A massive brawl that unfolded along the edge of the field and all down the Tulsa sideline puncuated the end of the Armed Forces Bowl, won 28-26 by Mississippi State over the Golden Hurricane.
As ESPN's broadcast crew noted in its video of the melee, “Those are real punches being thrown.” The game had some chippy moments, including just prior to the final horn on Tulsa's onside-kick attempt. Mississippi State both recovered the ball and also elicited a personal foul, unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty on Erroll Thompson, who absolutely blasted a Tulsa player and then appeared to stand over the Tulsa player and taunt him after Thompson's hit left the player sprawled on the turf. Bulldogs player Malik Heath (4) appeared to kick a Tulsa player directly into the chest after the Tulsa player had fallen along the sideline. “Don't do it anymore,” Bulldogs coach Mike Leach told ESPN was his message to player after MSU's upset-win. “That stuff's going back and forth during the course of the game.”
In his post-game press conference, Leach said the scene on the field at game's end “was a most pit out there.”
"Where the dumb started, I'm not entirely sure," Leach said, who in his post-game said the incident did not detract from the Bulldogs' win.