Bulldogs4

Florida definitely fired Mullen to soon but emotions tend to run college football these days. Had he had his bad year in 2018 and if thrown shoe had not happened, it would still be the coach. But we know about ifs and buts. Florida has become what Tennessee is. Impatience from the top to the bottom and firing a coach every three or four years. It is a recipe for disaster.

Overall, State’s offense should be more productive. We will not be as streaky as LaTech or Auburn games a couple of years ago. But I agree that more balance should give Rogers a chance to play a bit more stress free. We will see how it plays out this season.

Okay, that makes sense.

Dub, were there any issues at USM? As we have all noted the Rock is the best venue for the games. But if they are going to rotate it among the three campuses, then my suggestion is the only feasible way to do it.

Agree. I was only able to listen to the fourth quarter on the radio and it seemed that Quitman was playing with a cohesion that reflected a fifth year HC plus the fact that they are talented as well. OTOH, some of the same issues that have been plaguing Meridian in recent years were still apparent. Penalties in particular negated a number of big plays. It was just one game and in the bigger picture, I have tons of confidence in Coach Boyles that he will get those penalties cleaned up as the season moves along.

Quitman 7 Meridian 6 Disappointing night for the Wildcats. Give some credit to Quitman as they played well and deserved the victory.

No. I have not but he seems like great person and would be very interesting to listen to with all of his stories from the 40’s and 50’s. I wonder if he was the QB in 1950 when State beat Tennessee 7-0 in Starkville. Whiny General Neyland vowed to never bring a UT team back to Starkvegas. It was Tennessee’s only loss and cost them the National Championship that year. And it was almost 40 years before UT played on campus at State after that 1950 game. They played a few games over the years in between but they were all in Memphis. Slick Morton was the HC at State 1949-1951.

2023-Oxford 2024-Starkvegas 2025-Hattiesburg 2026-Hattiesburg 2027-Oxford 2028-Starkvegas This would be the rotation that makes the best sense. Each hosts twice over a six year period.

I am definitely going to the AZ game but not certain about the other games. At my age I am usually good for a one or two games a year. I have a good buddy who is a long USM alum and fan and he wants me to ride with him up to the Southern game in November. We went in 2014 and 2019 and had a great time on campus.

I go back way farther than any of you. 1986 we started 6-1 with wins over Syracuse, Tennessee, Florida, Memphis State and Tulane and the only loss was a heartbreaking 28-24 to Southern. Then we promptly got blasted by Auburn, LSU, Bama & OM by a combined 12-144. Yep that is being outscored by a ratio of 12-1. And that ladies and gentlemen is about as bad as it gets. And to rub salt in to the wound , all four of those games were in Starkvegas/Jackson. I also remember us getting beat by Houston 74-0 back in 1969. As a result I appreciate every win that we earn today and I never take anything for granted.

And I want to add, I am excited about Arnett in the long term while understanding that 2024 is going to see us playing a lot new players. I think our fan base recognizes that will take some lumps next year. And I am excited to see how this season unfolds as well.

And I am not being pessimistic with that but realistic. 2009/2018, we had talented, veteran teams with new coaches albeit the 2018 team was far superior than the 2009 team. But both underachieved because partly of having a new HC. Again 2018 more so because of the more immediate previous success of the program. But again there are parallels. I hope we can break that tendency this year with a veteran team and a more consistent transition with the HC since Arnett was already part of the staff. All that to say I am being pragmatic with my appraisal of the team.

If Leach was alive, then this year’s roster would be the fulfillment of what he started in 2020. Obviously, with his death, the offense will look somewhat different though I think some aspects of the AR will still be there. Diversifying the offense should be a plus overall. Defense has been pretty salty each year snd hopefully will continue to be this season. Special teams, especially XP/FG kicking has been inconsistent at times. Hopefully those woes are behind us. The KO returns with Tulu has been a great advantage and hopefully that will continue. I think State finishes 6-6 with a potential of 8-4 and if we catch some breaks/luck 9-3 would be possible. Although AZ is improved, we should win that game at home and be able to go 4-0 in the NC games. I don’t like playing USM the week before the EB but Southern is not the same team they were from the late 70’s-2011. Plus I have to believe that our players recognize that game as an instate game and attach the necessary importance to it as well. If we are 4-0 in NC, to get to 6 wins that means two conference wins. This team has won on the the road over the last two years and I believe we are capable of winning OTR this year. OTOH, Arnett is a first year HC and I fully believe he will have a few WTF moments during season. That is reality. Whether they cost us a game or two remains to be seen. First Year HC’s will have some growing pains. We will be decided under Dawgs against Bama/LSU though we play both of those games early and they are at home. Most likely 0-2, but the games are still played on the field. The other six games are generally going to be looked at as toss up games (SC, Arky, A&M, KY, Aub, OM). Can we manage 2-3-4 wins from group? We shall see. I will post something about Ole Miss and USM later.

