MSU News & Notes | Monday, October 15, 2012

I still don't think I've quite come down from my high. What I witnessed first hand Saturday night at Davis Wade was unlike anything else I believe these 26 year old eyes have seen in my time as a State fan. And what made the difference was one big play and two big drives. I've seen State play great in the first half before. I've watched as we get out to leads against ranked teams, only to fold in the second half and let victory slip from our grasps. But not last night. Last night had a different feel to it. Shoot, this TEAM has a different feel to it. Each time Tennessee punched, MSU punched back, and despite a lackluster 3rd quarter, State responded in the 4th quarter when it counts, and that shows me this team is for real. Let's take a look at all of the News and Notes from around MSU country after the huge 41-31 victory over the Volunteers Saturday night.

• Although there is no one person who can take all of the credit for State's 41-31 win over Tennessee Saturday, but 3 men deserve credit for putting the game out of reach at the end. Number one would be Dan Mullen, for having the guts to go for it on 4th down when many would have kicked the field goal, and then kicked off to Cordarrelle Patterson, which always has the potential to be a bad decision. Mullen went for it, and then numbers two and three, Tyler Russell and Malcolm Johnson, executed, hooking up for what was arguably the best catch of the day in college football. Let's take another look, shall we?

Malcolm Johnson - AMAZING one handed catch (via sfslickdawg)

• Want to relive the games drives? Here is the drive chart from Saturday's amazing win:

• After moving to 6-0, State moved to #15 in the AP and #16 in the USA Today Coaches' Polls yesterday. Think that's high? Well, it gets better. State opened at #12 in the initial BCS rankings, released last night. The bulldogs were the 6th team in the top 12 of the initial standings, behind Alabama, Florida, LSU, South Carolina, and Georgia. The computers LOVED Florida, vaulting them to the number two position above Oregon and Kansas State. Although these polls will fluctuate greatly from now until bowls are decided, it's still exciting as a State fan to see our name up that high. Hail State. Oh, and wondering when the last time was that State was ranked that high in the BCS? Brandon Marcello has your answer:

At No. 12, Mississippi State's BCS ranking ties for third-best mark in school history. MSU's best: No. 10 on Nov. 8, 1999.

— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) October 15, 2012

• Here's my view of the ending of Saturday night's 41-31 win over Tennessee:

Ending of Mississippi State vs. Tennessee game (via FWTCT)

• Sunday ThingamaBob - our buddy Bob takes a look back at the craziness that took place Saturday night under the lights at Davis Wade.
• Fans of the game from Saturday? Without a doubt these two guys, and it wasn't close (via Marcello):

• You can catch the Bulldog Sports Radio postgame show from late, late last night.
• You want all of the highlights from Saturday in one video? Here you go:

• Tight End - a position that had been quiet for the most part this season for MSU. Saturday night against Tennessee? Tight ends Marcus Green, Malcolm Johnson and Brandon Hill accounted for 9 receptions, 110 yards receiving and all 3 passing touchdowns. Lots of people talked about how important it was to get Malcolm back this weekend and he proved why, catching a game clinching one handed highlight reel of a catch to push the game to 41-31 with under 10 seconds to play. Having Green, Johnson and Hill will help Mississippi State's passing game immensely as we enter the difficult stretch of our season.
• Brandon Marcello's game recap of Saturday night's action.
• In case you missed it - our coverage of Saturday's W, including our both our Quick Hits and our full Game Recap.
• Post-game player interviews:

• Dan Mullen's post game press conference:

• And last but not least (you didn't think I would forget, did you?): BOWL PROJECTIONS, PROJECTIONS OF BOWLS: ESPN (Chick-fil-A), CBS (Chick-fil-A), and SBNation (Gator). Those may seem low to you, but you have to remember that 5 SEC teams remain in front of MSU in the polls. State will get its chance to prove it belongs in a better bowl with remaining games against Alabama, LSU, and Texas A&M, and I can imagine one or maybe two of the teams currently in front of us could take losses as well.

That's it for today's news and notes folks. Hope you have a great Monday! They always seem to be a bit better after a win, right?

BONUS MONDAY SUCKS VIDEO:

Sweet Brown's Cold Pop Escape (via NewsBeFunny)