gameday oct 20 2012
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Mississippi College football UpdateTRANSCRIPT
The Daily Journal’s weekly college football preview section | Saturday, October 20, 2012
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DESTE LEE | DAILY JOURNAL
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TodayMISSISSIPPI STATE
Record: 6-0Today: Home vs. MTSU (4-2)TV: 6 p.m., ESPN2.Coverage starts: On Page 3
OLE MISSRecord: 4-3Today: OffRead more: On Page 4
SOUTHERN MISSRecord: 0-6Today: Home vs. Marshall (2-4)TV: 6 p.m., CBS Sports NetworkRead more: On Page 9
TODAY11 a.m.Purdue at Ohio State, ABCLSU at Texas A&M, ESPNVirginia Tech at Clemson, ESPN2Minnesota at Wisconsin, ESPNUIowa State at Okla. State, FXPenn at Yale, NBCsn
11:21 a.m.Auburn at Vandy, SEC Network
(WCBI, Columbusand WLMT, Memphis)
NoonFlorida International at Troy, CSS
2 p.m.Stanford at California, FoxBoston College at Ga. Tech, FSS
2:30 p.m.South Carolina at Florida, CBSTexas Tech at TCU, ABCNebraska at N’western, ESPN2N.C. State at Maryland, ESPNURice at Tulsa, FCSCBYU at Notre Dame, NBCUNLV at Boise State, NBCsn
3:30 p.m.Shorter at West Alabama, CSS
6 p.m.Alabama at Tennessee, ESPNMiddle Tenn. at MSU, ESPN2North Carolina at Duke, ESPNUGeorgia at Kentucky, FSSKansas State at W. Virginia, FoxKansas at Oklahoma, FCSC
7 p.m.Florida State at Miami, ABCCentral Florida at Memphis, CSS
All times Central
2F | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2012 GAMEDAY: WEEK 8 DAILY JOURNAL
BY CHRIS DUFRESNELOS ANGELES TIMES (MCT)
Southern Cal would break of-fensive air-speed records,MattBarkley was a lock for theHeis-manTrophy andOregon StatecoachMike Riley needed thickerpants for the hot seat he was on.Arkansas was the team to beatin the SECWest – it seems so sillynow – andTexas A&M’s JohnnyManziel was JohnnyWho?Thismust be why they don’thand out achievement awardstheWednesday before Labor Day.Let’s take a halfway look atsome developing stories:
STILL THE BESTThe Southeastern Conference
is a beast – again.The first BCS standings releasehad two SEC teams on top, Al-abama and Florida. The SECowned half of the BCS top 12.The league has won six straightBCS national titles and eight ofthe 14 played. Last season’s titlegame featured two SEC teamsand it could happen again.
NO DEFENSE?Nobody plays defense any-
more and pass-crazy offenseshave taken over the game.True? Actually, no, it’s false.A review of this week’s BCSstandings show the top 10schools have an average nationaloffensive ranking of 52.4.
The only two schools in the na-tional top 15 are Oregon (8) andOklahoma (15).No. 1 Alabama ranks No. 52and Florida is No. 82.So, defense is winning?Yep.The BCS top 10 owns a na-tional defensive average of 19.7.
SURPRISE, SURPRISEThe biggest surprise so far is ...Notre Dame is the biggest storybecause it’s Notre Dame.TheFighting Irish’s sitting at No. 5 inthe BCS elicits equal pangs of
anger and joy. Notre Dame has ahard timemoving the ball with itsNo. 76 offense, but it knows howtomove the needle.ViewershiponNBC through four homegames is at a six-year high.National title talk is premature,as Notre Damemust navigatetrips to Oklahoma andUSC.Mark this down, though: TheFighting Irish is a lock for a BCSbowl if they get to nine wins.Kansas State is themost senti-mental yarn because of Bill Sny-der. At age 73, he’s done a
remarkable job in getting KansasState to 6-0. TheWildcats’ upsetat Oklahoma is this year’s so-farsignature win. K-State is a win atWestVirginia today from chang-ing the BCS computer calculus.Oregon State, though, is thesurprise team of the half-season.The Beavers are 5-0 andNo. 8 inthe BCS following a 3-9 seasonthat left manywondering if Rileywas running out of time.BeatingWisconsin was impres-sive and Rileymade folksy, na-tional newswhen he took theentire team to In-N-Out for burg-ers after the win at UCLA.Themeasure of Oregon State’spossible staying power, though,was winning at BYUwith backupquarterback CodyVaz.
