Sports fan treasures blog
The Mississippi State Bulldogs are headed to the College World Series after defeating the Virginia Cavaliers in the NCAA Super Regional today in Charlottesville, VA. The Bulldogs managed a 6 to 5 victory behind Sophomore closer Jonathan Holder of Gulfport, MS. It will be the Bulldogs first trip to Omaha since 2007.
Sports logo of Mississippi State University and the Mississippi State Bulldogs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Watch the 2013 Mississippi State University Baseball commercial here! The video includes quotes from shortstop Adam Frazier, Outfielder C.T. Bradford, Outfielder Hunter Renfroe, and First Basemen Wes Rea. We are Mississippi State, We are Champions, We are back!
Nail it down
This is a true story. I was shocked when I heard it and if you live in the college town of Starkville, Mississippi or on the campus of Mississippi State University you probably want to read on.
At the beginning of the fall semester the population of Starkville explodes with new students, faculty and staff moving in to the area. One individual had just moved in, purchased a new flagpole, brackets and Mississippi State University flag and proudly hung it on his front porch near the doorway.
As he was hanging the flag, he wondered if someone might try to steal it so he made an identifying mark on the flagpole. Only a few days later when he returned from work one afternoon. did he notice his flag and flagpole were gone.
One of his usual routines was to walk his bulldog after work or and then go jogging through the neighborhood. One afternoon, he spotted his flag and flagpole. Yes it had the same identifying marks and everything. It was certainly his that was stolen and now just several hundred yards from his home.
As he walked closer to the flagpole he saw the identifying mark he had placed on it the day he had hung it and knew it was his.
I can honestly say there is no excuse for stealing, it is wrong.
So far Mississippi State has not lost a game this season. Fans and students are very excited about what is happening with their football program, such as stadium expansion and historic SEC wins, like their recent victory over University of Tennessee. If you have a Miss State banner or house flag you might want to attach it more securely. I would recommend that you put a nail it the flagpole where the pole slides into the bracket, this way no one can easily lift your flagpole out of the bracket and take it home with them.
That is right , nail down all of your flags, banners and Miss State spirit items so that you can continue to enjoy them for yourself. If State keeps on winning, more flags may disappear.
The Mississippi State University Bulldogs are off to their best start since the 1999 football season, 4-o. In this still early season they have taken on the Jackson State Tigers, Auburn Tigers, Troy Trojans, and the South Alabama Jaguars, and have emerged unscathed. Leading the way for the Bulldogs on offense, which is averaging 33 points a game, has been Tyler Russell, Ladarius Perkins, and Senior Chad Bumphis. Russell has been throwing the ball alot and has tossed for 8 touchdowns. Bumphis has been on the receiving end on many of the scores and leads the team with 5 TD grabs. An the ground Perkins has been the go to back, rushing for a hair over 97 yards per game and has reached pay dirt 5 times. On defense, the secondary has been flexing its muscle with 9 picks, which is the most in FBS. Darius Slay leads the way with 4 picks, which ties him for first in FBS. All American canidate, Johnthan Banks continues make plays by grabbing 3 picks and Nikoe Whitley and Mathew Wells each getting 1. Although it is still early in the year and the heart of the schedule is right around the corner, these Bulldogs have many wondering in Starkville if it is time to party like it’s 1999.
Dee Bost has been stuck in a slump the past few weeks and Thursday night’s game against Tennessee—filled with missed shots and turnovers—was quickly becoming another one to forget.
Until the last play.
A tense final possession turned into a raucous celebration as Bost came up with a crucial steal and dunk in the final seconds and No. 20 Mississippi State survived a late scare to beat Tennessee 62-58 at Humphrey Coliseum.
“He’s been struggling some offensively, but you never fault his effort,” Bulldogs coach Rick Stansbury said. “And his effort came up big for us at the end.”
Mississippi State guard Devill…
Mississippi State (14-3, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) avoided its first 0-2 start in league play since 2003. The Bulldogs led by 12 early in the second half, but Tennessee cut it to 60-58 on Renaldo Woolridge’s 3-pointer with 44.2 seconds remaining.
