Kentucky

This year's club has no hope of matching the win total of the 2000 football team. That team won 7 regular season games (what a waste losing to Arkansas and Mississippi - another "what could have been"). But this year's team could match that team in one statistical column, SEC road wins.

State has lost 19 straight SEC road games. The last win? Kentucky in 2000.

Why Kentucky: Because State has been that bad on the road. Hell, they've been "that bad" everywhere they've played. State only has one playmaker and Croom is talking like Henig could get some snaps under center, which could lead to turnovers.

Why State: UK ranks 101 in rushing defense. If Norwood can go for 200 plus and the coaches continue to feed him the ball in the fourth quarter, no matter the score, the Pups can get a win. And Croom is hinting that Henig might get a few snaps under center, which could lead to a more productive passing game.

Bottom line: UK covers the point and wins outright (and take the under - this one isn't getting anywhere near 43), because State hasn't proven to anyone that they can win a football game against "legitimate" competition. UK 17 - State 13.

Does this Season Hinge on a Freshman and a Prayer?

Stansbury is very pleased with his freshmen. Which is good, because this State team has a lot of them.

Jamont Gordon is projected to be the star of the class, but that isn't stopping the Delk Twins from being, in Stansbury's words, "gym rats." And it isn't stopping Bernard Rimmer from impressing the head man either. And from the sound of early interviews, Vernon Goodridge is possibly the best athlete on the team, now he just needs to learn how to play basketball.

We've dicussed it before and we'll surely discuss it again, but how exactly do you replace all five starters and your top six leading scorers?

Granted, it's early, but Stansbury sounds like he's going to let these freshmen loose. This is a big change from previous classes, such as last year, where he reined the talented youngsters in and didn’t give them much room to learn on the court.

Unlike last year, this season Stansbury has no choice and as the first article linked above reports, these freshmen appear to be more mature that last year's group.

Even Sharpe has made significant progress in the off-season (we can all just thank the stars that these freshman have no problem with going to class and being on time for practice).

The biggest concern of all State fans this coming season is the number of "ifs" that are contingent on a winning season.

IF Rhodes has matured as a player.

IF Gordon can guard the perimeter and score.

IF Edmundson can find his shot and lead the team and not be a liability on defense.

IF we can get quality minutes from old, yet inexperienced players, like Morgan, Stelmach and Boler.

IF Houston is the all-around player we've been lead to believe he is from a year of "internet hype".

IF Slater has matured enough to provide energy and defense without sacrificing solid play on the offensive end.

IF Sharpe really has grown up, because we know he can play.

If the Delk Twins are as good as advertised.

Stansbury has repeatedly said that he isn't shying away from expectations. He created them; he'll have to live up to them.

I'm still predicting a 20 win season and a NCCA invite. As Stansbury often says, "Our team has one goal, championships."

Anything else is a disappointment.

Things I Learned this Weekend...

1. Apparently it's possible for an SEC team to have a running back run for 257 yards, 10 yards per carry, at home, and lose to a Conference USA team.

2. Bama is currently the luckiest team on the planet.

4. LSU has more talent than any team in the SEC. The coaching staff down in Red Stick would do better just staying out of the way.

5. Texas is better than USC. However, I may have learned that last week, I don't really remember.

6. After the top three, USC, Texas, and Virginia Tech, the level of competition drops greatly. Neither Georgia nor Alabama can hang with these three.

7. All of the HS All-American quarterback recruits who are currently considering going to a big-name school and sitting behind a starter, waiting for their chance their junior or senior year, take a quick look at what just happened to D.J. Shockley. Don't pin your hopes on one season...come to State and you could start all four years!!

THE SKY IS FALLING! THE SKY IS FALLING!

Well Coach, the honeymoon is over.

Any one that doubts that, can visit here, or here, or here.

No offensive improvement.

The fourth quarter theory was debunked.

Ridiculous coaching calls continue.

We all know Croom will be around for a long while, but perhaps Mr. Grimes, and Mr. Holliday need to be sent packing.

McCorvey may need to go too, but this offense can't be put entirely on his shoulders as Croom is obviously calling the shots.

You have to hand it to Norwood for finding a way to rush for 257 yards.

But, this leads us to more questions than answers.

How do you have a player rush for 257 yards and only score one touchdown?

How do you have a player rush for 257 yards and lose to Houston?

How bad will this offense be next year without Norwood?

That last question may indeed bring down the sky.

Houston

Many consider this week's game against Houston a must win. A must win for many reasons, most having to do with confidence and momentum for the second half of the season. Most important however is player and recruit "buy-in." How much trust will this staff lose with the players if they lose to Houston? Will the long hours still be worth it if they can't even muster a win against Conference USA competition? Will they quit believing that success is "just around the corner" if they keep doing what the coach asks?

