*Mississippi State returns to bowl*
Central Florida (10-3) vs. Mississippi St (7-5) 4:30 pm EST Liberty Bowl December 29
MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) -- For the first time during the Sylvester Croom era, Mississippi State has gone bowling.
Mississippi State looks to put an exclamation point on its surprising season when it faces Central Florida in the Liberty Bowl on Saturday.
The first black coach in the history of the Souteastern Conference, Croom entered this season on shaky ground after compiling a 9-25 record in his first three seasons.
However, Croom was able to turn things around this season, guiding the Bulldogs to the postseason for the first time since a 43-41 victory over Texas A&M in the Independence Bowl in 2000.
The highlight of the season for the Bulldogs was back-to-back SEC wins over Kentucky and Alabama, which both were ranked at the time.
With inconsistent play at quarterback, the Bulldogs rely on the running of Anthony Dixon (980 yards, 13 touchdowns) and Christian Ducre (467 yards, three scores).
A major reason why Central Florida is in a bowl for a second time in its history is because of Kevin Smith, who is on the verge of making NCAA history.
Smith has rushed for 2,448 yards, putting him within 181 of breaking Barry Sanders' single-season record of 2,628 during his Heisman Trophy-winning campaign for Oklahoma State in 1988. Smith, who already has announced he would return for his senior season, has 29 TDs this campaign.
But Smith will face a stern test against Mississippi State, which already have slowed some of the nation's top backs this season.
The Bulldogs held Tulane's Matt Forte (second in the nation in rushing) to a season-low 47 yards on 14 carries in a 38-14 victory on September 9.
Perhaps even more impressively, the Bulldogs limited Arkansas' Darren McFadden - a Heisman Trophy finalist - to 88 yards on 28 carries in a 45-31 loss on November 17.
Central Florida, which won Conference USA, made its lone postseason appearance in 2005, a 49-48 overtime loss to Nevada in the Hawaii Bowl.