Tennessee got the ball back on a steal by Skylar McBee and had a chance to tie or win with less than 10 seconds remaining, but Bost slapped the ball away from Trae Golden and drove for the game-sealing dunk.
“I was trying to put as much pressure on him as I could,” Bost said. “I knew they were going to try and go to him and get him the shot.”
Bost, Renardo Sidney and Arnett Moultrie all scored 13 points for the Bulldogs.
Bost didn’t have a very good game until the final play, shooting 3 of 11 from the field and turning the ball over six times. But all that was forgotten as he dashed down the court, flushed the ball through the hoop with his right hand and listened to the crowd of 8,148 at Humphrey Coliseum roar its approval.
Tennessee (8-8, 1-1) was led by Golden, who had 20 points. Jeronne Maymon scored 13 and Kenny Hall added 12 off the bench.
“They’re big and athletic,” Hall said. “We were aggressive taking the ball to the basket, but that’s basketball, sometimes it happens like that.”
The Bulldogs’ defense was embarrassed in a 98-88 loss to Arkansas in Saturday’s conference opener, but they were much more stingy against the Volunteers. Wendell Lewis had five blocked shots and Moultrie added four as Tennessee had to work hard for almost all its points close to the basket.
Mississippi State took a 36-27 lead at halftime, shooting 52 percent (13 of 25) from the field. The Bulldogs managed to keep their offense moving despite early foul trouble for Bost—the team’s starting point guard who owns the school record for assists. But backup DeVille Smith did a decent imitation, with five assists in 15 first-half minutes.
MSU extended its lead to 12 early in the second half on a 3-pointer by Jalen Steele, but Tennessee fought back thanks to three 3-pointers by Golden and stifling defense that limited Mississippi State to 36 percent shooting in the second half.
“Golden got them back in that game—making those 3s,” Stansbury said. “But we stepped up when we had to. Made some shots and made our free throws.”
Tennessee was coming off its biggest win of the season—a 67-56 home victory over No. 13 Florida in the conference opener—but couldn’t find enough offense to keep the momentum going.
Golden shot 7 of 11 from the field, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range and 2 of 2 from the free throw line. But he mishandled the ball on the final possession, trying to go between the legs with his dribble before Bost slapped the ball away and ended the Volunteers’ hopes for an upset.
“He slipped. I just watched the film,” Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin said. “He tried to go between his legs and he just slipped.”
Martin was pleased the Volunteers even had a chance on the final possession considering the situation looked bleak early in the second half.
“When you get down 10 on the road, it’s tough to hang in there, stick to the script and execute,” Martin said. “But I thought our guys did that.”
5-7 on the season with a 3-5 SEC record. These are the stats for the 2009 Mississippi State Bulldogs, the question is where does it go from here? The answer to that question is this it goes downhill from here.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs are in a dry spell when it comes to their overall season and as a result will be in a tough way to get out of the hole anytime soon. This will be bad news for any person who had faith that the Mississippi State Bulldogs were going to make the big comeback of 2010. That will be reserved for Arkansas in 2010.
So what is it that will keep the Mississippi State Bulldogs out of the talk about a SEC title? The first thing is the fact that they have absolutely nothing to offer their opponents as far as a strong running game is concerned.
I saw a couple of the Mississippi State Bulldogs games last season and have to say that they looked like they were in practice more than they did being in an football game.
The offensive running was in a word pathetic to watch and was even more painful to see when it was shutdown even quicker and harder than the previews attempt. The main reason for this sub par performance on the running game was simply that they were predictable.
Now when it cam to passing this was almost like watching a symphony as the quarterback and the wide receivers were most times on the same page. There were very few communication problems among the team as there were passes that looked like they were made for perfection.
This is one of the bright spots on the Mississippi State Bulldogs offensive line. I wish that there were more positive things that I will be able to say as this was a season that was made for passing when the Mississippi State Bulldogs were concerned.
