The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Week 12 (Arkansas)

Let’s Talk Hail State

Let’s be flat out honest about last week’s game, Mississippi State just put a butt whipping on those Arkansas Razorbacks. What a perfect way to send our seniors out with a dominating win for their last home game at Davis Wade. Unfortunately the Bulldogs have no time to celebrate as we turn our attention to those pesky Rebels up north for a Thanksgiving match-up. Not real sure what they really call themselves anymore and neither do their fans, if they have any, but never the less the Bulldogs will be in Oxford on Thursday to take on Ole Miss. I have been waiting for this game for 362 days due to what they did to Fitzgerald last year, and now it’s time for some pay back against those Bear Sharks. That’s right State fans, while the rest of the nation is wining and dining on turkey and dressing the Bulldogs will be feasting on Shark fins so “let’s get her done”. A win in Oxford will most certainly give State a late December to early January Bowl game. The latest prediction I saw was against Penn State in the citrus Bowl on January 1^st. I’ll take that with a smile. But before we get too far into our upcoming rivalry game, LETS TALK HAIL STATE; the GOOD the BAD and the UGLY, against Arkansas

The GOOD:

My first observation about this game was the ‘Statesman’ uniforms to honor WWII hero and Mississippi State alum, G.V. Sonny Montgomery. This uniform was lights out and the helmets were just awesome. I really hope to see these used in the future especially the helmets they are way to cool to put on the shelf. Throw those damn white ones away and replace with the ‘Statesman’ helmet that would be fine with me.

Moving on to what I thought about Saturdays contest, this was one of the most complete games I have seen from the bulldogs this season, starting with the offensive side of the ball.

Nick Fitzgerald gave the fans in Starkville a solid performance for his last home start and it was well received. Throughout the day Nick was 9 for 14, threw in the air for 127 yards and four touchdowns. Throughout the game Fitzgerald targeted eight different receivers and connected with three different receivers for touchdowns to include two for Austin Williams and one each for Justin Johnson and Osirus Mitchell. Not a bad day through the air at all. Here is a shocker and a positive note as well; Fitzgerald had fewer carries than Aeris William, totaling 14 on the ground for 85 yards. To cap off a great night, Nick solidified himself in the record books again with his lone rushing touchdown in the second quarter. By scoring that TD, Fitzgerald became the rushing touchdown leader for Mississippi State with 43, passing Anthony Dixon for the record.

The rushing attack was solid as well; lead by Aeris William who had 15 carries for 104 yards, averaging 6.9 yards per carry on the day. Nick Gibson carried the ball 9 times for 48 yards while Dontavian Lee, who graduated from my old high school (FCHS) Forrest County High School in Brooklyn Ms., had 7 carries for 38 yards. A great night for the Bulldogs on the ground totaling 287 yards

One of my favorite aspects of the game was the balance of the play calling and how Coach Moorhead allowed the running game to open opportunities for both Nick in the run game as well as the passing game. Arkansas never did have any idea what was coming next and it showed on the score board. This was one of those games where whatever play was called it was executed, for the most part, resulting in positive gains and a positive result in the end It was a great offensive game plan by the coaching staff; now, moving on to the defensive side of the ball.

This defense makes domination an art form and dominate is exactly what they did to the Razorbacks. I have already said this in past weeks, but this is the best defense I have ever seen in maroon and white and they bring it every single week no matter who they are playing. Against Arkansas they gave up a total of 6 point on two field goals through four quarters. Currently the Bulldog defense has allowed 12 touchdowns in 2018, which leads the nation

Jeffery Simmons has proven over the past three years that he deserved to come to State as both a leader and positive example for all Mississippi State athletes. I know his history and also know that he is a better person today due to that incident. He and Montez Sweat along with the rest of the senior class will be truly missed next year. I personally hate to see any of them go but I will miss watching number 38 Johnathan Abrams the most. This guy is out of control on the ball field and is very exciting to watch. Against the Razorbacks, Abrams had one of the best nights of his career with 7 tackles and 5 more assists, along with 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. That brings Abrams to a total of 89 tackles and assists on the season which is almost twice that of any other Bulldog this year. “Hail State 38”

The BAD:

Well, this has to go to those two Arkansas players that are now suspended due to flirting with some of Mississippi State spirit squad. That is a bad way to end out a week of football especially after a 52 to 6 spanking. “Totally unacceptable right Coach Morris”? I would also like to take this opportunity to address the Mississippi State Spirit Squad. Now girls we have a standard here at State to look and act professional at all times while maintaining a sportsmanship attitude for the university. With that being said, HAIL STATE and carry on, you’re doing a fine job on the opposing team’s sideline.

The UGLY:

I hate say it but watching Chad Morris’s post-game press conference. I really like this guy and I think Arkansas made a good choice with Morris but using the word unacceptable 32 time when discussing the loss against Mississippi State got pretty ugly over time. So to coach Morris, your post-game interview was well, how should I say this? “Unacceptable.”

Alright Bulldog fans it is that time of the year when we need to show the state of Mississippi who owns this territory. This game against Ole Piss means more than just a win but also major recruiting decisions and bragging rights for the next 365 days. It is a big damn deal if you know what I mean. Last season the Black Land Bear Sharks showed no class in the way they acted in Starkville, so let’s be better than that this season and just go into their stadium and whip their ass from one end of the field to the other. We are not going to act like we are peeing in their end zone like they did, we are not going to target their quarterback and try to hurt him like they did on the second drive of the game, and we are not going to shush their fans as we continue to dominate this game. No we are not going to do that, because that is what they would do and we are better than that. We are the Mississippi State Bulldogs and this is our State you Rebel scums!

Just Saying!!

HAIL STATE!!!