The Big Lead

Mississippi State and Tulsa Brawl at End of Armed Forces Bowl

By Ryan Phillips

Mississippi State and Tulsa Brawl at the end of the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Mississippi State and Tulsa Brawl at the end of the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl /
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Mississippi State wound up beating Tulsa in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl 28-26 but things got messy at the end. The two teams got into a brawl after the final horn in what was a really ugly scene.

It was all precipitated by a cheap shot on an onside kick at the end, as a Mississippi State's Erroll Thompson hammered Tulsa's Ryan Nixon in the midsection on the play. The ball had yet to travel 10 yards, making the hit illegal. Thompson then stood over an injured Nixon and taunted him:

That led to this after the score went final:

Mississippi State's Malik Heath even kicked Tulsa's TieNeal Martin then ran away:

Another look:

And more:

Tulsa's Kendarin Ray was injured in the postgame fight and had to be helped off the field:

What an awful way for a game to end. Brawling after a low-level bowl game might be the dumbest thing you can do on a football field. Well, maybe second to whatever the hell this was.

UPDATE: Mississippi State coach Mike Leach sounded like an idiot after the brawl:

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