Mississippi State delivers gut-punch bad beat to Illinois backers

It is only  January 2 and there already is a brutal bad beat for the backers of Illinois.

The Fighting Illini saw Mississippi State go ahead 13-10 on a short field goal with seconds left in the Reliaquest Bowl.

So, if you were getting anywhere from 3-4 points — depending on where you engage in such activities — you were confident in Illinois.

Until …

The Illini attempted to win the game by taking a page from Stanford-Cal, decades ago.

And here we go:

The last lateral winds up with Marcus Banks, who returns it 60 yards for a touchdown and a 13-10 game turns into a 19-10 victory for the Bulldogs or a loss on many levels for fans of Illinois.

1st & 10 at ILL 29

(0:00 – 4th) Tommy DeVito pass complete to Casey Washington for 16 yds, lateral to Isaiah Williams for no gain, lateral to Tip Reiman for 1 yd, lateral to Casey Washington for 1 yd lateral to Tommy DeVito for 13 yds, Tommy DeVito fumbled, recovered by MisSt Marcus Banks, return for 60 yds for a TD.

Story originally appeared on Touchdown Wire