Hopefully these questions won't need to be asked next week.

A lot is being made this week of Houston's 3-4 defense. After facing Florida, Georgia, LSU and Auburn, a little change in the front line of the opposing defense can't really cause too much concern. There really isn't much else for media to talk about following an off week, minus a minor discipline case.

Houston got thumped last week in Memphis after failing to convert multiple trips deep inside the red zone. Luckily, State's defense has been pretty solid itself inside the red zone, and this may be crucial as Houston will surely find ways to move the ball. Making the Cougars settle for 3, instead of 7, will help the struggling State offense immensely.

Stories last week filled the wires about changes Croom was making to the offense. Last year, during a bye week, Croom benched his starting three linebackers in favor of a younger corps. Hopefully this past weeks' offensive adjustments will have as big of an impact on the field as last year's move.

Why Houston: Kolb and company can put points on the board. And they stood tough against Oregon into the third quarter before the wheels came off.

Why State: Houston's defense has been porous against the run, so Norwood should have a big day. And State's defense has played admirably against some pretty good offenses already this year. If the offense can muster just a little momentum....

Bottom line: State wins this one in the fourth quarter, 28-24.

Thursday Night Special: VT at Maryland

This is a great Thursday night college football game.

Being neighbors, these two schools compete for the same recruits in the HS hotbed of northern Virginia and D.C. And the proximity of the schools promotes a natural rivalry with fans working inside the Beltway. And of course both schools play pretty solid football, with coaches who know each other well.

But how exactly does this concern State? It doesn't really. But it's interesting to note that Beamer and Friedgen traveled in similar coaching circles on their way to head positions as Coach Croom. All three coaches worked for Bobby Ross during their careers and Croom and Fridge were on the same staff at San Diego when the Chargers made it to the Super Bowl.

When Croom was hired, Bobby Ross said, "He's as good a coach as you could ask for on the field and in the classroom. He is a great communicator with coaches and with players. I've had some great coaches work for me like George O'Leary, Ralph Friedgen and Frank Beamer. I put Sylvester Croom in the same category as those guys."

In fact, the San Diego Chargers staff was pretty ridiculous when you consider their accomplishments and where they are now. Among Ross’ assistants were running backs coach Sylvester Croom (now the head coach at Mississippi State), secondary coach John Fox (head coach, Carolina Panthers), tight ends coach Ralph Friedgen (head coach, University of Maryland) and defensive line coach George O’Leary (head coach, University of Central Florida).

If Croom proves to be as successful as the other coaches on this list, then Mississippi State got a hell of a deal.

There's no crying in football...

Florida used to have a "ball coach," now they apparently have a "bawler".

Martin Fennelly from the Tampa Tribune reports:

Then someone asked the first question. It was about Chris Leak, Florida's equally lost quarterback. Meyer began, "You know, I got to watch …"

He paused. He choked on his words. He fell silent. It got weird. After 24 seconds, Meyer went on with red-rimmed eyes. He choked up again a few minutes later.

Was this really happening?

Crying?

There's no crying in SEC football.

There was Saturday.

Basketball is Back

I present to you the 2005-2006 Mississippi State Basketball Team.

No., Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl.
01, Richard Delk G 6-4 170 Fr.
02, Jerrell Houston F 6-8 210 Fr. RS
03, Billy Begley G 6-1 190 Jr.
05, Jamall Edmondson G 5-9 190 Sr.
20, Michael Boler G/F 6-5 190 Sr.
22, Dietric Slater G/F 6-3 200 Jr.
23, Charles Rhodes F 6-8 240 So.
24, Reginald Delk G 6-4 170 Fr.
25, Wesley Morgan C 7-2 240 Sr.
30, Bernard Rimmer F 6-8 195 Fr.
40, Vernon Goodridge C/F 6-9 220 Fr.
41, Piotr Stelmach F 6-9 240 Jr.
42, Walter Sharpe F 6-9 235 So.
44, Jamont Gordon G/F 6-4 225 Fr.

Full roster with bios can be found here.

Overrated!!!

Has there ever been a more overrated team than Texas Tech? It's October 17 and their signature win is Nebraska. A Nebraska team that isn't ranked and isn't all that good.

The Red Raiders are 10 in the AP and 8 in the USA Today poll. The Big 12 is so down this year the Raiders only have one ranked team on their schedule. Pathetic.

Things I Learned this Weekend...

1. Off weeks suck (even when your team is horrible).

2. Alabama is still not "ALABAMA". They will lose two or three games before the season is over.

3. F'n USC. I mean...damn.

4. 45,000 people for a pep rally?!?! (Over/Under on Scott Field having 45,000 in attendance this weekend?)