QUICK KICKSBiggest disappointments: The Big
Ten (7-0 Ohio State isn’t eligible for abowl), Auburn, Arkansas, Southern Cal’soffense, and the Texas defense.Half-year Heisman: Geno Smith,
West Virginia.We can’t dismiss lastweek’s ugly loss at Texas Tech, nor for-get Smith has thrown 25 touchdownpasses this year with no interceptions.Best game: Texas A&M 59, Louisiana
Tech 57. And that was in regulation.Second-half team you don’t want
to play: Oklahoma.Newcomer: Texas A&M freshman
quarterback Johnny Manziel.Wins overLSU and Alabama could prompt a nick-name change from “Johnny Football” to“Johnny Heisman.”
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FIVEGAMESTOWATCH|
SOUTH CAROLINA AT FLORIDA: Attri-tion in the SEC continues as one-lossSouth Carolina visits undefeated Florida.The Gators took over the Gamecocks’
No. 3 spot in the AP poll after South Car-olina lost at LSU. Florida improved to 6-0with a hard-fought win at Vanderbilt.LSU AT TEXAS A&M: Can anyone stop
Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel,who had 576 yards (395 passing, 181rushing) and six touchdowns in the Ag-gies’ 59-57 win over Louisiana Tech?We’re about to find out, as the nation’s
No. 6 offense meets the second-rankeddefense.
KANSAS STATE ATWEST VIRGINIA:This might have been a battle of top-fiveBig 12 teams if the Mountaineers hadn’tstumbled badly last week at Texas Tech.West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith
has thrown 25 touchdowns this year with-out being intercepted, but Kansas Statequarterback Collin Klein could greatly en-hance his Heisman Trophy chances bywinning the head-to-head against Smith.BYU AT NOTRE DAME: This is a poten-
tial “trap” game for Notre Dame in ad-vance of next week’s trip to Oklahoma.BYU has lost two games by a total of
four points and its big, physical defense
will pose problems for a Fighting Irish of-fense that struggles to score points.Notre Dame’s so-far sensational start
has been built around its second-rankedscoring defense. The Irish are allowing op-ponents only 8.67 points per game. Thishas the makings of a 9-6 finish.STANFORD AT CALIFORNIA: Some of
the fallout of conference-expansionschedule juggling includes having to movetraditional games off traditional dates.This year’s Big Game is in Berkeley with
a twist: Cal is coming off a win and Stan-ford is coming off a loss.
LosAngeles Times (MCT)
GAMEDAY: WEEK 8Sports editor: John L. PittsPage design: Daily Journalstaff, with assistance from ScottBurdenSports staff: Parrish Alford (OleMiss beat writer), Brett Brown,Brad Locke (Mississippi Statebeat writer), Gene Phelps, Bran-don Speck.On the cover: Louis Watson andother MSU players take the fieldbefore facing Tennessee. (Photoby Deste Lee, Daily Journal)
At halfway mark, the season’s full of surprises
APMike Riley has led Oregon State to a surprising 5-0 start.
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DAILY JOURNAL GAMEDAY: WEEK 8 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2012 | 3F
B&B CONCRETE CO., INC.130 N. Industrial Road • Tupelo • (662) 842-6312
Serving North Mississippi
TONIGHT’S GAME AT A GLANCEWhere: Davis Wade Stadium (55,082), Starkville.Kickoff: 6 p.m. Television: ESPN2Radio: MSU Network; XM 199; Sirius 94.Records:MTSU 4-2, MSU 6-0.Rankings: MSU No. 15 AP, No. 16 USA Today, No. 12 BCS.Series:Mississippi State, 4-0.Last meeting:MSU won 27-6 on Oct. 17, 2009, in Murfreesboro.Anthony Dixon became MSU’s career rushing leader that game.
Coaches – MTSU: Rick Stockstill, 38-42 (seventh year);MSU: DanMullen, 27-17 (fourth year).Statistical leaders – MTSU: QB Logan Kilgore 116-172-3, 1,422yards, 9 TDs; WR Anthony Amos 39-580, 5 TDs; LB Craig Allen47 tackles, 2.0 TFLs, 1.0 sack; LB Roderic Blunt 46 tackles, 2.0TFLs, 1 INT; LB Leighton Gasque 3.0 sacks.MSU: QB Tyler Russell 105-182-1, 1,382 yards, 12 TDs; RB LaDarius Perkins 105-599, 7 TDs; WR Chad Bumphis 28-468, 6 TDs; TE Marcus Green13-158, 5 TDs; LB Benardrick McKinney 50 tackles, 2.5 TFLs.
