An article on The MSU Reflector website really brought back some memories tonight. I graduated from State in 2000, and was a season ticket holder for 2001, so this is all to familiar to me. The author (R.J. Morgan) points out that State had just come off a big season with a bowl victory, was ranked #20 and was preparing for a season opener with Memphis.
But that 2001 season will live in infamy for most MSU fans. That year Jackie Sherrill's Bulldogs went 3-8 and the wheels fell off a program that had gone to three bowls and an SEC Championship game in three years. (Note to current freshmen: In 2001, you were in the third grade.)
That season hurt. It hurt real bad. And looking back (and reading this article), you see lots of similarities between the 2001 and 2011 seasons.
I also remember the season opener against Memphis. It was in the middle of the day, on one of the hottest days of the year, in a stadium that looked strangely like a giant frying pan...and felt like it.
Let's hope that the Bulldogs learn from the past and do not repeat it this season.