Bulldogs4

Agreed, we should never lose to West Lauderdale. I was not at the game nor was I able to listen to it. So I have no idea what happened. It was a very disappointing loss because I thought the team was slowly getting better. Still not where we need to be but improving nonetheless. So that game was a huge setback IMO. We will see starting tonight at Hattiesburg if it was a blip or a trend.

This game is shades of the 2017 Bama-State game. UF has an opportunity here but can they finish the job? State got all the way to end but we failed in the last part of the game. I think UF covers the spread and if they can get a lead in the first half by more than one score, they can put some pressure on Bama. A big IF, but is possible. So I am going out on limb and say that CDM finally gets the best of Saban and UF beats Bama. I think Auburn sh*ts the bed (field) against Penn State and loses in fugly fashion. A new coach and staff usually have some WTF games in their first year. This is going to be one of them. Auburn has played two cupcakes at home so far. PSU on the road is big boy football and this week they are going to get rolled over. Tulane will give Ole Miss some Maalox moments but the Oxford group will outlast the New Orleans group. I think Tulane played over the heads at Oklahoma and will not quite duplicate that effort here. Ole Miss covers but it will come late. State @ Memphis. An intriguing match up. State is definitely trending in the right direction. Memphis can score but their defense is…well non existent. If there is ever an opportunity for the State offense to really get on track (possibly similar to the Missouri game last year), this is it. Again I see some uncomfortable moments here for State but I think we will prevail 51-35 or somewhere along that line. But what the heck do I know? Troy @ USM - I am pulling for the Eagles here but Troy is solid this year. 24-10 final for the Trojans.

Kiffin definitely not going to USCw. That bridge was burned years ago. He is definitely an enigma so what he might do is anybody’s guess. However, I don’t see him jumping from Ole Miss this fast. After 3-4 seasons (if he has had great success) then yes I could see it. He might even jump back to the NFL. If they are not careful, USCw is going to end up like Nebraska/Tennessee. Perpetually unsuccessful (or perceived underachieving) and changing coaches way too quickly. Rinse and repeat. Don’t see O getting fired at LSU even if they have a tough year. With COVID and the Hurricane(s) causing so much havoc, I think he will make it through this year.

Reb, But coming off the 2011 season where USM almost crashed the NY6 bowls with a 12-2 record and then losing 23 straight games was just a death blow to the on the field football team. Then combining that with getting left behind in the conference realignment was a double blow. Had they maintained the momentum of the 2011 football season through 2012/2013, by winning 8-9-10 games each season they would have been in a much better place at the bargaining table. They very well may have gotten a AAC invite because they had a strong football program with good attendance. Those two years going 1-23 destroyed any chance they may have had. That is not to say it would have actually happened but the on the field performance of the football team ensured that it would not happen. Yes they have recovered somewhat over the last 5-6 years but the days of “The Nasty Bunch” and “To The Top” are over and in the history books. I like Will Hall and have ever since he was the HC @ West Alabama. So I hope he can compete and win some games over the next few years. He is capable but just has a tough hill to climb going forward.

Unfortunately, for USM the future looks bleak. Will Hall is a very good coach who is going to do very well. But the region competition is much tougher now. UAB, USA and Tulane all have brand new stadiums with plenty of money to spend. USM has tradition but Ellis Johnson killed that in 2012 and the program has never really recovered from that debacle. The Sun Belt would also be a good conference as well. I just don’t see the discombobulated CUSA surviving in its present form. In the old days , USM recruited S LA, MS, AL, GA and NW FL and found many good players who were just under SEC level and in some cases , SEC quality. Those days are gone. Now you have ULL, La. Tech, Tulane, Troy, UAB, USA, GA Southern all recruiting those areas and the monopoly they had on the talent pool is over. They have no money, are in a small market so their options are limited severely. But glad to see him win his first game.