The bad news is that there is not very much that a passing game alone can do in regards to getting points on the board. If the Mississippi State Bulldogs are able to get the running problem fixed then there will be a good season to hope for.
Another area that could stand to have a lot of work done is the defensive line. There is little good of having a powerful offensive line if you are just going to give the other team the points on their possession.
This was a problem that plagued the Mississippi State Bulldogs and in 2010 will be a thorn in their sides as this will be where they get into a lot of trouble in regards as to who will step up and be the defensive leader for the team.
If the Mississippi State Bulldogs get their act together then they are looking forward to having a good season and if all the cards line up have a good chance of being a SEC conference champion in the upcoming seasons.
The coaches and players all think Chris Relf can handle the situations. The 6’4” 240 lb young man can handle the pounding he takes and an option qb. He is definitely looking like the team leader so far with 107 rushes. His 1st year as the starter, Relf is not showing signs of slowing down. In 4 of the Dawgs past five games, he has toted the ball eighteen times or more in 3 games and led the team in carries four 4 times.
There also have been close calls.
Relf took a hit to the head against LSU and the University of Florida — both of which forced Relf out of the game for at least a play. Those instances and Relf’s down-field running style keep teammates’ fingers crossed every time he gets going upfield.
“All the time in my head I’m like, ‘Just get down, just get down,’ ” wideout Chad Bumphis said, “but you constantly see him running over people. He’s a big, tough kid, but I’m telling him to get down because Lord knows we don’t want him out. But he’s tough and he’s continuing to get better.”
No. 23 MSU (6-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) will face four league opponents to finish the regular season, starting with the University of Kentucky (4-4, 1-4) at 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPNU) at Davis Wade Stadium.
MSU finishes its schedule against top-25 teams Alabama and Arkansas and at the University of Mississippi — a stretch in which MSU needs the catalyst of its running game.
The Bulldogs are also looking to improve their postseason stock after becoming bowl eligible Saturday thanks to a 29-24 win against the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Relf has gained the coaches’ confidence to scale back their planned quarterback rotation with backup Tyler Russell. Even as the passing game has produced mixed results with Relf as the primary quarterback, coaches feel the team’s best option is to run the ball and to win possession.
In that approach, Relf is showing signs as a reliable centerpiece of the rushing attack, offensive coordinator Les Koenning said.
“He’s been beat up, he’s pretty sore,” Koenning said. “Like I said earlier, this isn’t volleyball, this isn’t tennis; You gotta play with some aches and pains, you gotta play with some bruises. He’s done that.”
Any thoughts of limiting Relf’s participation in the rushing attack would limit the effectiveness of MSU’s offense, despite Relf’s lagging passing stats. Relf has completed 43 percent of his passes in the past two games and passed for more than 57 yards just once in the past three games. But he has led an offense that has been turnover-free for the past three weeks.
While Koenning lauded Relf’s ability to hang in the pocket, he wants the quarterback to run whenever yards can be gained. He noted Relf’s conversion of a fourth-and-5 situation against UAB, where he went through his pass reads and ran for the first down once the middle of the pocked opened up.
“We’re really happy he did because we had a receiver in the wrong spot,” Koenning said. “We had a busted route, so he pulled it down and ran for the first down, which I was very proud of. We don’t ever want to take that ability away from him.”
Becoming more efficient and explosive in the passing game is the next step in the evolution of MSU’s offense, which has lost starting tight end Marcus Green and senior wideout Leon Berry to season-ending injuries.
Koenning and Mullen haven’t lost confidence in the passing game, but they want the receivers to limit busted plays and missed assignments, which they’ve noted after each of the team’s past two wins.
“There’s a couple of times now when we went back through film we had receivers in the wrong spot,” Koenning said. “It’s hard to throw the ball if they’re not in the right spots. They’re young. They’re gonna make mistakes.”
Since the start of the season, Relf has made it clear he’s just as confident in his arm as he is his legs.