Trends: MSU’s 6-0 start is tied for second-best in school history. Italso started 6-0 in 1944, and started 8-0 in 1999.… MTSU is 0-13 against top-25 teams since joining Division I-A in 1999.…For the first time ever, MSU has scored 25 or more points ineach of its first six games.
Notes:MSU is first in the country in turnover margin at plus-15.…MTSU ranks 112th nationally in pass efficiency defense, whileMSU ranks 16th.… Perkins is the only player to be ranked inthe top two in the SEC in both rushing yards per game (99.8)and all-purpose yards per game (130.0).
Summing it up: “We’re going to need great leadership from ourguys and keeping the focus and dealing with the (national) attention.” – MSU coach Dan Mullen
Prediction: Mississippi State, 48-14.
BradLocke
MISSISSIPPI STATEwww.hailstate.com
S1 Jackson State W, 56-9S8 Auburn W, 28-10S15 at Troy W, 30-24S22 South Alabama W, 30-10S29 Open dateO6 at Kentucky W, 27-14O13 Tennessee W, 41-31O20 Middle Tennessee, 6 p.m.O27 at Alabama, 7:30 p.m.N3 Texas A&MN10 at LSUN17 ArkansasN24 at Ole Miss
MIDDLE TENNESSEEwww.goblueraiders.com
A30 McNeese St. L, 27-21S8 FAU W, 31-17S15 at Memphis W, 48-30S22 Open dateS29 at Georgia Tech W, 49-28O6 La.-Monroe W, 31-17O13 at FIU W, 34-30O20 at Mississippi St., 6 p.m.O27 North Texas, 2:30 p.m.N1 at W. Kentucky, 8:15 p.m.N17 at South AlabamaN10 Open dateN24 Troy, 2:30 p.m.D1 at Arkansas St., 2 p.m.
DEPTH CHARTS: Page 6GAME KEYS: Page 7
BY BRAD LOCKEDAILY JOURNAL
STARKVILLE – Josh Robinson dashed10 yards into the end zone and couldhardly contain himself. Hewanted to justleap into the stands after scoring his firstcareer touchdown last week versusTen-
nessee.“To get the first one,I tasted blood, so I’malways going to attack,
attack, attack,” said Robinson, a redshirtfreshman tailback forMississippi State.As theNo. 15 Bulldogs (6-0) enter thesecond half of their season – starting withtoday’s homecoming game versusMid-dleTennessee State (4-2) – they findthemselves dependingmore on youngplayers like Robinson.On the season, he’s carried it 31 timesfor 163 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per
carry. He’s become the first option off thebench behind starter LaDarius Perkins,and redshirt freshmanDerrickMiltonhas gotten some quality reps as well.“They’re giving us a lotmore trust,”Robinson said of the coaches. “In thebackfield it’s a stable, so we all work upon
each other.We’re all learning fromPerk;he’s a good leader.”The relationships between older andyounger players have been vital to thedevelopment of the latter. There’s talentamong the younger group, to be sure, butthe veterans have done a good job guid-ing them along and teaching them thevalue of patience.
GETTING INTO POSITIONTakeDak Prescott. The backup quar-terback, also a redshirt freshman, saw hisrole expanded against Tennessee. Hethrew his first careerTD pass, findingtight endMarcus Green from 13 yards inthe second quarter.Up until then, Prescott had been usedmainly for running in short-yardage andred zone situations. His development tothis point has a lot to dowith how closelyheworks with starter Tyler Russell.“He’s put in aposition that he can lookup to theolder guys, andwe’remakingplays,” Russell said.“Heknows theoffense.
Just for him to learn everything I’m learn-ingnowat this stage is going toput him ina great position later down the road.”No redshirt freshman hasmade quitethe impact BenardrickMcKinney hasmade atmiddle linebacker. His 50 tackleslead the team, and 26 of those tackleshave come over the last two games.“He’s only going to get better themorehe plays,” defensive coordinator ChrisWilson said. “I’m looking for him to playhis best this last half (of the season).”There are big games ahead, like Al-abamaandLSU. IfMSUcan continue get-ting goodplay from the younger group,that increases the odds of a strong finish.“Early in the season, sometimes peoplewonder why dowe force-feed guys ontothe field,” head coachDanMullen said.“They need that experience, they needthat development, they need to be ableto grow, so as the year goes on, they’reready to perform.”