And in baseball news Dakota Hudson struck out Brent Rooker tonight in a game in STL as the Cardinals were facing OAK. Pretty cool…Former State teammates battling against each other.

I know this will sound odd but the Biloxi-Meridian game on September 1st in Ray Stadium is one I am looking forward to. Should be a good matchup. We play Quitman the first game but the Biloxi game will be a good measuring stick for how Coach Boyles is doing with the Wildcat program. Plus we had a great Big 8 rivalry with Biloxi back in the 1960’s and 70’s. It will be fun to renew that rivalry.

Just name the all star teams and not play the game anymore.

That (Wazzou -State) is so far down the road that it is a moot point at this juncture. I do hope the game stays on the schedule. I will hopefully be retired by then and I would like to make trip to WA for the game. No to FSU, Miami, Georgia Tech. If the SEC were to expand anymore, then NC & VA are the only two viable options. But 16 teams are plenty and there is no reason to grow anymore today.

Certainly greed ($$$) is at the center of this. But the kids playing are getting the short end of the stick here. If the season were to start September 1st this year, the sunset is roughly 720-730P depending on where you live. The 7P kickoff is not necessarily a problem then as the sun will be setting right after kickoff. Plus I think attendance will be higher as well. Traditionally Labor Day has been the first weekend of football for high school and college though many years back both used to start around the middle of September. Regarding the heat, I think there are enough precautions in place in the present day to protect the players and coaches. And heat is not worse today than it was forty years ago. We have better A/C today and kids don’t stay outside as much these days for a variety of reasons. Your body acclimates to the conditions you are in. When I was a kid, we stayed outside all the time and our elementary school did not have air conditioning. But it was not a big problem because we did not start school until after Labor Day and most of us had little A/C in our homes either so we were okay. Today schools start a month earlier and they all have A/C out of necessity. And finally again , as Chunky noted, the MHSAA is all about money and most any other stuff gets lip service.

Meridian is playing 11 regular season games this year. Season start’s August 24th and finishes November 2nd with no open dates.

All the more reason to push the start of the season back until the Friday of Labor Day weekend. Cut the regular season down ten games. Yes you will still be practicing in August but at least everything is pushed back two weeks. To give you an example, this year practice would start August 7th and first game would be September 1st. Playoffs will still start the same dates in November

Agree. This was an ideal year to have the international trip with some games against other squads. Also a great trip for the players (probably or possibly a once in a lifetime type trip). Basketball wise, this should be a big boost for the team to gain some more cohesiveness with the new players.

I know the NIL skews recruiting or potentially can do so but this could work to our advantage. Coaches can honestly tell kids because we have a lot of Sr’s, you will have a shot to play early on. And playing time is still important to kids.

That has to be the worst play call in the history of State football. I was screaming fake the blitz and drop 8. You just can’t keep doing the same thing. And then the 4th and short at the 45 yard line was screaming GO FOR IT. Sometimes you just have to go for it. And that was one of those opportunities.

That is an accurate assessment. I just think we are due for a better performance against Bama this year. No particular reason just have that feeling. Now whether that translates into a close loss or win remains to be seen. Agree with you that in 2017, we should have beaten them. LSU, yes we should have beaten them last year and since 2014 it has been a competitive series with the exception of 2019 which was an anomaly of a year by LSU.

As I have said we are getting rated low because Arnett is a first time HC. The fact he has been on the staff for three years IMO softens the transition somewhat. Our DC was already on the staff. Barbay seems to be a versatile OC who plays to the strengths of his talent. All that said , there are about 6 conference games that can fairly viewed as toss up games. And I think we can be competitive with Bama and LSU as well. Obviously still underdogs but football can be funny game sometimes and you never know what might happen.