Two weeks in a row, Tulu Griffin with a big KR to jumpstart our Dawgs. The blocking was great as well but he also broke a couple of tackles last night. Defense was lights out all night long. As 83 mentioned, offense is still a work in progress but we did some good things last night. 0 turnovers is a big stat. I think we all wondered which State team would show up? The 2nd/3rd quarter team or the fourth quarter team? It is safe to say that the fourth quarter team did show up last night. A very good win against a team that was supposed to beat us and beat us handily from what I could gather. As the Alan Parsons Project band said “Where do we go from here” is the $64,000 question. Memphis will be a tough game as they always play their Super Bowl against OM and State. But if we can take care of business and go 3-0, that will be a good start to the season before conference play starts. We will see.

I remember the 1969 Texas-Arkansas game. They were ranked 1-2, President Nixon attended the game. Arkansas was up 14-0 and poised to go up 21-0 but Texas intercepted a pass on the end zone. They then drove down the field for a TD, went for two and cut the score to 14-8, then scored again late to win 15-14. This all happened in the fourth quarter. One of the all time great games in CFB. We were Texas fans then because my Dad liked Coach Royal (he was the HC at State back in the early 50’s). Tonight I will be a Hog fan though. Good to see the rivalry renewed.

On paper, State should get killed by NCSTATE. As to what is going to happen, who knows?

“I'm fascinated by the fact that Dan Mullen went 9-4 and routed Michigan inthe Gator Bowl in 2010 52-14 in only his 2nd season afterinheriting the mess left over from the Croom admin andthat in year two under Leach that Miss St. is this dreadful considering Leach inherited a far superior program incomparison to Mullen.” Croom actually left Mullen in very good shape in 2009. Yes the 2008 Egg Bowl was a disaster but the roster was in better shape in 2009 than it was in 2004. Plus he left him an excellent recruiting class that to Mullen’s credit he was able to retain and sign. Mullen came into a good situation and to his credit he built on the foundation left by Croom who had also cleaned up the program. That 2010 was basically recruited by Croom and had a loaded defense (and number of them went on to the NFL) So this is totally different situations with Mullen and Leach. Moorhead is the one that failed to capitalize on what was left by Mullen and he underachieved. Leach is having to rebuild the culture and implement a completely new system. Last years purge or guys that quit because they would not buy in have hurt the State program in the short term. Long term things look good. Leach keeps a calm demeanor on the sideline. That can be good or bad. I think he has a quiet faith in his players but he is not a “rah rah” type either. I get the sense that his sense of humor keeps the players loose and helped particularly on Saturday spur the comeback win. I have no idea what happens Saturday with NC State. They should be handily favored to beat us but apparently they are not. South Florida was 1-8 last year and seem to be even worse this year. Hard to conclude much from NCSTATE’s obliteration of them. Will be an interesting week to say the least.

Don’t know much about West Lauderdale. Meridian is improving but we have not played anybody yet. WL lost a tough game to Neshoba Central who is very good. All that said Meridian will score more than 21 points in this game though WL will probably top 14 as well. I think it will be along the line of 42-28/35-21 Meridian. Though an upset is certainly possible. We will see.

LSWHO got manhandled tonight by UCLA. No if’s ands and buts about it.

I say a quality team in the sense they are not a cakewalk win. They have played competitive football over the recent years. Obviously we should win more comfortably than one point. But I knew the 23 point spread was too much. We should not be trailing to them by 20 in the fourth quarter. But we were and we looked fugly for a good part of the game. Much to be concerned about to say the least.

