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MSU News and Notes | Friday, June 29, 2012

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Football yet?!?! <em>/looks at calendar
/sighs</em>
(Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images)
Football yet?!?! /looks at calendar /sighs (Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images)
Getty Images

Admittedly, we've been out awhile. Admittedly, you've woken up early, looking for News and Notes only to have your hopes crushed by nothing new at the top of FWtCT front page. WELL ENOUGH ADMITTING. We're back, and you can again get your fix of links, opinions and all that other stuff related to Mississippi State News and Notes.

  • Players are leaving!!!! WHAT IS DAN DOING WITH OUR PROGRAM PAAAWWWWLLLL We found out Wednesday that Georgia QB Nick Schuessler and WR Addarius Perkins have already left the football program after just several weeks on campus. Were they forced out? Did they just get enough? Were they homesick? We can not be sure which is right, but nevertheless both are gone - Schuessler back to GA to figure out his options, and Perkins most likely to JUCO. Admittedly (3rd use of this word already!) losing Schuessler doesn't hurt as bad now that walk-on Jamil Golden is aboard. Golden, as you may remember, was the QB out of Memphis who waited around on Arkansas and Vandy offers and then waited a bit too long. Golden better fits the style of offense Mullen likes to run, and should serve as a manageable backup if need be. Also, with recruit Cord Sandberg potentially coming in next year, the Bulldogs would have been a bit beefy at the QB spot anyways, most likely leading to some necessary thinning. Wish both young men the best from here on out. P.S., I guess with Schuessler gone we can OFFICIALLY take ourselves out of the Robert Nkemdiche race, although changes were slim to begin with.
  • Expectations... an MSU tradition Baseball America college writer Aaron Fitt wrote Wednesday about the 8 teams he sees with a good shot at Omaha in 2013, and Mississippi State was one of those 8. Of course, being a life-long State fan, my initial reaction was NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Why? Because typically a highly rated MSU athletics squad doesn't bode well, for whatever reason. 2001 football? Bust. 2005 basketball a lock for the final 4? Loses 1st round to Butler. The list could go on for days. Sure, that's a terrible angle to take as a State fan, I should be excited about what 2013 could hold for us on the diamond. And yes, maybe I should put more faith in Coach Cohen and his ability to manage his team and keep them away from distractions, but, you know... can't fight that State fan feeling deep inside.
  • Ranking the ESSS EEE SEEE sports year Earlier in the week, ole Croom Diaries wrote on the 2011-12 sports year in the SEC, and how each team fared. I pretty much agree with this list top to bottom, especially putting Alabama slightly over Kentucky. Because, you know, FOOBAW.
  • Will Wendell Lewis be a star in 2012-13? We don't know yet, but one thing's for sure, he has damn fine taste in t-shirts:

  • Congrats to Bawb Our good friend and fellow Bulldog Sports Radio talker (and GM) Bob Carskadon can now add "Official MSU Beat Writer" to his resume. Bob is the lead writer for the new HailStateBEAT, the HailState.com blog that MSU just released. Congrats go out to Bob, and if you haven't checked out his stuff yet, you can do so HERE.
  • Great Scott! OUR Olympian Did you read where I wrote earlier this week about MSU's first Olympian, Don Scott, who participated in the 1920 games in Belgium?
  • Playoffs! PLAYOFFS?! PlayOFFs... After your years of protesting outside BCS headquarters in your "free love and playoffs man" t-shirt and cutoff jeans, the powers that be finally listened, and were like whatever, here's your stupid playoff. The university presidents and conference commissioners Tuesday granted us a playoff, which now means the top four teams each year will vie for a National Championship. If you're like me, your first thought was this: thank goodness Auburn won in 2011, so they wouldn't protest for the playoff to be retroactive to 2004 (don't try explaining to them that that's impossible, they'll just point to their pictures of Jason Campbell with 13-0 in large block letters at the top). But in all seriousness, kudos to the powers that be for getting this right after long last. Now, should the playoff be bigger than 4 teams? In my opinion, yes it should be. But we're locked in for the next 12 years with a 4 team playoff, so just prepare yourselves for further controversy to be raised by whoever finishes 6-10th or so this fall.
  • No Mississippi Valley in 2013 As we found out for sure Wednesday, Mississippi State will no longer open its 2013 season with Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU). From what Brandon Marcello told us yesterday, State cancelled the game because an FBS team cannot count a win versus an FCS team that does not meet specific financial requirements. From Brandon's blog entry:

Mississippi Valley State falls below the guideline, which requires an FCS team to provide financial aid to at least 90 percent of its 63-man roster limit over a rolling two-year period. If an FBS team (MSU, in this case) plays an FCS team below that average, its win will not count toward bowl eligibility.

    What does this mean? It means Scott Stricklin and the athletic department will have to scramble to find a season opening opponent for 2013, as most of the major teams have their slots filled. Also from Brandon's blog entry, it states that MSU officials will most likely fill that open slot with another FCS opponent, so don't hold your breath for some big matchup to open the 2013 season /looks at Justin Sutton.

  • Please view this picture If you haven't figured this out already, my friend Blake McCollum is a damn fine photographer. He released this earlier in the week on the birthday of late MSU football player Nick Bell:

  • Commitment to committing In recruiting news, Rick Ray landed his first commit of the 2014 class Wednesday as Amanda Elzy's Maurice Dunlap gave an oral commitment to MSU. Dunlap helped lead his team to a 4A State Championship as a Sophomore last season.
  • NBA Draft was last night I'm sorry, but are you guys less excited about this one than the NFL Draft? Maybe it's just me, because I could care less about the NBA, but not really that into the NBA Draft this season and certainly not as amped as I was to watch Fletcher Cox go in the first round of the NFL Draft. The good news? Doesn't matter what I like, because the NBA Draft will go on without me, and there's a good chance a former MSU player, Senardo Ridney haha jk Arnett Moultrie, will be taken in the first round of it. Maybe my lack of caring was because Arnett kind of treated MSU like a concert stage: he got here, did his thing, made sure the right people that needed to see him perform saw, and then was like whatevz I'm out of here. Either way, best of luck to him and Dee Bost, if Dee got drafted as well. Best of luck also to young Renardo Sidney as he most likely takes his talents now into the depths of mother Russia.
  • Hey, to close, watch this!:

Black Keys live @ Grimey's Records Nashville TN (via sneevideo)

Have a great weekend, you guys (and girls)!

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