Former Bulldog Nick Turner Missing, Presumed Dead
by jeremyflint on Aug 31, 2010 2:40 PM EDT
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Former MSU running back Nick Turner is missing in Atlanta, and is presumed dead. Here is a news clip from the Atlanta Fox affiliate:
It's very strange that the last time Mississippi State played Memphis (2003), Nick Turner scored 2 touchdowns on the way to a Bulldog victory over the Tigers. Soon after Sylvester Croom took over as head coach, he dismissed Turner from the team. Turner had brushes with the law in Starkville, including passing counterfeit money at a local nightclub.
Dan Mullen Weekly Press Conference, Week 1
by jeremyflint on Aug 30, 2010 9:57 PM EDT
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Dan Mullen gave his first weekly press conference today. Here is the video.
12 Teams, 12 Days: Alcorn State
by jeremyflint on Aug 29, 2010 8:53 AM EDT
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Note: This is part 4 of a 12-part series. Each day, we will take a look at an opponent for the upcoming 2010 football season.
After a few unexpected days off, we pick our 12 Teams series back up with Alcorn State. Alcorn State is another Mississippi member of the SWAC, and after last year's season opening matchup with Jackson State, this game should be no surprise on the schedule. It is great to see State reaching out to the other schools in Mississippi besides The School Up North.
Since Alcorn State is a smaller school, it was hard to find much information on them. Their head coach, Earnest Collins, is in his second year at the helm. They won only 3 games in their 2009 campaign, but they were quality wins over Mississippi Valley State, Alabama A & M, and arch-rival Jackson State. They return 8 starters on offense, but are still searching for a starting QB. They also return 9 starters on a defense that should keep them in most games, but the offense will be a big question for them this year.
This game will be a welcome break for the Bulldogs after a grueling 3-game SEC stint. It will also be the last home game before going on the road to Houston and Florida. Look for the Mississippi State to take this game as an opportunity to heal some players that will undoubtedly be dinged up and to work on fixing some issues that may arise during the first four games.
12 Teams, 12 Days: Alcorn State
by jeremyflint on Aug 29, 2010 8:51 AM EDT
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Note: This is part 4 of a 12-part series. Each day, we will take a look at an opponent for the upcoming 2010 football season.
After a few unexpected days off, we pick our 12 Teams series back up with Alcorn State. Alcorn State is another Mississippi member of the SWAC, and after last year's season opening matchup with Jackson State, this game should be no surprise on the schedule. It is great to see State reaching out to the other schools in Mississippi besides The School Up North.
Since Alcorn State is a smaller school, it was hard to find much information on them. Their head coach, Earnest Collins, is in his second year at the helm. They won only 3 games in their 2009 campaign, but they were quality wins over Mississippi Valley State, Alabama A & M, and arch-rival Jackson State. They return 8 starters on offense, but are still searching for a starting QB. They also return 9 starters on a defense that should keep them in most games, but the offense will be a big question for them this year.
12 Days, 12 Teams: Georgia Bulldogs
by jeremyflint on Aug 25, 2010 9:00 AM EDT
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Note: This is part 4 of a 12-part series. Each day, we will take a look at an opponent for the upcoming 2010 football season.
After traveling to Baton Rouge, State returns home to Starkville and welcomes the "other" bulldogs to Davis Wade Stadium. The last time Georgia and Mississippi State met, Georgia barely came away with a win in Athens. They hold a 9-1 record over the last 10 meetings and lead the series overall 16-5.
2009 seemed to be a down year for Georiga. After coming off a #1 ranking in 2008 to finishing with 7 wins in 2009, many Georgia fans were calling for the head of Mark Richt on a silver platter. Nevermind the fact that Richt has averaged 10 wins per season in his nine years in Athens. Georgia will look to silence their critics in 2010 and compete heavily for the SEC East title and beyond.
Offense
This team may have one the most experienced returning offenses in the conference. They averaged 29 points per game in 2009 and are returning ten starters on offense alone. Unfortunately, the one new starter comes in at the quarterback position. Redshirt freshman Aaron Murray will go under center this fall with little to no depth at the position.
Surrounding Murray will be a solid offensive line with five upperclassmen starters with most entering their 3rd or 4th season at the top of the depth chart. The experience on the line will be a bonus to the Georgia running game. The feature of the offense will be the receiving corps, led by A.J. Green.
Defense
The clear weak spot for Georgia has been the slow decline of the defense under former defensive coordinator Willie Martinez. With Martinez out at Georgia, Richt brought in former NFL coordinator Todd Grantham, who has been tasked with installing the 3-4 defense. The switch to a new defensive scheme saw many players trying out for different positions in spring practice.
