bellard Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

References

1. "Mississippi State's Bellard Fired as Coach, Forecaster". Los Angeles Times. November 28, 1985. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
2. "MSU pulls out 22–14 victory over ASU". The Greenwood Commonwealth. September 8, 1985. Retrieved October 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Blitzing Bulldogs scramble Eagles". The Clarion-Ledger. September 22, 1985. Retrieved March 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "State escapes Tulane". The Clarion-Ledger. October 20, 1985. Retrieved October 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Alabama whets SEC taste in romp over State". The Clarion-Ledger. November 3, 1985. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
6. College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 25, 2015