Bulldogs4

I know the folks that get overly emotional are jumping off a cliff right now. These three losses have been excruciating but people still need to realize we were under talented against those teams. And we still have not learned how to finish out a win. Arkansas & State are probably about equal talent wise. Obviously they will be favored with the game being there. We were actually listening to Neil & Matt at the end on the radio. And Matt talked about how difficult it is for a team to push through to a win. I do agree with 83 that a win over Arkansas will help calm folks down some. Being a State fan for over 60 years, I have experienced a number of these games…1975 Bama (had a first goal at the one yard line up 10-7 in the fourth quarter and failed to score), 1981 Bama game, 1983 Egg Bowl, 1984 Bama (WR fails to catch a game winning TD pass and we lose 24-20), 1997 Egg Bowl and on.

I don’t see Kiffin leaving Ole Miss. He has a good thing going. Not exactly the same but there would be some parallels to Mullen leaving State in 2017 when he was about to have his best team in 2018. He has got a lot of momentum there. Why leave that to walk into a cesspool in GNV or BTR? Going forward I think coaching contracts are going to be for shorter durations. I just don’t see schools tying up so much money long term with the coaching turnover that we are seeing in the present day.

Game last four quarters. Two costly penalties by the defense. 1. Gave them a TD instead of a FG 2. Late hit on the QB on a fourth down play. Totally turned the game there. Otherwise it would have been over at that point. Did a lot things well but we have to learn how to finish out a game and not give the other team more opportunities.

Solid first half for Ole Miss but they have to play four quarters.

Ole Miss @ Oklahoma. I think Ole Miss is going to find a way this Saturday. OK is good but not Jawja good. Ole Miss 31-28. TX@State. I just don’t know. Somewhere along the way we are going to win a conference game but I just don’t think it will today. Similar to 83. We give a great effort but fall a bit short. TX 24, State 20. A&M @ LSU. Red Stick has generally been a nightmare for A&M. And it could be again this year. It is going to be ugly but I will take A&M 14-10. Mizzou-Vandy. Gonna keep riding with the Dores. Vandy 24, Show-Me State 17. Bama-SC. Now I am not suffering from a fever. Upset special of the day. SC 27, Bama 25. After running the table for four weeks in a row, Bama does the unthinkable but yet the perfectly reasonable thing here. Plays flat, overlooking an inferior opponent and pulls a loss out of what you should be an easy win. Today will remind us that Saban is no longer the coach at Bama. Arkansas 30, Auburn 27. I do think Auburn is done for save the Iron Bowl where they will play with their hair on fire. Tennessee (name the score) > KY (2-3 Touchdowns less than TN).

Is Lebby their coach as well?

Softball? Baseball? Soccer?

East Central has had some injuries and their FR QB just has not developed as well as they expected this year. The travails of Juco football.

The door opens a bit wider for State. But of course LSU, Arky, A&M & TX and others are going to be strong. While I see us being more successful this year, I hope fans will have a bit of patience and realize that no matter how good a coach, the first year always has a learning curve and there will be some ups and DOWNS during the season. And not to jump off a cliff if things go sideways for a week or two during the season.

I know he was successful at Tennessee but I for one am glad he is gone from the SEC. His arrogance and overboard cockiness always rubbed me the wrong way. How Tennessee fares going forward will be interesting to follow. I think they will be back to the bottom half of the conference in baseball.

And we also beat Coach O as well before he was fired.

As frustrating as yesterday was for State, Lebby does have us moving in the right direction. We are on the verge of breaking through. Had State pulled out the win then almost assuredly Napier is gone. And Freeze? I don’t know. Auburn is good defensively but offensively (which was/is supposedly his strength) they are just plain bad. And I am thankful Arnold ended up there and not State. And Stoops may be wearing out his welcome in LEX. They did everything but win that game last night. You got to have some imagination at the goal line when a team with a strong defense front is bunched together in the middle.

I think he suffered from dyslexia and back in 1970’s-80’s, and the diagnosis and treatment were not nearly as good then as they are today. Obviously that negatively affected his academics. As a result he went to a Juco in Kansas and then to State for two years.

Add Stoops into the knuckle head group tonight. Texas D has the middle totally stacked and what do you do. Run twice up the middle. Got to have some kind of RPO there.

He is a truck. Wished he would have gone to State. He is basically stuck as a reserve at Bama.But glad to see him get some action tonight. His Dad , Demetrius Hill was the best High School defensive player I have ever seen play. Period. He anchored the Meridian High 1985 defense that had 9 shutouts, outscored the other teams for the year 37-34. Also were the only team to hold Starkville RB David Fair to under 100 yards twice. Regular season and again in the State Championship game that year. He played DT and had an incredible combination of strength, agility and speed. He was virtually unblockable. So Daniel definitely comes from good DNA.