5. UVA over FSU. Anyone else reminded of 1995 while watching this one?

6. Louisville is horrible on the road. And virtually unbeatable at home.

7. If I got a vote, Texas is number one this week, USC two, VT three....

7a. Like weddings, moving on a Saturday in the Fall should be outlawed.

Off Week

Off weeks are great for the team, and no team needed one more than State, but they suck for fans. There is nothing to talk about but a game two weeks away.

Croom is focusing this week on the offense, as he should. He's promising slight changes and hinting at a more aggressive down-field attack. How? Who knows.

"We just have to start making some plays with our receivers," Croom said. "People are stacking against our running game. They figure if they stop Jerious, we can't move and that's pretty much been the case so far. We're not making big plays in the passing game. The throw is a little high, or we're not making the catch. I mean we have to be able to throw the football."

Also, it looks like Redmond and Dunning will be back in action for the Houston game, which should help the struggling o-line.

So, what changes will Croom make to help the passing game?

Here are a few suggestions from the cheap seats:

1. Use Thornton or Norwood in the slot, with the other in the backfield. This at least puts some speed in the slot and makes the defense respect both positions.

2. Split Eric Butler out wide. Butler will have a significant size advantage on the corner and he'll be tougher to double by anyone with size. This way you can leave a TE in to block and still get one of the team's few playmakers out in a pass pattern.

3. Put anyone with speed on the field (Pegues, Fitzhugh, Dockery) at WR and take a couple shots a game on flys. Why not?

4. Alternate quarterbacks. Neither Conner nor Henig has been impressive. Rotate them some in the first half and maybe Conner will last until the 4th quarter, when it will hopefully matter.

5. Give Norwood the ball 15 or more times. I can't emphasize this enough. The two games (granted it was Murray State and Tulane) in which he received more than 15 carries this season we won and the six games in which he received more than 15 last year were the team's best played games. He has to be the workhorse down the stretch.

Need Talent. Apply Within.

Finally, it's over. We all knew before the season started that State would be 2-4 after the first six games. At least we hoped. We hoped we wouldn't be 1-5, or 0-6. No one really thought we'd be 3-3 or better, so why all the fuss?

Any intelligent fan can tell this team is well coached. Players are in position to make plays, to often they are just not good enough to make them. We need more talent on campus and we need the talent we have to grow up.

Norwood. Another big play, another injury. Hopefully the next two weeks will allow him to heal fully before this stretch run. He only needs a little over 300 yards to be the all time rushing leader at State. And with UH, UK, and UM still on the schedule, barring injury, that shouldn't be a problem.

Anyone else notice how well Dockery played on Saturday? It seemed liked he was in on almost every hit, got a interception and spent a lot of the day in the backfield.

Five games left. Houston. Kentucky. Alabama. Arkansas. Mississippi.

I like our chances in four of those five games. Win four, we go bowling. Win three, the season is a success. Win two, eh. Win one or less, it will be a long off-season.


(Photo of Henig being sacked for a safety by Florida's Brandon Siler is courtesy of Peter Cosgrove of The Associated Press.)

Memory Lane...

"As Drayton and his fellow coaches walked into the Bulldogs' locker room that morning, they noticed a difference.

"It was dead silent," Drayton said. "I never saw that team get that focused before a game."

Drayton turned and saw his tailback, Jerious Norwood. Tears streamed down Norwood's face.

Then Drayton looked to the left of Norwood's locker and saw the dry erase board. Someone had scrawled four words on it.

Make Them Respect Us.

In the Florida locker room, senior linebacker Travis Harris warned his teammates the Bulldogs were dangerous. Sure, they'd lost to Maine at home, Harris said, but Starkville hadn't been kind to the Gators.

Harris' teammates didn't listen."

Andy Staples of the Tampa Tribune interviewed ex-State and current Florida running backs coach Stan Drayton for this article about last year's upset of Florida.

Florida

The last time State went down to The Swamp they left with a 52-0 beating. It's sad to say that I personally witnessed every one of those touchdowns, even the last one Spurrier scored for the waterboy.

With chants of "Who Shut the Dawgs Out!" still ringing in my ears, I vowed I would never return to Gainesville. So, I'll be on my couch for the massacre on Saturday. Cheers.

Why Florida: As was the case for the previous three SEC games, why not? They're bigger, faster, stronger, better, etc., etc., etc. And as if they need any motivation, they got whipped last week at Alabama and of course they got "Croomed" last year in Starkville. Oh boy....

Why State: The defensive line is formidable and Florida's offensive line has struggled this year. The loss of Bobo for this game hurts, but it won't really matter unless the offense can muster up some kind of production. Unfortunately, it won't.

