1984 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team

Last updated
1984 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football
Conference Southwestern Athletic Conference
Record9–2 (6–1 SWAC)
Head coach
Home stadium Magnolia Stadium
Seasons
← 1983
1985 →
1984 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 1 Alcorn State $^ 7 –0 –09 –1 –0
No. 6 Mississippi Valley State ^ 6 –1 –09 –2 –0
Grambling State 5 –2 –07 –4 –0
Southern 4 –3 –06 –5 –0
Jackson State 3 –4 –04 –5 –1
Texas Southern 2 –5 –05 –6 –0
Alabama State 1 –6 –02 –9 –0
Prairie View A&M 0 –7 –00 –11 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

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. Led by fifth-year head coach Archie Cooley, the Delta Devils played their home games at Magnolia Stadium—now known as Rice–Totten Stadium—in Itta Bena, Mississippi. Mississippi Valley finished the season with an overall record of 9–2 and a mark of 6–1 in conference play, placing second in the SWAC. The team qualified for the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, losing to Louisiana Tech in the first round. 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.

Contents

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 1at Kentucky State *
W 86–01,300 [1]
September 15at Washburn *
W 77–154,000 [2] [3]
September 22at Jackson State No. T–18
W 49–3250,337 [4]
September 29at No. 11 Southern
W 63–45 [5]
October 13vs. Grambling State
W 48–3640,000 [6]
October 20at Texas Southern No. 8
W 55–42 [7]
October 27 Prairie View A&M Dagger-14-plain.pngNo. 5
W 71–611,341 [8] [9] [10]
November 3vs. No. 4 Alcorn State No. 5
  • Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium
  • Jackson, MS
L 28–4263,808 [11]
November 10 Alabama State No. 8
  • Magnolia Stadium
  • Itta Bena, MS
W 49–7 [12]
November 17 Langston *No. 8
  • Magnolia Stadium
  • Itta Bena, MS
W 83–11 [13]
November 24at No. 9 Louisiana Tech *No. 6
L 19–6617,500 [14]

Individual accomplishments

As a senior in 1984, Jerry Rice broke his own NCAA Division I-AA records for receptions (112) and receiving yards (1,845). His 27 touchdown receptions in that 1984 season set the NCAA mark for all divisions. Rice caught 17 passes for 199 yards against Southern, 17 for 294 against Kentucky State, and 15 for 285 against Jackson State, in the first win for Mississippi Valley over the Tigers since 1954. He scored five touchdowns twice that year. Rice was named to every 1984 College Football All-America Team, including the Associated Press squad, and finished ninth in Heisman Trophy balloting. In the Blue–Gray Football Classic all-star game played on Christmas Day, he earned MVP honors. [15]

Rice finished his college career with 301 catches for 4,693 yards and 50 touchdowns. His NCAA record for total career touchdown receptions stood until October 7, 2006, when University of New Hampshire wide receiver David Ball, recorded his 51st career receiving touchdown. [16]

Team players in the NFL

PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL club
Jerry Rice Wide receiver 116 San Francisco 49ers

Related Research Articles

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Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium has been the home stadium of the Jackson State Tigers football team since 1970. Originally known as War Veterans Memorial Stadium, it was later known as Hinds County War Memorial Stadium. It was redesigned and enlarged in 1960 and Ole Miss vs. Arkansas dedicated Mississippi Memorial Stadium in 1961 before a capacity crowd of 46,000. With political support from Ole Miss and Mississippi State and leadership from Ole Miss Athletics Director Warner Alford, Mississippi Memorial Stadium was enlarged to 62,500 in 1981 and on September 26, 1981 Ole Miss and Arkansas again dedicated the facility before 63,522.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rice–Totten Stadium</span> Stadium in Mississippi, U.S.A.

Rice–Totten Stadium is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose stadium location in Itta Bena, Mississippi, United States. It serves as the home field of the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team of Mississippi Valley State University. The stadium opened in 1958 as Magnolia Stadium and was renamed in 2000 in honor of former MVSU football players Jerry Rice and Willie Totten, who set many NCAA Division I-AA records in the 1980s. Rice went on to a 20-year career in the National Football League (NFL) and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Totten played professional football for several years after college and then went into coaching, serving as the head football coach at Mississippi Valley State from 2002 to 2009. He is one of the few college football coaches to have coached a game at a facility named after themselves.