Youngplayers carryBulldogs to newheights
MIDDLE TENN.AT MISS. STATE
DESTE LEE | DAILY JOURNALRedshirt freshman Josh Robinson turnsthe corner against Tennessee.
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BY PARRISH ALFORDDAILY JOURNAL
OXFORD–Cordarrelle Patter-sonhas been abig-playwide re-ceiver forTennessee this season,his first as a junior college trans-fer.Imagine, if youwill, Pattersonlining upoppositeDonteMon-
crief forOleMiss.HughFreezeimagined that.Weeks after his
hiring asOleMiss coach FreezehadPatterson, a 6-foot-5 speed-ster, onhiswish list, andhe gotinto the conversation.After putting together a staff onthe fly, Freeze andhis assistantshad about threeweeks togetherto bring in an abbreviated class.“Wehad somekids thatcouldn’t see past the fact thatwe
weren’t the previous staff,” assis-tant coachTomAllen said. “Somekids, they like that long-term re-lationship.They feel comfortablewith that and their parents do.”The long-term relationshipwith recruits is something Freezeandhis staff have been able towork to their advantage this sea-son.During the openweek, Freeze
andhis coaches spentThursdayandFriday on the road at varioushigh schools and games.Before that, theweekly phonecalls to recruits had a differentup-beat tone after theRebelsended a 16-gameSEC losingstreakwith a 41-20win overAuburn.“I’ll just tell you this,” assistantcoachWesleyMcGriff said.“Monday,making calls to recruitswas a great day. It was a greatday.”There has been amore seriousbuzzwithOleMiss in the questfor Loganville, Ga., defensivelinemanRobertNkemdiche, thenation’sNo. 1 recruit.Nkemdiche, currently aClem-son commit, has attended sev-eral OleMiss games, and it hasn’thurt that his brotherDenzelNkemdiche has becomenot justa place-holder on the roster but a
leader of an improving defensiveunit.
IMPORTANT ROLEOnMonday, Freeze admittedthe importance of recruiting afteran SECwin.“I don’t thinkwewould have alegitimate shot if we didn’t pulloff some. I don’t think youhaveto pull off a certain number ofwins to be in the game, becausewe’re in the gamewith some re-ally good recruits,” Freeze said. “Ido think they have to comehereand see a very competitive teamwith someof the better teams,and I thinkwe’ve given themacouple of signs of that.That helpsus also.”The top five targets forOleMiss are South Panola safetyTonyConnor,Nick Brassell – anOleMiss receiver anddefensiveback until grades trouble sent
him toEastMississippi Commu-nity College – ItawambaAHSrunning backAshton Shumpert,Nkemdiche andCrete, Ill., widereceiver LaquonTreadwell.Themost likely to sign areNkemdiche, Brassell andConnor.TheOleMiss class of 21 verbalcommits is currently rankedNo. 21 by Scout.com.“Recruiting’s been going reallywell, ” Freeze said.A big reason for that is theyear-long relationship.Freeze: “Last year we workedhard to get in it with some, but ifyou don’t have a developed rela-tionship or a a go-to person inthat process, it’s hard to feel realconfident in it. That’s somethingthat can only be developed overthe course of a year, and that’ssomething that we have now.”
Building relationships is key for Freeze’s staff4F | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2012 GAMEDAY: WEEK 8 DAILY JOURNAL
OLE MISSRECRUITINGUPDATE
DAILY JOURNAL | FILEHugh Freeze and his staff hit thisroad this week for recruiting.