The Georgia defensive line was hit hard by graduation, losing 3 tackles to the NFL draft. The secondary will also be a concern with only 1 returning starter. The strength of the Georgia defense will be linebackers where there is more than enough talent to overcome the loss of the SECs leading tackler, Rennie Curran, to the NFL draft.
As An Opponent
I think Georgia has the potential to be an upset win for MIssissippi State. Prior to arriving in Starkville, Georgia must travel to South Carolina and host Arkansas in Athens. They could come in to Davis Wade on a down swing and be caught off guard, with the only real Bulldogs coming out on top.
12 Days, 12 Teams: LSU Tigers
by jeremyflint on Aug 24, 2010 11:00 AM EDT
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Note: This is part 3 of a 12-part series. Each day, we will take a look at an opponent for the upcoming 2010 football season.
The Bulldogs first road game of the 2010 campaign is not a pretty one. They will travel to Baton Rouge to face off against the LSU Tigers, at night, in death valley. Can you see the excitement on my face? The Bulldogs have not had much success in Baton Rouge (18 wins in 64 trips to Tiger Stadium), and night games at LSU are notoriously hard on the visiting team. Overall, LSU leads the series 67-33-3 and has won 10 straight over the Bulldogs.
While the Tigers finished the 2009 season 9-4, it was not a great season for LSU fans. Their only victory over a ranked team came against Georgia - a game that was marred with officiating errors - and they lost their Capital One Bowl game to Penn State. This from a team that was only 3 years removed from a National Championship.
Offense
Quarterback seems to be the most inconsistent spot on the Tiger offense. Jordan Jefferson was less than spectacular last year, and the Tigers finished 9th in the SEC in passing and 11th in scoring. Jefferson seemed uncomfortable in the pocket last year and did not have a great spring. On the other hand, junior backup Jarrett Lee has more career interceptions than any other active college QB.
The Tigers have a strong group of receivers, even though Jefferson seemed to target 2 receivers more than any others last year. If he can spread it around more, it will make it harder for defenses to stop the passing game. The Tigers finished 11ht in conference rushing last year, even with Charles Scott in the backfield. He is gone to the NFL and there do not apear to be any superstars ready to step into his spot.
The offensive line was the root of the problem for LSU last year, leading to issues in all aspects of the offensive game. Things won't look much better with the departure of two veteran linemen and only two starters returning.
Defense
The saving grace for the 2009 LSU season was the defense, finishing 3rd in scoring with 16 points per game, 4th against the run, and 5th in total yards. The bad news for 2010 is that most of that defensive talent has graduating and the defense looks to be in a rebuilding phase.
The only returning starter on the Tiger D-line is senior Lazarius Livingston. The defense looks to be fairly strong against the run and they have plenty of athleticism in the secondary even without a solid pass rush up front.
As An Opponent
LSU has always had our number. Last years meeting in Starkville gave Bulldog fans a glimmer of hope that victory against the Tigers is possible. Catching LSU on a down year defensively and offensively may be just the thing to give us a win in Death Valley, assuming we can overcome the stigma of playing in Tiger Stadium on a Saturday night.
The SB Nation College Football Blog Poll
by jeremyflint on Aug 23, 2010 6:14 PM EDT
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This year, we will be participating in the SB Nation Blog Poll, and we need your help. Each Monday, we will be posting a draft poll of our Top 25. Once we post it, we need you to give us feedback. Have we ranked one team too high or another too low? Are we missing a team that should be on there?
Once we have your feedback, we will post a revised poll on Wednesday before submitting it. Once all the submissions have been compliled, we will have the official Blog Poll Top 25 for that week.
So to cut to the chase, here is our first Blog Poll ballot:
For Whom The Cowbell Tolls Ballot - Week 1
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | -- |
| 2 | Ohio St. Buckeyes | -- |
| 3 | Boise St. Broncos | -- |
| 4 | Florida Gators | -- |
| 5 | Texas Longhorns | -- |
| 6 | TCU Horned Frogs | -- |
| 7 | Oklahoma Sooners | -- |
| 8 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | -- |
| 9 | Iowa Hawkeyes | -- |
| 10 | Virginia Tech Hokies | -- |
| 11 | Oregon Ducks | -- |
| 12 | Wisconsin Badgers | -- |
| 13 | Miami Hurricanes | -- |
| 14 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | -- |
| 15 | Penn St. Nittany Lions | -- |
| 16 | Pittsburgh Panthers | -- |
| 17 | Arkansas Razorbacks | -- |
| 18 | Florida St. Seminoles | -- |
| 19 | Oregon St. Beavers | -- |
| 20 | South Carolina Gamecocks | -- |
| 21 | Stanford Cardinal | -- |
| 22 | Connecticut Huskies | -- |
| 23 | Utah Utes | -- |
| 24 | Houston Cougars | -- |
| 25 | Georgia Bulldogs | -- |
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "
12 Days, 12 Teams: Auburn Tigers
by jeremyflint on Aug 23, 2010 9:00 AM EDT
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Note: This is part 2 of a 12-part series. Each day, we will take a look at an opponent for the upcoming 2010 football season.
