Bulldogs4

The SECW is truly unpredictable in baseball. Every team except Alabama is capable of winning the division and possibly going to Omaha. And Alabama has certainly improved over the last few years. The difference between 7th and 1st could be pretty slim this year. I am glad State is picked Seventh. After last season that is where we deserve to be until we prove differently.

Winning in Oxford is going to be very difficult. Ole Miss still has a good team that is very capable. Plus it is a rivalry game so the records mean absolutely zilch. But before that game there are two very important games to play. I am interested to see how we fare at Arkansas. They are coming off a huge win at Kentucky. Some times it is hard to sustain that kind of effort two games in a row. The biggest key for State is to make some outside shots and hit our free throws. We are solid every where else but three point shooting/FT shooting have been inconsistent at best. I know they have a great crowd but I think we have a veteran team that can play through the crowd effectively. Big game for State. Last night was one of those games that you are glad to win and get out of the gym. Anytime a team is on a long losing streak, it is worrisome because they are going to eventually beat someone.

State and LSU set basketball back about 80 years in the first half. State scored 10 points in the first minute and then 9 points in the last minute and then in the other 18 minutes scored 6 points. Ugggghhhh. But LSU was so horrid that after all that they were still losing by 3 points at the half. I mean that was BAD HALF OF BASKETBALL. Second half a bit better so far. State up by 8 (36-30 with 12 minutes to go. But still just poor basketball.

Not a surprise to me. Usually when everyone gives up on a team, they will turn around and win some games. Good road win over a decent Georgia team for Ole Miss.

I think Foxhall is a good pitching coach. When you lose 4 pitchers to injuries during a season that is a difficult thing to overcome. Throw in the fact that our offense was terrible. We were Dave Kingman offensively. We hit about .213 with 50 solo home runs and about 200 strike outs. Then add in that we were the defending National champions. Add all that up and we were like the cowboy who was staked to desert sand and had molasses poured all over him. We were devoured by anyone and everyone we played especially at the end of the season. All that to say, IMO, we will be much better this season. Using a single preseason scrimmage to predict the season is about the most lousy correlation I have ever heard in my life.

No surprise there. We will have to continue to win and if we do that it will take care of itself. SOS is very good but that only helps to a point. Because if you do not win some of those games, it really does not matter at all. The FL loss at home is really hurting us right now even though they have a good team. We are going to have to win a road game (Missouri?) to kind of even that one out. But at least we are trending in the right direction.

State Women beat UT and the SEC referees 91-90 in double OT. What game!!! Much needed!!! Listening to Coach Purcell after the game, he said he just turned our guards loose and let them play. We were much faster than UT and it was evident that they could not guard us out front. Still a long way to go but this team has the potential to be a NCAA tournament team.

Thankfully Tolu seems to have solved his FT woes. His % has been much better in the recent games. LSU is up next. Cannot take any game for granted. As Al Davis said “Just Win Baby” So we need to beat LSU Wednesday. They were competitive with Bama yesterday.

SOS is definitely a plus but we cannot have any bad losses period. Easier said than done. First game starts Saturday against a really good Missouri team. A win would be big for several reasons. Gotta protect the home court, keep the momentum going, will push us up the NET a little bit more.

Oh I agree that USC is bad but as we know (WTF) games happen from time and I was glad State took care of business Tuesday night. For Ole Miss , I sure do hate Ruffin stepped away from basketball. Even though he plays for our rival, he is a fun player to watch. Hopefully, whatever struggles he has been experiencing will be alleviated in due time and he can return next year.

USC is really bad but they did beat UK in Lexington and they just lost to Georgia in OT. So I was not taking this game for granted. I am glad to see us come out and play well tonight. It was a must win and now we seem to have some momentum. A huge game against Missouri upcoming (although as it stands now, every game for State is important) and the Hump should be rocking Saturday afternoon. And Missouri has a good solid team. For State, we just have to take one game at a time, forget about the last game and don’t worry about the future. Another tough loss for Ole Miss tonight.

and then SF changed from the 49ers to the Thug-Niners. Low class players and pretty pathetic on their part.

Forty-niners self destructed with the penalties and turnovers. And you knew eventually the QB situation was going to eventually catch up to them. And it did. Plus the Eagles have no weaknesses.

Definitely agree with you that the fans are back on board. Winning today was tremendous but the reason the fans are showing up is the team is playing with 110%+ effort. And I think everyone appreciates that and we understand if we continue to play like that, the wins will come. Hopefully today will start another win streak.

