CFB Week 6 Thread

[MSTSatchmo]

I think most realized that State’s secondary was a weak spot before the season started.  They’ve been decent to good there for years, but this year was going to be a struggle unless some stepped up which hasn’t happened.

 

They have two very good LBs that are playing just as well as last year when they lead the SEC in tackles, however I think overall the DL has been a disappointment.  

[Bulldogs4]

Unfortunately for State, the DL appeared to be a strength coming in to the season. But I think we have had 4 players go down with injuries. Obviously, injuries are a part of the game. We also know that a strong DL can help neutralize a weak secondary. They have had to throw in some young guys earlier than they planned. 
 

The Arkansas game will tell us a lot about this team. They are about equal to us but they are at home. We will see what happens. 

[MSTSatchmo]

2 hours ago, Bulldogs4 said:

Unfortunately for State, the DL appeared to be a strength coming in to the season. But I think we have had 4 players go down with injuries. Obviously, injuries are a part of the game. We also know that a strong DL can help neutralize a weak secondary. They have had to throw in some young guys earlier than they planned. 
 

The Arkansas game will tell us a lot about this team. They are about equal to us but they are at home. We will see what happens. 

It’s a long shot, but Arkansas and probably UK at home are State’s best bets to reach 6 wins.  Doesn’t look likely though 

Edited October 11, 2023 by MSTSatchmo

[maroontide06]

38 minutes ago, MSTSatchmo said:

It’s a long shot, but Arkansas and probably UK at home are State’s best bets to reach 6 wins.  Doesn’t look likely though 

You just gotta hope for some divine intervention LOL.

[maroontide06]

JP said, "It could happen."

[Dawg83]

42 minutes ago, MSTSatchmo said:

It’s a long shot, but Arkansas and probably UK at home are State’s best bets to reach 6 wins.  Doesn’t look likely though 

I don’t feel good about State’s chances in Fayetteville if the injuries rumors are to be believed. Could be starting a backup QB and a second or third string RB.

[maroontide06]

Just now, Dawg83 said:

I don’t feel good about State’s chances in Fayetteville if the injuries rumors are to be believed. Could be starting a backup QB and a second or third string RB.

So what exactly are the injury rumors and what has happened to Simeon Price?  Shouldn't he be a factor in the running game?  Let me guess, he got hurt too.

[Dawg83]

5 minutes ago, maroontide06 said:

So what exactly are the injury rumors and what has happened to Simeon Price?  Shouldn't he be a factor in the running game?  Let me guess, he got hurt too.

I mean Rogers and Marks both left the game Saturday and returned to the sideline without pads on. Marks was in a boot and Rogers arm was hanging limp by his side. Nothing concrete on either yet but there’s a chance neither are available, or that they’re less than 100% if they play.

 

Price I think has gotten lost in the shuffle behind some newcomers. He played a little on Saturday but I think he’s simply gotten passed by Pittman and Davis, and perhaps Lee after he had a strong showing Saturday. RB is one of the few positions of strength for State.

Edited October 11, 2023 by Dawg83

[Dawg83]

If Mike Wright is starting, welcome back, Relf Coast offense. It’s been a minute.

[maroontide06]

1 minute ago, Dawg83 said:

If Mike Wright is starting, welcome back, Relf Coast offense. It’s been a minute.

State has the unis to match.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Wasn't Relf a Croom recruit?

[Dawg83]

1 hour ago, maroontide06 said:

State has the unis to match.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Wasn't Relf a Croom recruit?

Yes, and no clue why, he was an awful fit for Croom’s offense. Mullen being hired was a career saver for him. Mullen having a Top 15 team with Relf at QB might say more about Dan’s QB development skills than anything he did with Smith, Tebow, Dak, Fitzgerald, Trask, etc. I didn’t think Relf had a prayer of being a contributor in the SEC.

 

Still remember Jack Cristil’s iconic 2008 Egg Bowl call, Relf comes into the game down 45-0 and Jack proceeds to say “Relf can throw it far. He cannot throw it accurately, but he can throw it far.”

[MSTSatchmo]

I would imagine that Arkansas will be preparing for Wright.  A positive for State though is Arkansas isn’t really sure what an offense lead by Wright would look like.  
Of course it won’t matter of State’s defense makes Jefferson look like Brady.   
 

As for State’s chances, they still aren’t good, but Arkansas is the worst SEC team left on the schedule.   I still think it will be an 0-8 season with a brutal Egg Bowl.  Kiffin will have a bad taste in his mouth from last year’s debacle,  OM’s offense is just that good, and Leach isn’t there to give Kiffin a reason to let the foot off the gas.  

[Dawg83]

Crazy thing is that as bad as State has looked, they are pretty much where most thought they’d be record-wise at this point. I had them going 8-4 with the fourth loss being at either Auburn or A&M. That is all technically still possible.

 

Everyone’s confidence in that is waaaaay down, and rightfully so. But the schedule the rest of the way, while not easy, is also not terrible, with Bama and LSU in the rear view and an Egg Bowl at home (I definitely favor OM in that game but history has shown us that Egg Bowl upsets do happen). I mean I had State losing by double digits in Oxford last year and we see what happened.

 

I still stand by my prediction of them losing the next four games. But what happens if they steal a game on the road and beat Kentucky at home like they have every time since 2010? The narrative changes. And it’s not an impossible scenario, in spite of how the season has gone to this point.

