The team qualified for the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, losing to Louisiana Tech in the first round. Mississippi Valley State entered the game ranked fifth in the nation thanks to its high-octane offense. I remember, I got up that morning with a sore back, but there was no way I was missing that game. College Football at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. Totten finished with nine touchdown passes, five to Rice. "I believe everything starts with hard work, the time that you put in, the chemistry is going to develop if you're around that person and you work hard," Rice said. A few formations would call for receivers in both slot positions. Mississippi Valley State has just added another piece to its offensive line as it prepares for the 2022 season. They were a great team and had a great offense, too. A standard workout that fall started with five trainers, each ready to go with a ball. (And if you can't), then you take a three-point stance and say, 'Our Father, who art in heaven .'". Visit ESPN to view the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils team roster for the current season Pirtle, Devin "Improvement wasn't something I worried about," Cooley said. The selection was a dream come true for Rice, long before he turned out to be a dream come true for the Niners. THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS. "We didn't worry about all the attention that was coming," Rice told FOX Sports of the '84 MVSU team, which went 9-2 and averaged 640 yards and nearly 61 points per game in the regular season. We were just playing the game, and it just so happened that what we were doing brought a lot of notoriety and attention to us. Shanklin, Jaydyn The beatdown likely would have been worse, if not for four Totten's interceptions. The only chance for true redemption would come in the playoffs, where Mississippi Valley met Louisiana Tech in the first round, but a dream of a I-AA national championship died hard and fast, with the Bulldogs cruising to a 66-19 home win, ending the Devils' season. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Rice would finish the '83 season with a I-AA record 102 catches and 1,450 yards, with a record 24 catches and 279 yards coming in one game, a 31-28 loss to Southern. We did it every day, and all day. Led by quarterback Willie Totten and legendary receiver Jerry Rice, the Delta Devils annihilated opposing teams en route to a 9-2 record. They have to be in condition because they don't have time to stand around and talk and work out situations and things of that nature.". A crowd of 63,808 saw the game, which was originally scheduled for Saturday in Mississippi Valley's 10,000-seat stadium at Itta Bena. Football | March 30, 2023 View Archives HBCU NATIONAL CHAMPION NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL EAGLES AND MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE DELTA DEVILS TO APPEAR IN THE 39TH ANNIVERSARY CIRCLE CITY All rights reserved. "I knew then, if we could play against Jackson State, with one of the greatest coaches I've ever coached against (W.C. Gorden), who won eight SWAC championships in the '80s if we could score that easily on Jackson, then everyone else was going to be soup. ", "I knew people had two-minute offenses, but I'd never known them to do it the whole football game," Cooley added. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. And one can't help but wonder whether any of it would have happened had they not believed in a crazy Gunslinger coach with a gimmicky system to lead them to one of the most exciting seasons football has ever seen. So Coach Cooley really got people looking but never got the credit for being inventive or courageous enough to run that kind of offense.". The Braves then added another score with a pick-six of Totten on the next Mississippi Valley possession, sending the Devils to their first defeat, despite eight catches for 134 yards from Rice. In MVSU's second game, a 77-15 win over Washburn, Rice hauled in 15 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown a low-key output by his standards with Totten completing 36 of 55 passes for 402 yards and six touchdowns. Williams, Ty'Jarian Other times, Cooley would call for a triple-stack, with one guy in the slot, occasionally putting someone in the backfield with Totten. Betts, Caleb Williams Sr. Marlon After getting that long awaited taste of success in 1983, Cooley made it his mission to transform a feared offense into one that was totally unstoppable, and by the start of training camp in 1984, the Gunslinger had a playbook of more than 200 whimsical, schoolyard-inspired plays that utilized any and every imaginable formation Cooley thought might give him a chance to fool an opponent. The MVSU offense would start at its own goal line and run a play, at which point another trainer would introduce a new ball and immediately run the next one. Do you have a sports website? "Then the next morning, when we were having our pregame meal, he came down and was all excited, and he said, 'I just saw probably the best receiver in the country,' " recalled John McVay, then the GM of the 49ers, in an interview with FOX Sports. Smith, Deontez 1984 Mississippi State Bulldogs Roster | College Football at Sports-Reference.com via Sports Logos.net About logos 1984 Mississippi State Bulldogs Roster Previous Year Next Year Record: 4-7 (76th of 110) ( Schedule & Results ) Conference: SEC Conference Record: 1-5 Coach: Emory Bellard (4-7) Points For: 198 Points/G: 18.0 (81st of 110) Brunson. Los Angeles, California: Junipero Serra HS: Portland