Finally the monkey is off the back. This team desperately needed a win. Now the key is to build off this win. Game at South Carolina Tuesday Night is crucial. But very proud of this team for persevering today and winning this game. Understand that TCU had some injuries but that is part of the game.

I think Purcell is a huge upgrade from McCray-Penson. Novak did a credible job last year to keep the team together and remain competitive. Honestly, I am pleased with where the women are right now. Certainly disappointed that we lost two games to Ole Miss but rivalries fluctuate over time. Going forward I think we will climb back up the ladder in the SEC. He signed a good class this year and hopefully the debacle of 2020-2021 will fade into the rear view mirror. Fan support is solid. Future looks much brighter today than it did a year ago. Schaefer professed reason for leaving was his aging parents (who live in AUS) and the onset of COVID. After Cohen left back in the fall, there was speculation that those two did not see eye to eye. Perhaps that was part of it. Additionally at his age, he may have felt like it was the right time to make a move. Will always appreciate what he did for State. Regarding Texas, I had doubts that his blue collar style would mesh there with all those prima Donna’s. His first two seasons were good and they have dropped off some this year. Will be interesting to see how he and TX fares when they join the SEC in a couple of years.

I did not get to see or hear the game. But it sounds like we played well enough to win the game. SEC officials have been bad for decades at protecting the higher ranked teams. KY has been protected for numerous decades. I remember several games with them that were stolen away from us by the officials. Sounds like the same thing happened last night since Bama is ranked #2. State - Bama is the most physical basketball rivalry in the conference. In Starkville they let them play. Last night 28 minutes into the game they start calling nit picky fouls. Sounds fishy to me. I am still rolling with this group. At some point good things are going to happen.

No worries there. State can’t make a layup much less a three pointer. When State and Ole Miss play, first team to twenty-one (oops 50) wins. Even though it may take 50 minutes (Regulation plus two overtime’s) to get there…LOL. All joking aside, I am disheartened for Coach Davis and Ole Miss. Even though the conference records mirror each other, the two programs seem to be going in opposite directions.

At the HS level Marcus Dupree was the best offensive player in the history of MS football. Now adding in the USFL component makes a bit tougher.The crippling injuries that he had at OK and later in the pros decimated his chance for a great pro career. Kent Hull was an undersized center who developed into a great center at State and then later for a short time in the USFL but really made his mark as the glue (center) for the Bills during their great run from the mid-late 80’s - mid 90’s. The greatest defensive player in the history of MS high school football (IMO) was Demetrius Hill of Meridian. Led the 1985 Wildcats to 9 shutouts and the defense actually outscored the opposing team’s offenses 37-34 for the entire season. Held Michael Fair of Starkville to under 100 yards both times they played. He was a DT with an amazing combination of strength, agility and quickness. Was virtually unblock able. Teams tried everything possible without success.

Disappointing night for Dak. Two costly turnovers were the difference in the game.

That is an issue and it has been problematic over the last 5-6-7 years. But I think there is still potential to turn this around. As I mentioned it will not be overnight but Coach Boyles IMO has the personality and the coaching acumen to reach out to these kids and the community and maybe win these kids back in to the fold. Meridian has serious problems with gangs, neighborhood blight, struggling schools, crime etc. But the city is not dying. Downtown has seen a very nice revitalization and lots of good things are going on. But back to Coach Boyles, I think a lot of people are excited about him and I think the alumni support will come back again. Hopefully that will bode well for the future of the Wildcats and as an extension of that the Community as well. We will see how it plays out.

CVG looked impressive. Sets up a colossal match up with KC next week. Momentum favors CVG but KC is still no pushover.

That was a devastating loss last night. Really needed that one. I still like this team and really like Coach Jans. Team just desperately needs to win a game to gain some confidence. Just a tough situation right now. But not giving up on this group. Season can still be successful. I know it sounds crazy but Bama is due for an off game and we are due for some good fortune. Maybe we can pull off a win in Tuscaloosa Tuesday night. Not likely but I would not be surprised if we did just that.

Cincy with the hot start up 14-zip early. Can Buffalo recover?

When I was growing up Laurel-Meridian was a war every year. Even the bands did not like each other. We typically played the first game of the year and Ray Stadium/Between the Bricks would be full because it was an easy one hour drive up/down I-59 for fans. Unfortunately around 1995 Laurel dropped playing Meridian because their enrollment had dropped so much and they didn’t feel they were competitive anymore. So over the last thirty years, we have only played sporadically. Even with that, the rivalry is still over 70 games played. I think Meridian leads 42-30 plus some ties. The rivalry extended over to basketball as well. I remember our basketball games with Laurel being very rough, tough and physical.