Bottom line: At least this is the end of the run of "unwinnable" games and the Pups can look forward to a week off to rest before Houston comes to town, which is a little solace in the middle of this nightmare. Florida wins big, 38 - 7.

(Expect to see a lot of Urban Meyer fist pumping on Saturday afternoon....)

Georgia at Tennessee

The weekly SEC prognostications have been shaky at best, so we'll hope for a better showing this time around.

In the SEC game of the week, Georgia will win again on Rocky Top, improving Coach Richt's road record at UGA to 17-2. Richt's impressive 89 percent winning percentage on the road is the best in the SEC during that span.

Vandy took all the shine off what was setting up to be a high profile game in Nashville this weekend by losing to Middle Tennessee last weekend. LSU will treat this like any other trip to play the Dores and win big.

Kentucky at South Carolina is an interesting game between two teams trying to find some offense. You have to like a bad team coached by Spurrier over a bad team coached by Brooks any day.

Mississippi will win a laugher in Oxford against D-1AA Citadel and Arkansas will roll over ULM.

And the Hype Begins...

Greg Doyel of CBS Sportsline.com lists his top 11 impact freshman for this coming basketball season. Among the list, was State's freshman shooting guard Jamont Gordon.

"Jamont Gordon, Mississippi State: The top six scorers are gone from last season, and Gordon is the most SEC-ready member of the Bulldogs' loaded freshman class. He's a 6-4, 225-pound monster of a two-guard who might just challenge for the SEC scoring title."

Two State Defenders Suspended

Mario Bobo and Fred Akines have been suspended indefinitely by Croom. Bobo started at safety for the first four games of the season before being limited to a back up role against LSU due to a knee injury and redshirt freshman linebacker Akines had seen mostly special teams duty this season.

The loss of Akines won't be felt nearly as much as Bobo, who was one of the few bright spots in a very thin corps of safeties.

Croom is not giving any reason for the suspensions, but internet rumors are swirling that the two were involved in an altercation with Josh McNeil last weekend. McNeil is the little brother of starting State center Chris McNeil and a freshman offensive lineman who is currently redshirting at UT.

Campbell gets NBA Chance

The Charlotte Bobcats signed Marcus Campbell last week, giving him a chance to make the team in training camp.

Good luck Campbell.

Of the four senior starters from last year's team, two are currently in NBA camps. Lawrence Roberts signed a two year deal with the Memphis Grizzlies and had an impressive summer league, averaging 13.6 ppg, 11.7 rpg.

Shane Power got a brief try-out with the Indiana Pacers before being released back in July and Winsome Frazier played on Memphis' summer league team, but is not currently on their roster.

Things I Learned this Weekend...

1. I didn't learn, but I remembered this..."Vandy sucks."

2. Joe Pa may be primed for one last run at greatness.

3. The road to the SEC West Championship is traveling through Alabama. Not sure if it's Auburn or Tuscaloosa yet, but one or the other will be playing in Atlanta. My money is on Auburn.

4. When Southern Cal is bored, they're beatable. When they decide to play, they're not.

5. The Big 12 North is horrible. Worse than I thought possible.

6. Marcus Vick really may be a better quarterback than his brother. Not a better player, but a better quarterback.

7. K-State actually snapped a ball in punt formation and didn't have a punter on the field in their game against Oklahoma (yes, you read that right). See, Bulldog fans, things could be worse.

Hope

I let them do it again. I let them pull me in. I was kicking and screaming, but I let 'em do it.

I started to believe in this rag-tag group of characters. Not really, really believe, mind you, but believe nonetheless.

They fought gallantly against Georgia, they were two plays from tied in the first half against LSU. And then it happened, the floodgates opened, and it was once again 2004. The third quarter was a train wreck the likes of which I had hoped I would never have to witness again. The defense appeared to quit, missing tackles and committing infraction after infraction and then the coaching staff followed.

Who can blame them really? LSU was whipping the Dogs on both sides of the ball and the only talent on offense was out with a concussion. The game wasn't fair; it was like watching the old JV-Varsity scrimmage in high school.

We all knew the offense was struggling mightily, but we believed in the defense. But apparently some time during the past week, they all forgot how to tackle.

It's not going to get any easier this week. A team I thought was really good, Florida, laid an egg in Tuscaloosa. They'll be ready to beat on somebody this weekend, as if they need more motivation after getting their coach "Croomed" last year in Starkville.

Looking at the schedule before the season, most fans marked these three games as losses. Croom had better be working not to let these three games end any positive momentum the team had built, because there are some winnable games left on the schedule. And Croom better find a way to get his team to win those, because the only thing that will get talent on campus is some proof that this coaching staff can win.

Hope. It's a precious thing. And unfortunately it's gone, again.

(Photo is courtesy of Joe Ellis and The Clarion-Ledger.)