MSU News & Notes | Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Man! A busy Monday it was, and a busy Tuesday it will be in the world of MSU athletics. Let's not chat, although I know you would all LOVE to hear about my slowly dying car battery. No, let's go straight to today's News and Notes, shall we? We shall:

• Congrats goes to MSU senior DB Johnthan Banks, who yesterday was announced as one of three finalist for the Conerly Trophy, the annual award given to the best collegiate football player in the state of Mississippi. Banks joins Ole Miss QB Bo Wallace and Southern Miss DE Jamie Collins as a finalist. The winner will be announced on November 27 at a banquet in Jackson. Southern Miss QB Austin Davis won the award last season, and MSU LB Chris White won it in 2010.
• DAN MULLEN TALKIN' BOUT FOOBAWL N SUCH. Yesterday was the next to last edition of Dan Mullen's press conference for the regular season. As always, Mullen talked about the previous game, addressed injuries, and preparations for the upcoming game, which in this week's case, is Arkansas. Check out the full video below:

• Here's the transcript for his chat, via HailState.com, if you're interested:

Opening Statement

"We're getting back to work at practice today to clean up the little things. As you look back, you see all of the small things, and there so many small things. On the three-yard line, if we score a touchdown with a minute to go, we're onside kicking down six and you're looking for a chance to win the game. Instead, it comes to look like blowout loss. That's how small the margin of error is in this league for our guys, and I think that they understand that. There were little things in that game that if we would have corrected we would have put ourselves in a position to win it, but we didn't. Now, the guys can really get back to work and focus in on those little things that we need to do to win the game this week in every phase of the game. As a staff, we have got to make sure that our players are cleaner. It's a big game; it's the last home game for our seniors. This is my first recruiting class, and I think that they are leaving as one of the most successful recruiting classes in this school's history. This is their last opportunity in front of the fans, and it is also the fans' last opportunity to come out and thank them and show their support for what they have done for this program."

On Chad Bumphis' growth as a player

"He has grown an awful lot. He came in and had a lot of expectations placed on him and I think that he has lived up to a lot of them. I know that he owns at least one school record, and he is probably going to finish as one of the top receivers in this school's history. I think that he is going to leave a pretty good legacy with what he has done here during his career."

On Changes in play against LSU

"In the matchups, we were trying to not move Jon Banks around. I think that a lot of teams were trying to isolate Jon on one part of the field. So we tried to move. I let Corey play the corner some in certain situations and let Jon have the ability to move around some. To do that, you put Jay Hughes on the field. I thought Jay Hughes played pretty well during the course of the game. Overall, it was more about putting Jon in a position to make more plays. The breakdowns were not a result of that stuff. The breakdowns were giving a guy the wrong signal to blitz when he wasn't supposed to blitz, and one guy rolling over the middle of the field when he was supposed to roll over the top of the boundary. So there were pretty significant mental breakdowns that I can think of, but none of them had anything to do with Jon and Corey moving around. "

• For analysis and further quoteables from today's Mullen presser, check out Brandon Marcello's blog, Brad Locke's blog, or Bob Carksadon's blog. You can also check out video from the assistant coach interviews at all three blog entries (or nearby them on their respective websites).
  
• For the third straight season, the Egg Bowl will be played at night. Yesterday it was announced that the 2012 edition of the Ole Miss - Mississippi State rivalry game will be played at 6p.m. and will air on ESPNU.
  
• Mississippi State's men's basketball team makes its 2012 home debut tonight as the Florida Atlantic Owls come to town. State dropped a tough 56-53 decision last Friday at Troy, while the Owls are coming off an 80-56 loss to #11 North Carolina, a team that State will face next week at the Maui Invitational.
• The Mississippi State women's basketball team was back in action last night at the Hump and looking to go to 2-0 on the young season. They were taking on Hampton, but as of the time that I put together this post, their game had not completed. Make sure to check out HailState.com though, I know the score will be there!
• Spilly, chili, NSFVWE (Not Safe For Viewing While Eating)
• Mike Trout and Bryce Harper were named the AL and NL Rookies of the Year yesterday.
• The BCS commissioners and Presidential Oversight Committee settled on a rotation of six bowls for the semifinals of the upcoming college football playoff system.
• If you have some free time today, there will be college basketball for 24 straight hours. So you might want to watch a game or two. Here's your viewers guide for it. Also, SBNation College Basketball will be providing updates all night and throughout the day, so check them out.

That's it for today's News and Notes folks. Have a good one, and Hail State.