Dawg83

I thought Cincy’s showing was respectable all things considered. Michigan…. Yeesh. I expected that to be a close game and it wasn’t remotely competitive.

The Music City and Peach bowls were a breath of fresh air, two exciting finishes in what has otherwise been kind of a dull bowl season. Honestly I could see the SEC only ending up with 2-3 bowl wins. I feel pretty good about Arkansas over Penn State and Bama over Cincy, otherwise everything is at best a toss up.

I’ll watch the Rose Bowl because I think Utah is a good team that’s really fired up to be there and Ohio State feels kinda blah about it based on some of their opt outs. Think the Utes have a real chance there.

On paper it seems like a clear step down from Lebby but I would assume Kiffin is going to call plays so it may not be a huge deal. I get it because of the familiarity factor, that’s about the only reason it makes sense though.

It was a dud of a game. Doesn’t change my opinion that next year can be a good one for State. They have to get the two tackle spots figured out but otherwise return a lot. Some people will get really worked up about it and call it an embarrassment. I’m a little more neutral on it. It is what it is. You were missing a bunch of guys and got whipped. It happens. Get better in the offseason. The highs and lows of the Mike Leach experience are what they are. You hired Mike Leach, you are gonna get Mike Leach. A lot of good comes with that but there will be some stinkers here and there. It won’t hurt my feelings if State never plays another game in the Liberty Bowl.

Both starting tackles out and lost a guard to injury during the game. Not to mention State has generally been a bad first half team most of the year. State obviously has not looked very good but they are clearly not a team at full strength. Multiple true freshmen that have barely touched the field all year are playing a lot currently, We will see if they have enough to find a way to win.

State apparently will have some key contributors out due to COVID (mostly on defense apparently) but it looks like the game will be played tonight as expected. I really have no idea what we will see in this one. At full strength I expected State to win in a rout, and it could still happen I suppose. Based on the way Leach has talked this week I think he may try to run up the score. But the opt out and COVID absences are a concern, how can they not be? Can State protect Rogers with Cross not playing? Can a short handed defense put up a respectable showing? We will certainly find out. Still think I like State to win but think it may be closer than I originally anticipated.

Kiffin and the transfer portal reminds me a lot of Jackie Sherrill and JUCO recruits. State had a big run of success in the late 90’s that was largely buoyed by instant impact JUCO guys. Jackie signed a ton of them. But then he signed a class or two with a bunch of duds (longtime State fans will remember the infamous Arizona Western transfers) and it totally set the program back. I think the premise is similar for the portal. If you’re gonna go portal heavy, you better get guys who can play. The portal seemed to be kind to Ole Miss last year, particularly on defense. It was a mixed bag for State, Polk was an absolute steal but other guys were more up and down. We will see what this year brings. State got a commit from a Bama transfer corner tonight. That position group needed a major talent boost in terms of depth and it feels like they may have gotten it in the last week. I’ll give Leach and his staff credit, my biggest concern when he was hired was that they would struggle to recruit defensive talent. To this point that hasn’t appeared to be the case, they’ve continued to keep the defensive talent pool pretty strong.

If we are being honest Corral’s EB stat line wasn’t anything special. A couple of clutch throws and scrambles but the numbers were pretty unremarkable. But Rogers was merely OK too, and didn’t get much help from his WR’s or OL.

At what point does Kiffin just roll with Altmyer? I mean I get that we live in a “win now” world but I think there’s benefit to being patient with a young QB and letting him develop naturally (see Will Rogers). Plus OM’s schedule next year is REALLY light on the front end, whoever the next guy is will have plenty of time to get ready before Ole Miss sees any team that can challenge them.

State not offering him in high school was a massive mistake, dude was an awesome QB for USM. Good young coach from what I understand too. I hope this ends up being a good career move for him, I am skeptical about Harsin’s long term prospects there.

I don’t know how good he will do but somebody will absolutely take a chance on him as a P5 head coach. What he’s done for JSU is remarkable.

I think there’s a good chance Deion is a Power 5 head coach within a year or so, maybe even at Florida State. But as long as he’s at JSU, you now have to wonder how much competition he is going to be for top in-state recruits. Maybe this kid he signed yesterday was a unique case but it certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed. If he can sign that kid, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before he signs an in-state player that State and Ole Miss both really want. And I’ll be honest, did not think that was a possibility before yesterday.

The No. 1 player in the country just signed with Jackson State. WOW.

I think with recruiting it’s more about your average ranking over several years. One highly ranked class or lowly ranked class doesn’t typically define what your program is, and for one given year the rankings can be wrong (see State’s 2011 class). But over a period of a few years I feel like the rankings tend to be right. I.e., State recruits a lot of borderline Top 25 classes, no coincidence that they’ve had a bunch of borderline Top 25 teams.

I think State did end up wanting Blanton for football eventually, but it was pretty obvious he didn’t want to be at State. Had OM not backed off I fully he expect he would’ve been a Rebel. I don’t think he was a big fan of Leach for whatever reason. I don’t think it’s a huge loss for State given that they have other LB’s of similar caliber committed and it’s not a position of huge need. But it was a kid State wanted and it’s a bit odd to see a kid like this end up at South Carolina.

I definitely do think there’s an element to it where you kinda are leaving your teammates out to dry. Can’t say I’m thrilled with the idea of having a LT who has barely played this year responsible for protecting Will Rogers’ blindside in a bowl game.

I was right about State pursuing a WR, sounds like they are the favorites to land a receiver from FlU that had 1,000 yards this season. They are also in the mix for Marcus Banks, a corner from Alabama, sounds like it will come down to State and Miami. Whoever gets Bigsby is going to get an absolute stud, I think that guy is awesome. Nix is intriguing in the right offense, I don’t think he’s great but he has shown the ability to have a big game here and there. That seems like somebody Kiffin would probably pursue, but I could be wrong. He may reunite with Malzahn at UCF.

It sounds like Cross and Emerson are probably opting out for State. I think State can figure it out at corner for now, LT will be interesting. As we’ve seen the last two years, sub-par OL play can derail the whole thing for this offense. So it will be important that Cross’s backup (presumably Nick Jones, a JUCO transfer) plays well. That’s probably the path to a Texas Tech win, cause problems for State on the OL.

FWIW, I am expecting mixed results from SEC bowl games. Perhaps I am wrong but I don’t see the league as all that deep this year, in spite of having so many bowl teams. I lean more toward a 7-6 type record for the SEC.

The LSU bowl situation is fascinating. Orgeron is not coaching and Max Johnson just entered the transfer portal. So they either have to burn the redshirt of a true freshman that’s already played in four games or start a walk-on.

If Charles Cross decides he doesn’t want to play in the Liberty Bowl against a 6-6 team, I have a hard time holding that against him. This feels like it’s going to be the new normal for guys who aren’t in the Playoff or NY6. I totally get why Corral wants to play in the Sugar Bowl. At the same time, if Ole Miss was playing in the Duke’s Mayonnaise Bowl I feel like Luke Altmyer would be your starting QB.

State could use an OT and some DB help. Given what this offense is I won’t be shocked if they bring in a transfer WR or QB. Don’t think they particularly need either but Mike Leach loves to stockpile those guys.

You guys have certainly earned bragging rights for the time being. However, I will note that the last time Ole Miss won back to back Egg Bowls and got a Sugar Bowl invite, the few years that followed went quite differently. Here’s to history repeating itself! LOL.

Tech‘s interim is also a former Leach QB from the mid 2000’s. I realize bowl games can be a crap shoot but I’ll go ahead and say it’s a disappointment if State loses to a team that went 3-6 in the Big 12.