State Lacy, Clarence Known as the "Home in the Woods," Itta Bena, with a population of just over 2,000, prides itself as the birthplace of B.B. Fred Rice had nine catches for 155 yards, including a memorable 64-yard touchdown catch-and-run on the last play of the second half, and by chance, Niners coach Bill Walsh happened to be watching from a hotel across the state in New Orleans the night before San Francisco was set to play the Saints. Mississippi Valley State wasn't in the hunt for a national title in 1984, as its neighbors at Ole Miss and Mississippi State are today. Visit ESPN to view the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils team roster for the current season 84 Mississippi Valley State (Jerry Rice) Watch on The Satellite Express was diabolical, even by today's standards, and MVSU put up impossible numbers in 1984. Holmes, Zane Quinney, Bobby In fact, the Delta Devils didn't and still don't play in the same class. The Delta Devils play in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). You could be forgiven if you passed through the tiny town of Itta Bena, Miss., without even knowing you were there. Anderson, Cayden But there was also something to be said for the connection between Rice who'd picked up the nickname "World" for his ability to catch anything near him and Totten, a bond that was formed on the football field but stretched far beyond it. Hide/Show Additional Information For Alabama State - October 15, 2022. 4 Alcorn State, a fellow undefeated that boasted one of the best defenses in I-AA. "I would save the best five plays that the opponent ran against Tennessee State's defense, when Coach (Joe) Gilliam was the coordinator at the time," said Cooley, who played center and linebacker at Jackson State in the 1950s. The Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils ' Ronnie Thomas signed with the Canadian Football League ( CFL) Calgary Stampeder on Thursday evening . By that point, Mississippi Valley was 7-0 and looked virtually unbeatable. The 1984 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils team represented the Mississippi Valley State University as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 1984 NCAA Division I-AA football season. We present them here for purely educational purposes. The key to Cooley's Frankenstein offense, see, was that defenses would never know what was coming, even when the right call seemed obvious. 1984-85 Mississippi Valley State (Men's) Season, Mississippi Valley State (Men's) School History, Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Monday, May 1, 12:49AM. You have to develop that chemistry, and I think with Willie Totten, I knew exactly what he was thinking at all times, when he was going to release the football, when I had one-on-one coverage, I knew he was coming my direction.". In the BlueGray Football Classic all-star game played on Christmas Day, he earned MVP honors. The wins would keep piling up for Mississippi Valley. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. And sometimes, they'd just line up in a traditional set using a conventional formation as an element of surprise. "We knew we had to have something special to do it against Jackson, so we did a smaller amount of (our offense) against Washburn and Kentucky State," Cooley said. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. With a 45-26 win over LSU, Bulldog quarterback John Bond became the first and only quarterback to register four wins over LSU. In fact, the Delta Devils didn't and still. Of course, in order to outwork the other team, that meant Mississippi Valley State had to be in better shape. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. ", Added Rice: "I think it really showed, our hard work and dedication, and I have always done that with all my quarterbacks, even with Joe Montana, Steve Young. In a 48-36 win over Grambling, Rice caught just eight passes but still managed 174 yards and two scores, while Totten threw for 545 yards overall. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. There is no additional information to display. Livingston, Brendon They just couldn't handle what we did.". Pitts, Ryan The game wasn't without its share of controversy, as Cooley, to this day, accuses Tech of sending a scout posing as a newspaper reporter to watch Mississippi Valley's preparations, and there's a thought by Valley fans that the referees allowed Tech to play too physically on defense, making it tough for Totten's receivers to get open. 8/30/2018 11:11:00 AM Cooley and them started that at Mississippi Valley State.' : Davis, Chris Active Coaches: Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Mike Tomlin, Pete Carroll . We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. You plug up the holes. All of the sudden, after a win over one of the conference's traditional powers in his pocket, Cooley and his offense weren't seen as so gimmicky anymore. In 1981, MVSU again fell short of its first winning season since 1965, putting together a 4-5-1 campaign that was followed up by a 5-5 effort in 1982, the first year both Rice and Totten played together. That meant one training camp from hell in the Delta, as Cooley implemented his new offensive scheme and the breakneck pace all at once, for multiple hours at a time, multiple times per day. "We just wanted to take care of our house, and we wanted to always go out there and put on the best performance we could possibly put on, and we wanted to win football games. The letdown wouldn't last long, as Mississippi Valley State beat Alabama State 49-7 the following week, then closed the regular season with an 83-11 win over Langston that saw MVSU lead 41-3 at the end of the first quarter, but the dream of a perfect season was long gone, along with the throng of media that had descended on Itta Bena and the little school that could. Use of this website (including any and all parts and components) constitutes your acceptance of these. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. The way he approached the game, he wanted to be the best guy on the field.". Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Itta Bena, Mississippi Rice-Totten Stadium at Chuck Prophet Field. In the third quarter, Valley was able to close the gap, and tied the score at 28-28 on the first play of the fourth, but in the end, it was Totten's propensity for interceptions that did the Devils in. 1984-85 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils Men's Roster and Stats Previous Season Next Season Record: 18-11 (8-7, 3rd in SWAC MBB ) Coach: Lafayette Stribling PS/G: 78.2 (17th of 282) PA/G: 72.1 (210th of 282) SRS: -2.25 (165th of 282) SOS: -7.29 (261st of 282) Mississippi Valley State (Men's) School History Roster & Stats Samuel. View Full Bio, Javier He didn't mind working, and Totten didn't mind either. (); : Do you have a sports website? "Every year that I spent at Mississippi Valley State was special to me, but I think that '84 showed that we had come together as a team and we felt really comfortable with Archie and what he was trying to do as a football team on the field," Rice said. Starters are marked with an asterisk (*). THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS, Copyright 2023 Mississippi Valley State University. Recap. 10/24/2014 11:28:00 AM. Jerry Rice and Deacon Jones, considered two of the greatest American football players of all time, spent their college days playing . After that, teams began to double- and triple-team Rice, sometimes leaving the Delta Devils' other receivers uncovered and allowing them to run roughshod. Then one day, during a jog around the football field with an assistant coach, the mad scientist Cooley came up with another wrinkle: The no-huddle offense. Baseball Baseball: Schedule Baseball: Roster Baseball: News Basketball Basketball: Schedule Basketball: Roster Basketball: News Cross Country Cross Country: Schedule Cross Country: Roster Cross Country: News Football Football: Schedule Football: Roster Football: News Tennis Tennis: Schedule Tennis . "It was a lot of fun because it was to the point where I wondered what they were going to play against the offense," Cooley said. Despite those record-breaking stats the receptions and yards marks broke Rices own I-AA record from the season before and the 27 TDs were, at the time, an all-division record -- he left the field that night in Ruston, La., without any certainty about what the future would hold.". Regular Season. Had the MVSU come out on the winning end of its 28-28 tie with eventual SWAC champ Grambling State, it would have finished in a tie with Grambling atop the conference. We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. (); : We were just trying to do what this crazy coach came up with, execute it and make it work.". You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Do you have a blog? It was just a complete reversal of what we had been doing all year. In what was known then as Division I-AA, the Valley's Cinderella season didn't end with a celebration, such as BYU's at the I-A level. 1983-84 Jackson State Tigers Men's Roster and Stats Previous Season Next Season Record: 10-18 (5-9, 7th in SWAC MBB ) Coach: Paul Covington PS/G: 63.4 (221st of 275) PA/G: 69.8 (179th of 275) SRS: -14.10 (258th of 275) SOS: -7.28 (250th of 275) Jackson State (Men's) School History Roster & Stats Polls, Schedule & Results On this page: Roster I always had that doubt that, 'Maybe I won't get picked.' Success was predictably hard to come by early on, as Cooley's players struggled to adjust to such a radical shift in the team's offensive approach and the Delta Devils went 4-4-1 in Cooley's first year. "They did a little bit of that back then, but they didn't take it to the extreme like we did. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Find out more. Twenty-three FCS players have been selected in the first round of the NFL draft since the sub-division's origins back in the fall of 1978. You can follow Sam Gardner on Twitter or email him at samgardnerfox@gmail.com. "I remember their coach saying that they knew they couldn't stop our offense in the middle of the field, but they prepared for us from the red zone in," Totten said. RUSTON -- In 1984, before the 1999-2001 St. Louis Rams and before the now-commonplace run-and-shoot offense, Mississippi Valley State was college football's original Greatest Show on Turf. "Even after practice, repetition-wise, we would run routes, I would catch extra footballs, just to get a feel for what Willie was thinking on the football field.". Willie Totten Willie "Satellite" Totten (born July 4, 1962) is an American football coach and former player. Magee, Gregory Harris Jr. Ben The official 2022 Football Roster for the Fort Valley State University Wildcats King but is mostly the type of one-stoplight burg that doesn't beg to be noticed. White, Amir He scored five touchdowns twice that year. Griffin. The 2023 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team will represent Mississippi Valley State University as a member of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Find out more. Football "I had coaches walk up to me at halftime and say, 'Cooley what are you trying to do, get me fired? ", Said Totten, who went on to a CFL career and played briefly in the NFL as a replacement player for the 1987 Bills: "We'd sit around the dorm laughing, talking about it getting to the NFL, playing in the NFL but I don't think he ever dreamed he'd be the best receiver to ever play the game. ); : "It doesn't bother me at all," Cooley says, "simply because I'm a person who did what I did, I appreciate the Lord giving me the intelligence to do it, and we did great things with it. With an offense led by quarterback Willie Totten and wide receiver Jerry Rice, the Delta Devils scored 628 points on the season, averaging more than 57 points per game. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Sometimes, though, Rice would line up as the last guy in one of those stack formations, where he would catch a screen pass with the option to either run it or throw it to one of the many streaking receivers sprinting in different directions across the field. The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. Franklin, Donavin By then, though, the Delta Devils had started to show some promise, especially from Rice, a star in the making who followed up a 30-catch freshman year by hauling in 66 passes for 1,134 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore. That crazy coach was Archie Cooley. Similarly, legendary Alcorn State coach Marino "The Godfather" Casem knew better than to underestimate what his former pupil Cooley was Casem's defensive coordinator in the early '70s was doing at Mississippi Valley. Join our linker program. The official 1984 Baseball schedule for the Mississippi State University Bulldogs You've got 50 points, why don't you lay off me?'" "And you're talking about doing this for an hour and a half, two hours straight without even stopping. In Mississippi Valley State's first game, against the same D-II Kentucky State team that had shut the Delta Devils out in the season before Cooley got to town, MVSU gained 699 yards with 17 on the ground, on 11 carries and won 86-0. I'm sure of that.". This would continue until either the MVSU offense reached the goal line at which point it would turn around and start over again or until it made a mistake, which required everyone to start over from the beginning. : We thought Coach Cooley was crazy because we were running, running, running up and down the field, up and down the field, and guys had to get adjusted to it. The Delta Devils had gone 7-2-1 in 1983, and looked to be even better this year. And it was during that wild ride of a 1984 season that Rice and an unheralded quarterback named Willie Totten perfected an innovative offensive scheme that came years before its time, rewriting the NCAA record books with the whole world watching. Without question, winning the SWAC was Valley's goal that season. Executives Bud Adams, Scott Pioli, George Halas . "When we got to the stadium, I guarantee that there were already 30,000 or 35,000 people already in there, and to see that happen, that was something that will always be a great feeling for Mississippi and for Valley nation, that we filled that stadium up," Totten said. Mississippi Valley finished the season with an overall record of 92 and a mark of 61 in conference play, placing second in the SWAC. 2020-2021 Football Roster - Mississippi Valley State University Athletics Mississippi Valley State University Athletics THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS Main Navigation Menu Sport Navigation Menu Spring 2021 Football Roster Go To Coaching Staff Print Download Stat Crew Roster (FRO) Roster Layout: Midway through the fourth quarter, with the game still tied, Valley was driving deep into Alcorn territory, looking to take the lead, but Totten threw an interception at the Alcorn 20. Jerry Rice and Deacon Jones, considered two of the greatest American football players of all time, spent their college days playing for the team. It was a lot of fun and a lot of people said we were running scores up, but it wasn't that. This page is not available in other languages. I got what I knew I would receive if they kept working like they worked.". You'd have guys who'd throw up or guys who'd collapse, but it was part of the process, getting your body ready to be able to endure four quarters of going at a very high tempo where you basically wear out your opponent. Some school's results have been altered by retroactive NCAA penalties. ); The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. Against Prairie View A&M, the floodgates opened for everyone, with Totten throwing for 599 yards and eight touchdowns, as Rice caught 10 passes for 198 yards and another five scores. THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS, Copyright 2023 Mississippi Valley State University, Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator/LB, Associate Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator/DB, Running Back Coach/Run Game & Recruiting Coordinator, Wide Receiver Coach/Passing Game Coordinator, Director of Football Operations / Academic Liason, Hide/Show Additional Information For Javier Anderson, Hide/Show Additional Information For Cayden Betts, Hide/Show Additional Information For Caleb Canada, Hide/Show Additional Information For Kobe Chambers, Hide/Show Additional Information For Zeilon Chestnut, Hide/Show Additional Information For Jaxson Davis, Hide/Show Additional Information For Chris Fagan, Hide/Show Additional Information For Kyrrae Franklin, Hide/Show Additional Information For Donavin Green, Hide/Show Additional Information For Tre Griffin.

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