Massimo Biscardi made a 27-yard tiebreaking field goal with four seconds left, Marcus Banks returned a fumble 60 yards for a touchdown on the game's last play and No. 24 Mississippi State rallied to beat Illinois 19-10 on Monday in the ReliaQuest Bowl in the Bulldogs' first game since coach Mike Leach's death.
Banks' score came on Illinois' fifth lateral following a completed pass after the Fighting Ilini got the ball at their own 29. There was a scrum on the field as the game ended, but order was restored after a couple of minutes.
Will Rogers was 29 of 44 yards for 261 yards and one touchdown for Mississippi State (9-4, No. 22 CFP). Simeon Price had 68 rushing yards, including a key 28-yard dash on the go-ahead fourth-quarter drive, on seven attempts.
Tommy DeVito completed 23 of 34 passes for 253 yards for Illinois (8-5).
Reggie Love III rushed for 40 yards on 11 carries for Illinois. Fighting Illini running back Chase Brown, the nation's second-leading rusher in the regular season with 1,643 yards, sat out to prepare for the NFL draft.
Illinois lost all five of its games by nine points or fewer. The school hasn't had a nine-win season since the Rose Bowl team in 2007 went 9-4.
Mississippi State was held without a touchdown until the first play of the fourth quarter, when Rogers connected on an eight-yard throw to Justin Robinson that tied the game at 10.
Robinson had seven receptions for 81 yards. Illinois' Isaiah Williams picked up 114 yards on nine catches.
The Bulldogs averaged 32.7 points during the regular season.
Illinois, which entered allowing 12.3 points and held six opponents to fewer than 10 points, played without defensive backs Devon Witherspoon and Sydney Brown. Both opted out ahead of the NFL draft.
DeVito put Illinois up 7-0 on a two-yard run with 2:49 left in the second quarter.
Mississippi State responded with a 38-yard field goal by Biscardi with nine seconds to go in the first half.
IIlinois went up 10-3 on a 52-yard field goal by Caleb Griffin midway through the third.
Mississippi State was limited to 50 yards on its first three possessions, while the next two ended on interceptions by Matthew Bailey and Kendall Smith.
Illinois tops the nation with 24 interceptions.
Illinois hosts Toledo on Sept. 2 to open the 2023 season.