“Confidence has always been up,” Relf said in September. “I always thought I was a great passer.”
Bumphis, who has just one catch in the past two games, said the Bulldogs need to throw the football more to re-ignite the passing game.
“We still got it, but we run the ball so good there’s really not been much of a need to pass the ball,” he said. “As receivers, we don’t mind as long as we’re winning. We’ll pick back up where we left off once we get back throwing the ball.”
As teams continue searching for ways to stop MSU’s rushing game, its passing attack will need to grow. To do that, Mullen said Relf will need to improve shaky mechanics he saw against UAB. It isn’t enough to alter the play calling to protect Relf for the long haul, or to get the passing game going.
“The tough thing about it is not so much the hits but the guys giving the hits,” Koenning said. “Florida got after him (Relf) pretty good, banged him up pretty good. But he held on to the ball, moved the chains, and did some things to help us win. I think that was critical. I wish I could sit here and tell you I wish we could limit (how much Relf carries the ball) or not limit it. Last year, we had Boobie (Anthony Dixon) that could carry it. Chris has done a good job of carrying it for us.”
See our Mississippi State Watch or our Mississippi State Christmas Ornament
There should be a lot of debate on which coach in the South Eastern Conference has done the best job so far. Of course, you have Gene Chizik who has taken Auburn to an 8-0 start and has the Tigers at the number one spot in the BCS Standings. But I think if you have Cam Newton on your team playing the way he has this year, any coach could be in the same spot Chizik is.
Then you have Nick Saban, who even though his Alabama Crimson Tide team lost early in the year to South Carolina, still has a shot to get to the BCS National Championship Game. Saban’s Crimson Tide team looked a little rough for a few weeks but over the last few games have started playing with more fight and is starting to look like the Alabama team that everyone was scared of before the season started.
Now you have to look at Bobby Petrino and the Arkansas Razorbacks who are off to the best start since Petrino took over for Houston Nutt. The Razorbacks are sitting at a 5-2 record with the two losses coming from the teams above late in the fourth quarter of each game. The Razorbacks still have a shot of a 10 win season and a major bowl bid if they can hold on to their leads. They have 3 ranked opponents left which can help them tremendously in the BCS standings.
We can’t forget about the Mad Hatter and Les Miles down in the Bayou Country either. LSU is #12 in the country with only one loss to an Auburn team that is playing better than anyone else in the country right now. Les Miles has done some crazy things this year, but in the end a win is a win. He has a shot to redeem himself when the Tigers play host to Alabama on Nov. 6, before finishing the year off at Arkansas in Little Rock.
Last but not least is Dan “The Man” Mullen over at Mississippi State University. He has taken a non-bowl team and turned them around in less than two years. The fans have supported him from day one and so far it has proven to be right. He has the bulldogs ranked for the first time in 9 years and bowl eligible in 8 games so far. His only loses have come against Auburn and LSU. Mullen and the Bulldogs have their toughest challenge ahead playing Kentucky, at Alabama, Arkansas, and finishing up at Ole Miss. If Mullen can win just two of the four games in the stretch, his name will be hard to not say for the Coach of the Year.
There is still a lot of football left to play in a conference that has been all shaken up from week one. With controversy around every corner, who knows what we are in store for as we prepare for the second half of the year.
Check out our Alabama Christmas Ornament or our Auburn Christmas Ornament or our Mississippi State Christmas Ornament
All summer long, it looked like Alabama would be the team to beat, but who knew that it would be the two Tigers that were the top dogs. That’s right Auburn and LSU. The SEC has always had its two powerhouse teams, but this year all has changed. The SEC West has 5 out of the 6 teams ranked in the Top 25, while the East is only boasting in one with South Carolina.
It’s still a guess who will end up in Atlanta on December 4th to play for the SEC championship. With Auburn, Alabama, and LSU still having to play each other this year, things are still bound to get shaken up. Auburn and LSU face on Oct 23, which will give the West a little room. Then LSU and Alabama face off on Nov.6, before Bama faces Auburn on Nov 26. That’s just in the West. The Eastern Division is still anyone’s game through midseason.