I have no idea what to think about today. Credit to La Tech for playing well for three quarters. Unfortunately for them a game last four quarters. They are a veteran team that is going to be a tough out for everyone they play. Skip Holtz had some curious play calls in the fourth quarter but in fairness to him you do not want to go conservative too early either. Obviously the KR by Griffin was the key play in the game. Momentum completely changed then. First Negative: We stayed until the end. BIG THUMBS DOWN to all the fans who left. They missed a great finish. On the field Negatives: OL was terrible for 2 1/2 quarters. Too many turnovers. They were a killer today. Defense gave up two BIG plays and were inconsistent as well. Positives: OL came through in the fourth quarter. Defense had some big stops in the fourth quarter. Special Teams were very good and ended up being the difference. KR and the blocked FG in the fourth quarter kick started the comeback and then preserved the win at the end. Coming back from a twenty point deficit against a quality team especially in the last 12 minutes of the game. The main positive is we won the game. Will have to digest the game for a few days before thinking about NCSTATE.

If 5 can’t block 3 we will lose 12 games this year.

That is certainly true. Freeze would definitely get Nebraska off the mat and winning (and possibly winning big). At his age, he is still young enough to do that there and then jump to one of the BIG boys to finish out his coaching career. Would be intriguing to say the least if that were to happen.

Freeze might be a good fit there but Nebraska seems to be like Tennessee. The glory days are over and are not coming back. They may occasionally move up the totem pole but they will never approach their historical success consistently. IMO, Freeze appears be having fun at Liberty and now is in the position to be patient and wait on the particular job he wants. That might be a few years down the road. Just don’t see him going to sunk ship like Nebraska. Bielema OTOH seems like a perfect fit at Illinois. His system will make them competitive. Never really challenge Ohio State but they will be competitive with everybody else up there in the coming years.

Oh well what do I know? Illinois with a 21-0 run to lead 23-9 in the third quarter. If Nebraska does not respond here they are in deep trouble.

Neither team looks very good but Nebraska seems to be the better team in the middle of the second quarter. Illinois squandered a golden opportunity after the early safety but Nebraska returned the favor by missing an extra point and missing an easy TD pass. Nebraska leads 9-2 midway through the second inning, errr second quarter so who knows what may happen the rest of the game.

Meridian 35 Philadelphia 14 Originally Meridian was scheduled to play Laurel and PHL was playing Noxubee County. At least both teams got to play a game.

Very true though I think we had more fans in the dome than they did. Yes, LA Tech has definitely given us some heartache over the years. When I was a youngster some guy named Bradshaw led them to a win over us….LOL

The ULL comparison is accurate IMO. We won 38-28 but it was a very unimpressive showing (though credit ULL as they have had a good team over the recent years). I was not thinking about possible suspensions from the bowl game. That could certainly throw a wrench into State’s depth , depending on how many guys are out and for how long. Will be very surprised if LT does not cover.

I am in general agreement with what you all have generally said above. I do wonder when the Bama armor starts to crack. They have played at such a high level for so long it is just expected. I don’t see MIA winning but I do agree that if Bama struggles, it could give teams a bit more confidence heading into the conference season. La Tech is a solid team and I agree that while State should win I would not touch the 23 points with a ten foot pole. OM-SDF (airport code for Louie-Ville) has the makings of an entertaining game. Kind of look for OM to pull away late and cover the 9-10 point spread. USM-USA is a very unknown at this moment. I really like the Will Hall hire at Southern but not sure how good they will be this year. Call this a toss up. Strangely enough I like Georgia to beat Clemson. Don’t ask me why, just have that feeling. Have no idea about LSU-UCLA. LSU should win but….

Very true and truth be known, my generation or the one before me did not smoke Laurel either. Possibly occasionally one team or the other would win big but I assure it was a rare occasion when that happened. As I noted in the original comment, most of the time it was a grudge match. Also, while Meridian leads series , Laurel has had their fair share of success as well. Glad that we are at least getting to play but disappointed it is not against Laurel.

Very sad news. Just leaves me stunned and my heart is hurting for this young man’s family, friends, teammates and coaches. Football does not seem very important right now and if this game needs to be cancelled in lieu of this happening, I am in total agreement. Lord, please send your Holy Spirit to give all the above people comfort during this time of devastating sadness. In Jesus name , I pray. Amen.

As of now it is on. Obviously, that is subject to change this week. I hope it does get played though.