And now Texas pulled a boneheaded play to allow KY to continue the game.

Tennessee finding ways to frick up a game as well. Aguilar is a good QB but he has had a couple of plays that have been costly to his team tonight.

This game really deflates you. First, Florida said here we are giving you the game. And then we do everything right. until the last play. Plenty of time. I am just totally baffled. And I should correct myself. Kiffin several years ago. I think he has improved greatly over the last 2-3 years. And you are correct. Ole Miss just ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. But still a well played game nonetheless.

Run the ball Kick a FG Lebby pulled a Kiffin today and outsmarted himself. I knew when he dropped back to pass it was going to be a disaster. Run the ball to the left.

Very rare occurrence when all 16 SEC teams are playing each other on the same Saturday. Hopefully it will happen more often in the future. Just makes for a cool day of football. Louie-Ville beating Miami of Florida was not that big of a surprise. I don’t see any team making through unscathed this year. So here goes nothing: Ole Miss @ Georgia. I think Georgia has been living on borrowed time. They were a missed a FG away from losing to Tenner. Then the SEC officials gift wrapped them the win last Saturday. And I am sure they will do their best to ensure that GA wins tomorrow against Ole Miss. Ole Miss has the ability to beat Jawja. But I don’t really trust them to actually do so. All that to say, I think the Kirby cracks become a fissure tomorrow and their voodoo runs out. Ole Miss 29, Georgia 27. State@ Florida. This game has the same vibe of the 2010 game (that I was at) when we beat FL 10-7 in the Swamp. Florida’s situation can cut two ways. 1. Team comes out swinging and they land early haymakers against State and they win 31-20. 2. Team is in a bit of disarray because of all the rumors running rampant around the program. If that is the case, look for State to win an ugly game 20-16. 3. TN@Bama. Going to ride with the Tide in a shootout. Bama gets a few more stops and wins 42-31. 4. Louisiana State at Vanderbilt. Conventional wisdom says take LSU. But this year is different. This is not your dad’s or grandfather’s Vandy. I am going to take Vandy. 23-14. 5. Oklahoma @ SCAR … OK is in for a (oops I hit the send button accidentally) long night. SC takes an ugly but much needed win 25-12. 6. A&M at Arkansas…A&M dominant’s defensively and wins going away 38-14. 7. TX at KY. I agree with 83 that this will be a tricky game for TX. TX eeks out a win 17-14. 8. Missouri at Auburn. I am not sure about either of these teams. I am picking Auburn to lose and Missouri not to lose. nrubuA 16, iruossiM 28. And that is the way it is tonight October 17 , the night before the best Saturday of the season.

Saban ain’t coming out of retirement. Kiffin is staying at Ole Miss (Florida is not as good a job anymore). Lebby to OK State? Just don’t see the desire for him there. He is building a pretty good program at State. I look for him to ride that bus for a while. This microwave system of coaching changes is going to continue the downward spiral of college football. Mercenary players and new coaches every year and a half will combine to put a poorer product on the field. The only positive is the top teams will no longer be as dominant. Still at the top but winning 10 or more in a season will become less and less.

Now UAB has fired their coach. Which I always thought was a strange hire in the first place. Dilfer won a SB but had done nothing to show his ability as a HC on the collegiate level. I think the days of multi year coaching contracts may be coming to an end. Mississippi with the four year limit is actually ahead of the curve here. Why tie up so much money with a multi year guaranteed contract. Ridiculous and a waste of resources. Especially if you are going to fire him in the middle of the season.

As much I appreciated Cam for what he meant to the program, he was also a poor FT shooter. And I know he did everything else really well. But to be completely successful in basketball you have to be able shoot the ball from a distance and make FT’s at a 75+%. And that was his weakness. So how that position develops will be interesting as this season starts.

I guess just winning is not enough these days. Yes he has struggled against the best teams but his record there is 104-45 and 64-36 in the conference. Pretty impressive. Will be interesting to see who might be willing to take that task on. Penn State could find themselves relegated to Nebraska status if they are not careful.

But even Alabama is vulnerable. Yes they have won three games in a row. And yes they still have great talent. But unlike the Saban days, they lack the killer instinct of years past. A Saban team would have scored a TD in the second quarter to go up 24-7 and effectively win the game before halftime. But instead they get sacked, punt and Mizzou kicks a FG to make it a one score game. And then it was a dog fight in the second half. And they eeked out wins against Georgia and Vandy. I am not sure if any team gets to 10 wins this year in the regular season. A lot of parity. Georgia has two wins against Tennessee & Auburn that to be generous are fortunate at best. Very possibly there will be multiple 9-3/8-4 type seasons when it is all said and done.