It is just a mess in the East, with Florida losing three straight conference games; they could still end up in Atlanta playing for a conference championship. If they can beat Georgia in Jacksonville on Oct. 30, Vanderbilt on the road on Nov. 6 and South Carolina at home on Nov. 13. There has not been a three-loss champion represent the division in Atlanta since divisional play started in 1992.
Who knows where the conference will stand this year, but one thing for sure is if the SEC wants to send a team to the BCS National Championship for a 5th straight year, a hard road lies ahead. Auburn is sitting at No. 4 in the first BCS standings, but LSU isn’t far behind at No. 6. Alabama is the highest one-loss team nationally at No. 8.
The SEC is still going to have some work cut out for them if both Oklahoma and Oregon remain undefeated. The past does show that if an SEC team goes unbeaten through the regular season, the voters have rewarded them. Florida jumped up to the top two spots in 2008 and in 2006 after being 10th and 6th in the first BCS Standings.
The Auburn Tigers look like they are the team to beat from this point forward. Cam Newton is a machine and has been racking up the yards and the touchdowns on every team they have faced so far. If LSU or Alabama have a say in it, they will have to shut down Newton.
From record setting scores, to major upsets, the SEC has been full of a ton of surprises. The crazy thing is we are only half way through the season. There is no telling what is in store for college football fans as we embark on the second half of the year. Will the SEC send a team to the BCS National Championship game, or will a new conference take over as this year’s best? Only time will tell, but one thing for certain is that it will be entertaining.
Check out our Florida Christmas Ornament and our South Carolina Christmas Ornament
So here we are in Week 7 of college football.
The SEC is still leading the pack with 3 teams in the top 10 and 6 in the top 25. Even though some of the poll guys don’t take into account that the guys from the SEC play in the SEC so there are going to be some really good teams playing some other really good teams.
So number 12 from last week Arkansas played number 7 Auburn. It was a literal shootout with all kinds of records being broken in scoring. Arkansas gun slinger got hurt in the first half with a concussion. Ryan Mallet was in street cloths during the 2nd half. His backup Tyler Wilson cam in and did a great job. Except for about 20 seconds where he had two turnovers that probably caused the game to get away.
Alabama pretty much dominated the Black Bears of Mississippi. Bouncing back to form after losing to a very good South Carolina last week.
South Carolina on the other hand loses to Kentucky with some great plays at the end by Jocker Phillips Wildcats.
Mississippi States Dan Mullen took his much improved Bulldogs down to the Swamp and handed his old mentor Urban Meyers his first 3rd lost in a row of his career. Mullens said it was not an upset his team expected to win the game. Upset or not the Bulldogs are making people take notice.
Georgia seems to be getting back on track after getting their top player back after a lengthy suspension. The man handled Vanderbilt 43-0.
LSU started slow but easily handled McNeese State 32-10
Things we discovered in the SEC is that Cam Newton is for real. He has shown up as a legitimate Heisman contender. As good as Newton is the Tiger defense may be just as bad. The Tigers have yet to stop anybody who can throw the ball. They were shredded by Arkansas’s 2nd string quarterback. It’s official. Mississippi State is the SEC’s most improved team. The Bulldogs are 5-2 have won 4 straight games. They are winning the old fashion way by hitting people in the mouth. State ran the ball 49 of 58 plays and had 24 straight running plays at one point in the game. Also let it be know that the two games that MSU has lost were to two teams that are as of now undefeated this season. Both ranked in the top 10 in the country.
In Florida it is looking like Tebow light is the way to go. Brantly may be a great athlete but Florida is still doing much better when he is not at QB.
And the last question in the SEC is does anyone really want to win the East. It seems that the 4th or 5th team in the West could be better than number 1 in the East.
But again this is the SEC and anything can happen. Remember in the SEC it is not that far from Top to Bottom. Pretty much any of them can win at any time.
Check out our Alabama Crimson Tide Ornament