JACKSON, Miss. -- Quarterback John Bond galloped 57 yards for one touchdown and fired a 54-yard pass to set up another Saturday to lift 16th-ranked Mississippi State to a 19-14 victory over arch-rival Mississippi in a rainy regular-season finale for both teams.
Bond, a 200-pound freshman from Valdosta, Ga., rushed and passed for a total of 314 yards in guiding the Bulldogs to their ninth victory against two defeats -- their best record since a 9-0-1 mark in 1940.
Mississippi State already had accepted an invitation to play in the Sun Bowl at El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 27.
The Rebels, who wound up 3-8, trailed most of the overcast afternoon but pushed ahead 14-13 with 8:20 left on a 7-yard scoring pass from quarterback John Fourcade to flanker Gino English. Their hopes for an upset, however, were quickly dashed.
Bond fired to split end Glen Young on a play covering 54 yards, and halfback Michael Haddix scored on the next play on a 10-yard run to clinch the triumph.
Fourcade, the Southeastern Conference's total offense leader, finished with 129 yards -- all on passes. He completed the year with a school record of 2,299 total yards, beating the old mark of 2,264 set by Archie Manning in 1969.
Both teams were hindered by turnovers as a steady rain fell throughout the game, played before a record crowd of 62,520, the biggest ever to see a football game in Mississippi. The Rebels had four passes picked off, two of them by cornerback Willie Jackson, while State gave up one interception and two fumbles.