Willie "Satellite" Totten is an American football coach and former player. He is the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach at Mississippi Valley State University, a position he had held since 2019. Totten played college football at Mississippi Valley State and was as the starting quarterback at Delta Devils. Teamed with wide receiver Jerry Rice, Totten set more than 50 NCAA Division I-AA passing records while Rice setting many receiving records. The Delta Devils averaged 59 points a game during the 1984 season, with Totten throwing for a record 58 touchdowns and leading the Delta Devils to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. Archie Cooley, who was the head coach at MVSU from 1980 to 1986, was the architect of the pass-oriented offense that utilized the skills of Totten. Totten served as the head football coach at Mississippi Valley State from 2002 to 2009.

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Archie "Gunslinger" Cooley is a former college football coach. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi Valley State University from 1980 to 1986, University of Arkansas–Pine Bluff from 1987 to 1991, Norfolk State University in 1993, and Paul Quinn College from 2000 to 2006. At Mississippi Valley State, Cooley coached the tandem of Willie Totten and Jerry Rice, future College Football Hall of Fame quarterback and wide receiver, respectively.

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The 2008 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team represented Mississippi Valley State University as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Willie Totten, the Delta Devils compiled an overall record of 3–8 and a mark of 1–8 in conference play, and finished tied for fourth in the SWAC East Division.

The 2007 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team represented Mississippi Valley State University as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2007 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Willie Totten, the Delta Devils compiled an overall record of 3–8 and a mark of 2–6 in conference play, and finished tied for fourth in the SWAC East Division.

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The 2004 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team represented Mississippi Valley State University as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by third-year head coach Willie Totten, the Delta Devils compiled an overall record of 3–8 and a mark of 2–7 in conference play, and finished last in the SWAC East Division.

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The 2017 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team represented Mississippi Valley State University as a member of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by Rick Comegy in his fourth and final season as head coach, the Delta Devils compiled an overall record of 2–9 and a mark of 1–8 in conference play, placing last out of five teams in the SWAC's East Division. Mississippi Valley State played home games at Rice–Totten Stadium in Itta Bena, Mississippi.

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References

  1. ↑ "Kentucky State is mauled 86-0". The Courier-Journal . Louisville, Kentucky. September 2, 1984. p. C6. Retrieved July 18, 2021– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  2. ↑ Richardson, Bill (September 16, 1984). "Mississippi Valley State cuts through Washburn 77-15". The Kansas City Star . Kansas City, Missouri. p. 231. Retrieved July 18, 2021– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  3. ↑ "Miss. Valley 77, Washburn 15". The Clarion-Ledger . Jackson, Mississippi. September 16, 1984. p. 14D. Retrieved July 18, 2021– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  4. ↑ "Valley chews up Jackson State 49–32". The Clarion-Ledger. September 23, 1984. Retrieved April 5, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Mississippi Valley 63, Southern 45". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. September 30, 1984. Retrieved April 5, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "QB Totten tosses for 4 TDs as Devils roll". The Indianapolis Star. October 14, 1984. Retrieved March 19, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Totten throttles TSU". Victoria Advocate. October 21, 1984. Retrieved April 5, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Nance, Roscoe (October 28, 1984). "No pity: Valley 71, PV 6". The Clarion-Ledger . Jackson, Mississippi. p. 1D. Retrieved July 18, 2021– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  9. ↑ Nance, Roscoe (October 28, 1984). "No pity (continued)". The Clarion-Ledger . Jackson, Mississippi. p. 7D. Retrieved July 18, 2021– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  10. ↑ "Miss. Valley 71, Prairie View 6". The Clarion-Ledger . Jackson, Mississippi. October 28, 1984. p. 16D. Retrieved July 18, 2021– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  11. ↑ "Qualls captures spotlight as Braves rip Delta Devils". The Commercial Appeal. November 4, 1984. Retrieved April 5, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Miss. Valley rips Alabama State". The Montgomery Advertiser. November 11, 1984. Retrieved April 5, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Valley flood rips Langston in 83–11 rout". The Daily Oklahoman. November 18, 1984. Retrieved April 5, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "La. Tech ravages Valley". The Clarion-Ledger. November 25, 1984. Retrieved July 2, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "ESPN Classic - 49ers era was Rice era".
  16. ↑ "David Ball Stats, News, Bio".
  17. ↑ "Willie Totten Stats".
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