That’s right. If I remember correctly there was a close ending in the 97 game too. I was at the game with my dad who had gotten us good seats from a salesman. He was a purchasing agent and took the occasional “benefit.†We beat them in 99 in BDS with something like 6 turnovers with 5 being fumbles in the “revenge†game.
Yes, the 1997 game, Arky scored with 1:45 remaining.
We had six TOs in the 99 game - and it came down to Stoerner trying a Hail Mary for the tie/win at the end.
That season is why Mike Dubious was basically the Second Coming of Bill Curry save for the marital indiscretions. Go back and closely evaluate Mike's career. He was 24-23 with an SEC title (btw - the Arky loss in 97 was his first as head coach), but he was 0-4 in one score games in 97, 4-1 in 98, 4-2 in 99, and 0-4 in 2000.
And keep in mind that the 99 MSU game may have been a 13-point deficit at the end, but the game was much closer than that score indicates. We scored the game-winner on a bomb to Shamari Buchanon when Joe Lee Dunce sent the house (like he ever did anything else) and the oldest Tide Fans poster here could have caught the ball wide open as Shamari was.
What I'm saying is that Dubious basically benefited because in one year everything came together enough that he skated by. He was 8-11 in one score games, slightly below what average would be - and you should expect better than average at a school like UA. Curry was 8-5 in one-score games, but we'd have to microanalyze both coaches to get a fairer assessment. For example, although the 88 Ole Miss (Brick) game was a final score of ten points, the Rebels scored 15 points in the final 2:07 in a game we led at one point, 12-0. We blew a 15-3 first half lead to lose to LSU in 88, and does anyone really think that beating SW La by the score of 17-0 indicates a GOOD team? Plus, the 88 IB is artificially close - we trailed all day and made it look close at the end.
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