 

 

Edited October 12, 2023 by Dawg83

[MSTSatchmo]

Maybe Wright can give State a spark on offense.  Staying on the field and giving the defense more rest could make a huge difference.  
As we saw with the OM/LSU game, one win can change attitudes.  Players and fans.  

[Dawg83]

You also have to wonder what shape Arkansas will be in after what I’m assuming will grow to a 5 game losing streak on Saturday. Plus it’s an 11 am kickoff in front of what I don’t imagine will be a tremendous crowd.

Edited October 12, 2023 by Dawg83

[maroontide06]

9 hours ago, Dawg83 said:

You also have to wonder what shape Arkansas will be in after what I’m assuming will grow to a 5 game losing streak on Saturday. Plus it’s an 11 am kickoff in front of what I don’t imagine will be a tremendous crowd.

I honestly don't see how State will go 0-8 in conference play.  After all we are supposed to wear the Interlocking MSU uniform against Kentucky and I can't fathom how we will lose a game wearing those uniforms.  If State decides to bust them out sooner than that then you really can't count State out of any contest moving forward.  Go ahead and bust them out against Arkansas this weekend.  What's it gonna hurt?

[maroontide06]

12 hours ago, MSTSatchmo said:

As for State’s chances, they still aren’t good, but Arkansas is the worst SEC team left on the schedule.   I still think it will be an 0-8 season with a brutal Egg Bowl.  Kiffin will have a bad taste in his mouth from last year’s debacle,  OM’s offense is just that good, and Leach isn’t there to give Kiffin a reason to let the foot off the gas.  

This definitely isn't a good take or it's a take looking through the OM point of view.  State may lose the Egg Bowl, but they certainly won't keel over like you think.   If State will wear the uniform that I think they'll wear in the Egg Bowl, Mississippi better look out.

[maroontide06]

If Mississippi wants to counter that, then I say bring back Colonel Reb and let the OM Band play Dixie again.  Then, you'll have a slobberknocker of an Egg Bowl.

[pancho]

talk about some national media recognition

[maroontide06]

6 minutes ago, pancho said:

talk about some national media recognition

Exactly.  It's really not a bad idea.

[MSTSatchmo]

1 hour ago, maroontide06 said:

This definitely isn't a good take or it's a take looking through the OM point of view.  

It’s a take based on what I’ve seen on the field so far this year.   I know there are times when the better team gets beat, and a team not having a good year puts up a fight to the end.  However, there have also been games that were just plain ugly for one of the teams.  That’s the way I see it playing out this year, unfortunately.   
 

It’s still a long way away though.  

[maroontide06]

9 minutes ago, MSTSatchmo said:

It’s a take based on what I’ve seen on the field so far this year.   I know there are times when the better team gets beat, and a team not having a good year puts up a fight to the end.  However, there have also been games that were just plain ugly for one of the teams.  That’s the way I see it playing out this year, unfortunately.   
 

It’s still a long way away though.  

So if State is non-competitive in their remaining conference games, goes 0-8 in conference play like you say, gets shellacked by OM in the Egg Bowl, stops the post season bowl game streak, and is just flat out lethargic then wouldn't that make things crystal clear for Zac Selmon?  It'd be like having a bowl of red beans & rice at that point.  You would be practically fool-proofing the decision making process.  I don't think things will be quite that simple though in how it plays out.

[Dawg83]

52 minutes ago, maroontide06 said:

So if State is non-competitive in their remaining conference games, goes 0-8 in conference play like you say, gets shellacked by OM in the Egg Bowl, stops the post season bowl game streak, and is just flat out lethargic then wouldn't that make things crystal clear for Zac Selmon?  It'd be like having a bowl of red beans & rice at that point.  You would be practically fool-proofing the decision making process.  I don't think things will be quite that simple though in how it plays out.

You would think they can get it figured out enough to win at least one or two SEC games. But man that defense is real bad and now the injuries are piling up on both sides of the ball. Heck even our kicker got hurt in the WMU game.

 

It’s probably more likely than not that they’ll find a way to win at least one SEC game. Even bad Vandy teams usually fool around and find a win somewhere. But State won’t be favored in any SEC game the rest of the way, barring something surprising.

Edited October 12, 2023 by Dawg83

[MSTSatchmo]

If they get two and a bowl game, Arnett is definitely safe.   Go 1-8 or even a competitive 0-8, and he’s probably still around next year.  

If they do an ugly 0-8, then I believe Selmon will be gauging the interest of other coaches.  Hell they may be doing that currently.  I know I’ve read two articles about coaches on the hot seat mentioning State and possible candidates.  

[Dawg83]

2 hours ago, MSTSatchmo said:

If they get two and a bowl game, Arnett is definitely safe.   Go 1-8 or even a competitive 0-8, and he’s probably still around next year.  

If they do an ugly 0-8, then I believe Selmon will be gauging the interest of other coaches.  Hell they may be doing that currently.  I know I’ve read two articles about coaches on the hot seat mentioning State and possible candidates.  

Just not as much time to be patient with coaches as there used to be. Not in this era of realignment, NIL, and mass transferring.

 

That said, Selmon didn’t hire Arnett and Arnett also has a small buyout. It’s easier to rationalize a quick change than it might be in other circumstances.