Mississippi State will play host to the Auburn Tigers in a home SEC Opener on a Thursday night. Does it get any better than that? This game will kick-off a grueling 3-game run that also has the Bulldogs visiting LSU for a night game in Death Valley and welcome the "other" bulldogs of Georgia to Starkville. We should be able to come out of this 3-week stretch with at least 2 wins. Our most likely chances at victory are against Auburn and Georgia.
There is a little bot of extra incentive for MSU fans to come away victorious after Cam Newton teased the Bulldogs about transferring to Starkville, only to end up at Auburn.
Auburn leads this series 58-23-2, has won the last 2 meetings and holds an 8-2 record over the last 10 games. The Tigers are coming off an 8-win season and a trip to the Outback Bowl, where they defeated Northwestern in overtime.
Coming in to this season, the big questions are how Auburn will be able to re-tool its offense after losing two big contributors and will the defense be better this year after allowing an average of 27.5 points per game.
Offense
The Auburn offense really turned things around last year, going from 17 points per game in 2008 to 33 points per game in 2009. Part of that was because of Chris Todd's decision making on the field in Gus Malzahn's new offense. With Todd gone, the Tigers will be looking to JUCO transfer, and former Florida Gator, Cam Newton. Newton's ability and athleticism are without question, but it remains to be seen if he will be able to make the right decisions in-game.
One thing that will help Newton is the return of an experienced receiving corps and tailback Mario Fannin. The leading receivers, junior Darvin Adams and senior Terrell Zachary have a year under their belts in Malzahn's offensive system and should be very comfortable in their positions.
Up front, Auburn is returning 4 seniors on the offensive line, led by Lee Ziemba at tackle and Ryan Pugh at center.
Defense
The defense was a major source of frustration for Auburn fans last year. The Tigers allowed more points than any other SEC team and were very, very weak against the run last year. The biggest loss that the Tiger D has to deal with is that of Antonio Coleman. Coleman was easily the most effective player on the D-line last year, recording 49 tackles and 10 sacks. While there is a solid group of upperclassmen on the line, their depth chart is full of underclassmen that do not have that much experience and could become an issue if injuries start to pile up.
While a solid group of linebackers should help improve the Tigers' run defense, their secondary needs to step it up big time after finishing 10th in the SEC against the pass.
As An Opponent
Auburn will come in to Starkville for a Thursday night home game. These games are often heavily favored for the home team just because of the atmosphere and irregular travel schedule for the away team. As of this writing, Auburn looks to be a 6.5 to 7 point favorite. This number is bound to chance, especially since both teams will have a game under their belts and all cards will be out on the table as far as improvements on both sides of the ball for both teams.
It would be nice to see State come out of the gate with at least 2 wins. Assuming we take care of business against Memphis, I think Auburn is a likely candiate for a Thursday night "upset" in Starkville.
On a side note, how odd is it that our first 3 opponents are all "tigers"? Up next, we will take a look at LSU and what we can expect when we travel to Baton Rouge on September 18.
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Next Game
Memphis Tigers
@
Mississippi St. Bulldogs
Saturday, Sep 4, 2010, 7:00 PM EDT
Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field
Bulldogs Football Schedule
| Memphis | Sat 09/04 | 7:00 PM EDT |
|
Auburn
|
Thu 09/09 | 7:30 PM EDT |
|
@
LSU
|
Sat 09/18 | 7:00 PM EDT |
|
Georgia
|
Sat 09/25 | TBA |
| Alcorn St. | Sat 10/02 | TBA |
| @ Houston | Sat 10/09 | 8:00 PM EDT |
|
@
Florida
|
Sat 10/16 | TBA |
| UAB | Sat 10/23 | TBA |
|
Kentucky
|
Sat 10/30 | TBA |
|
@
Alabama
|
Sat 11/13 | TBA |
|
Arkansas
|
Sat 11/20 | TBA |
|
@
Mississippi
|
Sat 11/27 | TBA |
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