OLE MISS COMMITMENTSPos. Player School/HometownATH Jeremy Liggins LafayetteDT Darious Cummings East Miss. CCTE Christian Morgan Plano, TexasOLB Rashawn Smith Florence, Ala.RB Peyton Barber Alpharetta, Ga.DT Finesse Middleton Gadsden, Ala.S Charles Williams Hialeah Fla.CB ZachWitchett Hinds CCWR Trey Bledsoe GrenadaOL Daronte Bouldin CantonCB Boddy Hill Moultrie, Ga.QB Devante Kincade Dallas, TexasTE Evan Engram Powder Springs, Ga.QB Ryan Buchanan Jackson PrepWR Derrick Jones EuporaDL Herbert Moore MemphisRB Mark Dodson MemphisWR Quadarius Mireles Hinds CCWR Dannon Cavil San Antonio, TexasRB Eugene Brazley New OrleansOL Davion Johnson Byhalia
DESTE LEE | DAILY JOURNAL FILE
Former Lafayette QBJeremy Liggins, who
signed last February withLSU, is expected to enrollat Ole Miss in early 2013.
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NO. 1 ALABAMAAT TENNESSEE
THE BUZZ: An Alabama victory would setup a potential matchup between unbeatenteams next week when the Tide host No.15 Mississippi State, which is at hometoday against Middle Tennessee.The Vols have lost 10 of their last 11
conference games and are 0-13 againstTop 25 opponents since Derek Dooley tookover the program in 2010.KEY FACT: Alabama leads the nation in
total defense, scoring defense, run defenseand pass efficiency defense.
NO. 9 SOUTH CAROLINAAT NO. 3 FLORIDA
THE BUZZ: First place in the SEC’s East-ern Division is at stake. The Gators are sit-ting atop the division and would move astep closer to the SEC title game with a vic-tory. The Gamecocks would take commandof the East race with a win.KEY FACT: RB Mike Gillislee is second in
the SEC with 615 yards on the ground andhas seven TDs. The Gamecocks allowed258 yards rushing in last week’s loss atLSU, so Gillislee could have a big day.
NO. 6 LSUAT NO. 20 TEXAS A&M
THE BUZZ: LSU and Texas A&M bothneed a victory to keep pace in the SECWestern division. It’s a chance for the Ag-gies to prove themselves in their first yearin the league, and pits one of the nation’smost prolific offenses in Texas A&M againstone of the best defenses in the country.KEY FACT: Texas A&M’s record against
top-10 teams is 22-63, and the Aggies lastbeat a team ranked in the top 10 in a 9-6win over No. 9 Nebraska in 2010.
NO. 13 GEORGIAAT KENTUCKY
THE BUZZ:With next weekend’s rivalrygame in Jacksonville against East-leadingFlorida, Georgia needs rebound from a 35-7 loss at South Carolina on Oct. 6.Kentucky just wants to halt a five-game
losing streak by beating Georgia for the firsttime since 2009.KEY FACT: Georgia is 13-4 following a
bye under coach Mark Richt.
AUBURN AT VANDERBILTTHE BUZZ: Vandy is favored against a
program that won the national champi-onship two years ago. That’s a complimentto James Franklin’s Commodores but also asad statement for Auburn, which seeks itsfirst SEC victory.
Wire reports
DAILY JOURNAL GAMEDAY: WEEK 8 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2012 | 5F
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EASTERN SEC PF PA All PF PA 2011 Home Div. T25 Str.Florida 5-0 140 60 6-0 167 74 4-2 3-0 3-0 2-0 W7South Carolina 4-1 142 70 6-1 239 86 6-1 4-0 4-0 1-1 L1Georgia 3-1 147 102 5-1 248 145 4-2 4-0 3-1 0-1 L1Vanderbilt 1-3 52 111 2-4 123 134 3-3 1-2 1-3 0-3 L1Tennessee 0-3 95 129 3-3 228 189 3-3 2-1 0-2 0-3 L2Missouri 0-4 55 133 3-4 162 179 3-4 2-3 0-3 0-3 L2Kentucky 0-4 38 152 1-6 130 230 3-4 1-3 0-2 0-4 L5WESTERN SEC PF PA All PF PA 2011 Home Div. T25 Str.Alabama 3-0 127 24 6-0 243 45 5-0 3-0 2-0 2-0 W10Mississippi State 3-0 96 55 6-0 212 98 3-3 4-0 1-0 0-0 W8LSU 2-1 41 45 6-1 224 98 7-0 5-0 1-0 1-1 W1Texas A&M 2-1 105 57 5-1 282 131 4-2 2-1 2-0 1-1 W5Arkansas 2-2 83 124 3-4 189 217 6-1 2-3 1-2 0-1 W2Ole Miss 1-2 82 83 4-3 229 186 2-5 3-2 1-2 0-2 W1Auburn 0-4 47 105 1-5 97 159 4-2 1-2 0-4 0-2 L3
T25 = Games against teams in Top 25 (AP, USA Today, Harris) at time of matchup
