Revisiting: Mississippi State on the Margins

Links (8)

THE THREAD [05.22.07] :: Fanatical
Published 5/23/2008 by cocknfire <info@garnetandblackattack.com> at Garnet And Black Attack: Front Page Posts
... him nothing but the best in his future." That could be anything from repeatedly ignoring simple rules to running guns for the ETA. Anybody got more? (Though if your source is a message board, you can keep it to yourself.) Just some new-regime turnover right now. But, especially on the women's side, something that looks to be growing disturbingly common. SMQ takes an intriguing look at a team that he generously calls "an enigma": The 2007 Mississippi State Bulldogs. How is this of interest to South ...

CURIOUS INDEX, 5/23/08
Published 5/23/2008 by Orson Swindle at EDSBS
... probably cranked about sixty decibels, but he could clearly be heard bellowing out-of-tune accompaniment to Lou Gramm’s vocals. This is precisely what we imagine the inside of Les Miles’ head to look like: a toll booth full of rock. It is difficult not to like. Drew Weatherford has recovered from arthroscopic knee surgery, a real accomplishment for people his age. SMQ shows that Mississippi State’s 7-5 season last year was more anomalous than one might initially think. ...

Monday Recruiting, Sort Of
Published 5/28/2008 by Brian (noreply@blogger.com) at mgoblog
... Not so much on the "turning around" despite appearances, Mr. Thames. Some years ago Michigan was recruiting a highly touted corner from Mississippi -- Derek Pegues -- and thought they had an excellent shot at him; he went to Mississippi State, where he's been All-SEC in the service of the perpetually moribund Bulldogs. I think Jay Hopson's haul this year is going to be disappointing. ...

The Margins are Fine by Me
Published 7/24/2008 by cocknfire at Garnet And Black Attack: Front Page Posts
Sylvester Croom had happier tidings to bring to Hoover this year than in the past. After all, the Mississippi State Bulldogs -- who, unlike some other teams, know how to spell their mascot's name -- went 8-5 last year, their best season under Croom and the team's first winning season since 2000. But one fact still can't be ignored about Dear Ole State: Their "life on the margins," as SMQ puts it: Thus, the basic problem: was Mississippi State a slightly above average team by definition, because of its final record and wins over Auburn, ...

The Top Four Non-Conference Games You Think Won't Be Good . . . But Will
Published 8/3/2008 by T Kyle King at Dawg Sports: Front Page Posts
... Mississippi State at Louisiana Tech (August 30): The Magnolia State Bulldogs made great strides in the win column last season, but they did so without getting demonstrably better at much of anything, so a return to earth appears probable. Meanwhile, the Pelican State Bulldogs bounced back from a ten-loss season in 2006 to come within one win of bowl eligibility under first-year head coach Derek Dooley (son of Vince) last fall. After the fashion of his famous father, Coach Dooley fils has gotten the schedule more manageable, as Louisiana Tech went from playing eight ...

S.E.C. Power Poll: Ranking the Coaches (Part I)
Published 8/17/2008 by T Kyle King at Dawg Sports: Front Page Posts
... inherited about as bad a situation as you could imagine when he took over a probation-shackled program with little or no longstanding tradition located in an out-of-the-way backwater that is closer to the middle of nowhere than to the epicenter of any recruiting hotbeds. The feel good story of the Southeastern Conference in 2007 was a Bear Bryant disciple winning his first bowl game in the Liberty Bowl, where his coaching mentor won his last bowl game 25 years before. Nevertheless, very little about the Western Division Bulldogs’ resurgence suggests permanence, so, while ...

Don't Bet On It!: Around the S.E.C.
Published 8/27/2008 by T Kyle King at Dawg Sports: Front Page Posts
... Mississippi State at Louisiana Tech: Last season’s 8-5 record marked the Western Division Bulldogs’ best record of the 21st century and bucked a trend that saw M.S.U. win exactly three games in five of the previous six seasons. (In 2003, the lone exception to the rule, Mississippi State won two games.) Did 2007 mark a true turnaround for the squad from Starkville? Maybe not. Sylvester Croom’s Bulldog teams have gone 6-14 away from Davis Wade Stadium, with three of those wins coming last year alone. Under Coach Croom, offensively-challenged Mississippi State has lost last ...

Life on the Margins: A silver lining for Pitt?
Published 9/3/2008 by Matt Hinton at Dr. Saturday
... Mississippi State, which spent much of 2007 just scraping by in games it was ostensibly outplayed in the box score, found itself on the other side of the coin Saturday, against another set of Bulldogs with little to no offense to speak of.  ...