| Game Name: | St. Petersburg Bowl |
| Subheader: | 9th St. Petersburg Bowl |
| Date Game Played: | December 26 |
| Year Game Played: | 2016 |
| Football Season: | 2016 |
| Stadium: | Tropicana Field |
| City: | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| Visitor Name Short: | Miami |
| Visitor Nickname: | RedHawks |
| Visitor Record: | 6–6 |
| Visitor Conference: | MAC |
| Visitor Coach: | Chuck Martin |
| Visitor 1Q: | 3 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 6 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 0 |
| Home Name Short: | Mississippi State |
| Home Nickname: | Bulldogs |
| Home Record: | 5–7 |
| Home Conference: | SEC |
| Home Coach: | Dan Mullen |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 7 |
| Home 3Q: | 7 |
| Home 4Q: | 3 |
| Mvp: | Nick Fitzgerald |
| Odds: | Mississippi State by 12[1] |
| Referee: | Jay Edwards (C-USA) |
| Attendance: | 15,717 |
| Payout: | 537,500[2] |
| Us Network: | ESPN/ESPN Radio |
| Different Next: | 2017 |
The 2016 St. Petersburg Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game that was played on December 26, 2016 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States.[3] The ninth edition of the St. Petersburg Bowl featured the Miami Redhawks from the Mid-American Conference against the Mississippi State Bulldogs from the Southeastern Conference.[4]
On December 4, 2016, it was announced that the game would feature the Miami Redhawks against the Mississippi State Bulldogs after both accepted invitations Sunday, marking the first time each team would meet.[5]
See main article: article and 2016 Miami RedHawks football team. After finishing their regular season with a 66 record, the Miami Redhawks appeared in their eleventh bowl game, and the first since the 2011 GoDaddy.com Bowl game against Middle Tennessee.[6] Miami opened the year with a six-game losing streak, and then finished with a six-game winning streak making them the first team to finish a regular season after they lost the first six consecutive games.[7]
See main article: article and 2016 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team. After finishing their regular season with a 57 record, Mississippi State appeared in their seventh straight bowl game.[8] Mississippi State opened the year with 2 wins and 2 losses, losing to South Alabama and Louisiana State and winning against South Carolina and Massachusetts. Mississippi State then lost 3 consecutive games against Auburn, Brigham Young, and Kentucky before winning 2 games against Samford and Texas A&M. Lastly losing to Alabama and Arkansas before winning against Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl.[9]
Source:[10]
| Statistics | Miami | MSU |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 24 | 17 |
| Third down efficiency | 3–9 | 7–14 |
| Total plays-yards | 66–433 | 60–335 |
| Rushes-yards | 35–170 (4.9) | 33–209 (6.3) |
| Passing yards | 263 | 126 |
| Passing, Comp-Att-Int | 22–31–1 | 13–27–0 |
| Time of Possession | 35:08 | 24:52 |