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SEC STANDINGS|
LAST WEEKSaturday, Oct. 13Mississippi State 41, Tennessee 31Ole Miss 41, Auburn 20Alabama 42, Missouri 10Arkansas 49, Kentucky 7Florida 31, Vanderbilt 17LSU 23, South Carolina 21Texas A&M 59, Louisiana Tech 57Off: Georgia
NEXT WEEKSaturday, Oct. 27Kentucky at Missouri, 11 a.m.Tennessee at South Carolina, 11 a.m.Ole Miss at Arkansas (at Little Rock), 11:21 a.m.Florida vs. Georgia (at Jacksonville), 3:30 p.m.Texas A&M at Auburn, 6 p.m.Massachusetts at Vanderbilt, 6 p.m.Mississippi State at Alabama, 7:30 p.m.Off: LSU
JOURNAL RANKINGSParrish Alford, Brad Locke and John Pitts
rank the SEC after Week 7:Ranking (1sts) Last week1. Alabama (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12. Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53. LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34. South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45. Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26. Texas A&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77. Mississippi State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68. Ole Miss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109. Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 810. Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1211. Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 912. Vanderbilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1413. Auburn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1114. Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
TODAY’S GAMES(All game times converted to Central)
Matchup Kickoff TV Sirius/XM Series Sagarin saysLSU at Texas A&M 11 a.m. ESPN 91/ 91 LSU 27-20-3 A&M by 5Auburn at Vanderbilt 11:21 a.m. SEC Network 92/200 Tied 20-20-1 Vandy by 3South Carolina at Florida 2:30 p.m. CBS 135/135 Florida 23-6-3 S.C. by 1Middle Tennessee (4-2) at Miss. State 6 p.m. ESPN2 94/199 MSU, 4-0 MSU by 21Alabama at Tennessee 6 p.m. ESPN 85/ 85 Ala., 47-38-7 Alabama by 26Georgia at Kentucky 6 p.m. FSN 92/200 Ga., 51-12-2 Georgia by 17Off today: Arkansas, Missouri, Ole Miss Note: The Sagarin ratings appear online at USAToday.com
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INSIDER|
SEC games at a glance
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6F | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2012 GAMEDAY: WEEK 8 DAILY JOURNAL
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MISSISSIPPI STATE
OFFENSE BRAD LOCKE’S COMMENTSQB 17 Tyler Russell (6-4, 220, Jr.) 3,051 career passing yards, 10th on MSU’s all-time list.
15 Dak Prescott (6-2, 230, R-Fr.)RB 27 LaDarius Perkins (5-10, 190, Jr.) On pace to score 14 TDs in regular season.
34 Josh Robinson (5-9, 215, R-Fr.)FB 23 Sylvester Hemphill (5-11, 235, Sr.) Has two catches for 8 yards.
35 Adrian Marcus (5-10, 225, Jr.)LT 75 Blaine Clausell (6-7, 305, So.) 93 percent blocking grade vs. Tennessee.
59 Archie Muniz (6-5, 290, So.)LG 61 Gabe Jackson (6-4, 320, Jr.) Team-high 94 percent blocking grade vs. Tennessee.
66 Ben Beckwith (6-3, 300, So.)C 63 Dillon Day (6-4, 285, So.) Has 15 career starts under his belt.
55 Dylan Holley (6-3, 295, Jr.)RG 67 Tobias Smith (6-3, 305, Sr.) Played 49 snaps last week, tying his season high.or 70 Justin Malone (6-7, 315, R-Fr.)
RT 77 Charles Siddoway (6-7, 300, Jr.) First-year player starting to solidify himself at this spot.78 Damien Robinson (6-7, 315, So.)
TE 32 Marcus Green (6-1, 240, Sr.) Five of 13 catches have been touchdowns.6 Malcolm Johnson (6-2, 230, So.)
WR 19 Arceto Clark (5-10, 180, Sr.) Has eight catches for 106 yards last two games.16 Joe Morrow (6-4, 205, R-Fr.)
WR 1 Chad Bumphis (5-11, 200, Sr.) Has 16 catches for 197 yards last two games.4 Jameon Lewis (5-9, 185, So.)
WR 8 Chris Smith (6-2, 205, Sr.) Second on team with 19 catches for 227 yards.3 Brandon Heavens (5-10, 175, Sr.)
