Ramblers' first half too much for Bulldogs as Loyola of Chicago takes State 59-51

A cold shooting first half proved too much to overcome for State Saturday night as the Bulldogs dropped to 0-6 on the road this season.

Saturday News & Notes

We take a look around the world of both MSU and national sports to review what happened this past week.

Gator Bowl Ticket Sales Update: MSU nears 9,000, Northwestern up 47% from last year

Mississippi State says its nearing the 9,000 tickets sold mark, while Northwestern is up 47% from some number sold last year.

MSU Center Wendell Lewis Out Minimum Of 8 Weeks With Fractured Right Patella

MSU will now be without center Wendell Lewis for a minimum of eight weeks, leaving the Bulldogs with six scholarship players going forward until Jalen Steele returns.

MSU CB Johnthan Banks Named FWAA All-American

Chalk up another prestigious honor for Mississippi State senior cornerback Johnthan Banks, as the Bulldog Thorpe Award winner was today named to the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) All-American team.

According to Kyle Nibblet, Banks is the first Bulldog to be named to the FWAA All-American team since Bulldog legend Johnny Cooks in 1981!

Congrats Johnthan on another well-earned honor.

Hail State

Gator Bowl To Allow Cowbells For 2013 Game

Cowbells were allowed back in 2011, and AD Scott Stricklin announced today that they will be allowed this year as well.

MSU RB Nick Griffin Tears ACL In Practice, Will Have Surgery Tomorrow

Earlier this week State fans were a bit perplexed as get well tweets flowed into Nick Griffin's twitter mentions column. Rumors flourished over the weekend that Griffin had sustained an injury at practice, and today, our fears were confirmed:

Sophomore RB Nick Griffin suffered a torn ACL at practice on Saturday. He'll have surgery tomorrow. No timetable set for his return.

— Joe Galbraith (@joestate) December 12, 2012

Griffin, who had come on strong in the latter part of the season, will now miss the Gator Bowl. As Joe says above, there is no timetable yet for his return, and it will most likely depend on how surgery goes. Most likely, it will be late summer before Griffin is cleared for full activity, but that is uncertain at this time.

Best wishes to Nick on his road to recovery.

MSU Hoops Signee Quantel Denson Released From Scholarship

If we've learned anything from Rick Ray so far in his short coaching tenure at Mississippi State, it's that he is not afraid to stick to his guns regarding discipline of players, no matter the costs. Ray has rules, and if you do not abide by those rules, you suffer the consequences.

MSU hoops signee Quantel Denson was the latest to suffer those consequences, as the school announced today that Denson was released from his scholarship.

MSU says hoops signee Quantel Denson has been released from scholarship for "failure to adhere to rules & regulations" set before he signed.

— bradlocke (@bradlocke) December 11, 2012

The release to the media goes on to say that "We had a zero tolerance policy with Quantel, and he failed to live up to the obligations we had outlined for him."

Denson, as we told you when he committed back in October, has a history of getting into trouble prior to his signing with MSU. Denson was found guilty of burglarizing his own coach at Hutchinson CC in 2011.

The release of Quantel Denson leaves the Bulldogs with only three signees for the early signing period, and with an extra spot to fill next spring.

Mississippi State Football Attendance Dips Slightly In 2012

The average attendance at an MSU home football game dipped about 300 fans from 2011 to 2012.

Johnthan Banks Named To AP All-American Second Team

The nation's best defensive back was named to the nation's second best defensive team by the Associated Press.