The 1984 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils team represented the Mississippi Valley State University

Mississippi Valley State University

Mississippi Valley State University is a historically black university located in Itta Bena, Mississippi, in the United States. MVSU is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund....

 in the 1984 NCAA Division I-AA college football season. Its head coach was Archie Cooley

Archie Cooley

Archie "Gunslinger" Cooley was the former college football coach at Mississippi Valley State University from 1980 to 1986, University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff from 1987 to 1991, Norfolk State University 1993, and Paul Quinn College from 2000 to 2006...

.

Regular season

As a senior in 1984, Jerry Rice

Jerry Rice

Jerry Lee Rice is a retired American football wide receiver. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in National Football League history...

 broke his own 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.

The 1984 season was also memorable for the Delta Devils as the club attracted national attention. The Delta Devils scored 628 points (an average of more than 59 per game). Rice caught 17 passes for 199 yards against Southern, 17 for 294 against Kentucky State

Kentucky State University

Kentucky State University is a four-year institution of higher learning, located in Frankfort, Kentucky, United States, the Commonwealth's capital. The school is an historically black university, which desegregated in 1954...

 and 15 for 285 against Jackson State

Jackson State University

Jackson State University is a historically black university founded in 1877 in Natchez, MS by the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York. The Society moved the school to Jackson in 1882, renaming it Jackson College, and developed its present campus in 1902. It became a state supported...

, the first time MVSU beat them since 1954.

Rice scored 5 TDs twice that year. He finished his 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

University of New Hampshire

The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...

 wide receiver David Ball

David Ball (wide receiver)

David Ball is a professional wide receiver for the Erie Explosion of the Ultimate Indoor Football League. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2007...

, recorded his fifty-first career receiving touchdown.

Even though Willie Totten

Willie Totten

Willie "Satellite" Totten is the former head coach of the Mississippi Valley State University Delta Devils football team, a job he held from 2002 to 2009...

 was the quarterback, Rice was the biggest name on the team and was named to every All-American team

College Football All-America Team

The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...

 (including the AP

Associated Press

The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

 squad) and finished 9th in Heisman Trophy

Heisman Trophy

The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...

 balloting in 1984. In the Blue Gray Classic all-star game played on Christmas Day, he earned MVP honors.

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Delta Devils points	Opponents	Record
1	Sept. 1	@ Kentucky State Kentucky State University Kentucky State University is a four-year institution of higher learning, located in Frankfort, Kentucky, United States, the Commonwealth's capital. The school is an historically black university, which desegregated in 1954...	Win	86	0	1-0
2	Sept. 15	@ Washburn Washburn University Washburn University is a co-educational, public institution of higher learning in Topeka, Kansas, USA. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,400 undergraduate students and...	Win	77	15	2-0
3	Sept. 22	@ Jackson State Jackson State University Jackson State University is a historically black university founded in 1877 in Natchez, MS by the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York. The Society moved the school to Jackson in 1882, renaming it Jackson College, and developed its present campus in 1902. It became a state supported...	Win	49	32	3-0
4	Sept. 29	@ Southern University Southern University Southern University and A&M College is a historically black college located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Baton Rouge campus is located on Scott’s Bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in the northern section...	Win	63	45	4-0
5	Oct. 13	Grambling State Grambling State University Grambling State University is a historically black , public, coeducational university, located in Grambling, Louisiana. The university is the home of legendary football coach Eddie Robinson and is on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.-Academics:Grambling State University provides over...	Win	48	36	5-0
6	Oct. 20	@ Texas Southern Texas Southern University Texas Southern University is a historically black university located in Houston, Texas, United States....	Win	55	42	6-0
7	Oct. 27	Prairie View A&M Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University is a historically black university located in Prairie View, Texas and is a member of the Texas A&M University System. PVAMU offers baccalaureate degrees in 50 academic majors, 37 master’s degrees and four doctoral degree programs through nine colleges and schools...	Win	71	6	7-0
8	Nov. 3	Alcorn State Alcorn State University Alcorn State University is an historically black university comprehensive land-grant institution in Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871-History:...	Loss	28	42	7-1
9	Nov. 10	Alabama State Alabama State University Alabama State University, founded 1867, is a historically black university located in Montgomery, Alabama. ASU is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.- History :...	Win	49	7	8-1
10	Nov. 17	Langston University Langston University Langston University is an institution of higher learning located in Langston, Oklahoma, USA. It is the only historically black college in the state, and the westernmost historically black college in the United States...	Win	83	11	9-1
11	Nov. 24	@ Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...	Loss	19	66	9-2

Team Players in the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Jerry Rice	Wide Receiver Wide receiver A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...	1	16	San Francisco 49ers 1985 San Francisco 49ers season The 1985 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's 36th year with the National Football League. Roger Craig achieved the rare feat of having both 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season...

• Willie Totten would play for the Buffalo Bills in 1987.

Awards and records

• Jerry Rice, Division I-AA record, most receptions (112)
• Jerry Rice, Division I-AA record, most receiving yards (1,845)
• Jerry Rice, NCAA record, most touchdown receptions in any NCAA divisions (27)
• Jerry Rice, AP
  Associated Press
  The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
  
  All-American selection
• Jerry Rice, Most Valuable Player, Blue Gray Classic