DEFENSEDE 92 Kaleb Eulls (6-4, 280, So.)
93 P.J. Jones (6-3, 280, So.) Started last two games opening in three-man front.DT 97 Josh Boyd (6-3, 300, Sr.) Has 12 tackles, 1.0 sack.
60 Devin Jones (6-1, 260, Sr.)DT 74 Dewayne Cherrington (6-3, 325, Sr.) No tackles last week, but had a pass break-up.
98 Curtis Virges (6-3, 305, So.)DE 90 Denico Autry (6-5, 255, Jr.) Has 17 tackles, 4.5 TFLs and 2.0 sacks.
96 Shane McCardell (6-5, 260, Jr.)LB 51 Deontae Skinner (6-2, 245, Jr.) Has 32 tackles, 3 pass break-ups.
12 Chris Hughes (6-1, 225, Jr.)LB 50 BenardrickMcKinney (6-5, 235, R-Fr.) 26 tackles last two games, team-high 50 on season.
52 Ferlando Bohanna (6-0, 225, So.)LB 10 Cam Lawrence (6-3, 230, Sr.) Second on team with 43 stops.
22 Matthew Wells (6-2, 215, So.)CB 13 Johnthan Banks (6-2, 185, Sr.) Has 25 tackles, 2.0 TFLs and 3 INTs.
24 Jamerson Love (5-10, 175, So.)SS 25 Corey Broomfield (5-10, 180, Sr.) Last week’s INT was his first since Nov. 27, 2010.
30 Jay Hughes (5-11, 190, So.)FS 5 Nickoe Whitley (6-1, 205, Jr.) Made career-high 8 tackles vs. Tennessee.
38 Dee Arrington (6-1, 215, So.)CB 9 Darius Slay (6-1, 190, Sr.) Had 4 INTs first three games, none the last three.
37 Taveze Calhoun (6-1, 180, R-Fr.)
SPECIAL TEAMSPK 40 Devon Bell (6-2, 185, Fr.) Has made 8 of 12 field goals.
53 Brian Egan (5-11, 210, Jr.)P 39 Baker Swedenburg (6-0, 185, Jr.) Of 26 punts, 11 downed inside 20-yard line.KR 27 LaDarius Perkins (5-10, 190, Jr.) Returned four kickoffs for 80 yards last week.
4 Jameon Lewis (5-9, 185, So.)PR 13 Johnthan Banks (6-2, 285, Sr.) Averaging 9.2 yards per return.
1 Chad Bumphis (5-11, 200, Sr.)
Depth Chart: Bulldogs OFFENSEQB 10 Logan Kilgore Jr.
12 Jeff Murphy Sr.RB 21 Drayton Calhoun Jr.or 26 Jordan Parker Fr.
LT 75 Darius Johnson R-Fr.70 Roberto Loya R-Fr.
LG 77 Josh Walker Jr.60 Nick Nunez Jr.
C 66 Micah James Sr.60 Nick Nunez Jr.
RG 58 Jesse Grisham Jr.61 Jadareius Hamlin Jr.
RT 73 Isaiah Anderson So.70 Roberto Loya R-Fr.
WR 81 Christian Collis R-Fr.37 Harold Turner Sr.
WR 9 Kyle Griswould Jr.25 Reggie Whatley So.
WR 87 Vincent Van Horne Sr.88 Marcus Thurmond Sr.
WR 6 Anthony Amos Sr.1 Arthur Williams Jr.
DEFENSEDE 55 Shubert Bastien So.
89 Dearco Nolan Jr.DT 96 Kendall Dangerfield Sr.
92 Patrick McNeil So.DT 90 Jimmy Staten Jr.
91 J.D. Jones R-Fr.DE 85 Omar McLendon Sr.
17 Alexandro Antoine R-Fr.LB 35 Craig Allen Jr.
39 James Roberson R-Fr.LB 33 Roderic Blunt Jr.
28 Christian Henry So.LB 30 Stephen Roberts Jr.
40 Leighton Gasque So.CB 18 Kenneth Gilstrap Jr.
24 Jared Singletary R-Fr.SS 22 David Jones Jr.
36 Jajuan Harley Jr.FS 20 Kevin Byard R-Fr.
31 Reginald Farmer Jr.CB 27 Chris Sharpe So.
7 Khari Burke So.
SPECIAL TEAMSK 45 Carlos Lopez Sr.
89 Cody Clark Fr.P 48 Josh Davis Jr.
45 Carlos Lopez Sr.KR 18 Kenneth Gilstrap Jr.
25 Reggie Whatley So.PR 24 Jared Singletary R-Fr.
5 Jeremiah Bryson R-Fr.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE
Based on the best pregame information available; subject to change.
|
SEC RANKINGS|
5thScoring offense
(35.3 ppg)
7thTotal offense(412.0 ypg)
5thScoring defense
(16.3 ppg)
5thTotal defense
(331.5 ypg)
MSU on area radio:Aberdeen,WWZQ-AM (1240),Amory,WAMY-AM (1580), Corinth,WKCU-AM (1350),Tu-pelo,WXWX-FM (96.3),West Point,WKBB-FM (100.9).
DESTE LEE | DAILY JOURNALWR Chad Bumphis is a prime target.
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Scouting report: Middle Tennessee at MSUKEYS FOR VICTORY
1. Don’t get trapped. MSU is com-ing off a huge win against Tennessee,and next weekend it visits No. 1 Al-abama. So it might be easy to lose alittle focus on this final non-conferencegame of the season.Last time State was coming off a
big win – against Auburn in Week 2– it struggled to hold off Troy, 30-24.That game was on the road, while thisone is at home. MTSU, which like Troyis a member of the Sun Belt Confer-ence, has played well enough of late tobe considered a dangerous opponent.It beat Georgia Tech in Atlanta, 49-28.Trap game for MSU? Maybe so.2. Maintain the balance. Over its
last two games, State has run the ball80 times and passed it 78 times. Theoffense is the most balanced it’s everbeen under fourth-year coach DanMullen, and it appears to be hitting astride.MSU has topped 400 yards of total
offense in each of the last two games –
427 yards vs. Kentucky, 449 vs. Ten-nessee. If there is any imbalance today,it might be on the passing side, be-cause Middle Tennessee ranks 112thin the country in pass efficiency de-fense. It’s not great against the run, ei-ther, giving up 175.3 yards per game.3. Hang onto the ball.MSU ranks
first in the country in turnover marginat plus-15, with only three giveaways.So ball security hasn’t been a problem,but a lapse in that department is thesurest way to give MTSU a fightingchance at pulling the upset.The Blue Raiders have done pretty
well at creating turnovers, with 12through six games. Nine of those arefumble recoveries, and cornerbackKhari Burke has two of them.
WHAT TO WATCHWHEN MTSU HAS THE BALLThe Blue Raiders are dealing with a
huge loss: Star tailback Benny Cun-ningham is out for the year with aknee injury he suffered in last week’s
win at FIU. He rushed for 230 yardsand has 600 for the season.MTSU will now turn to LSU transfer
Drayton Calhoun and freshman JordanParker, who have rushed for a com-bined 412 yards and two touchdowns.The Blue Raiders can take encourage-ment from the fact that MSU gave up213 rushing yards to Tennessee lastweek, with most of those yards gainedby backups.Logan Kilgore has been efficient at
quarterback, throwing nine TDsagainst three interceptions in 172 at-tempts. He’s got some downfieldthreats in Anthony Amos (580 yards,five TDs) and Marcus Henry (20.2yards per catch).
WHEN MSU HAS THE BALLWith tight end Malcolm Johnson
healthy, MSU’s offense can open upeven more than it already has this sea-son. He was one of three tight ends tocatch passes last week, which illus-trates just how willing Tyler Russell is
to spread the ball around.State has a deep receiving corps,
but Russell has relied primarily onthree seniors: Chad Bumphis, ArcetoClark and Chris Smith. Those threehave combined for 30 catches over thelast two games, and they’ve accountedfor 60 of the 76 passes caught by MSUreceivers this season.The run game has been largely han-
dled by LaDarius Perkins, but JoshRobinson and Derrick Milton havecombined for 54 carries, and Robinsonscored his first career touchdown lastweek.
CRUCIAL MATCHUPMSU QB TYLER RUSSELLVS. MTSU SECONDARYThe Blue Raiders are weak against
the pass, giving up 266.7 yards pergame, and opponents are completing68.4 percent of passes. Russell wasvery sharp last week and could have afield day.
BradLocke
APQB Logan Kilgore is an efficienttriggerman for the Blue Raiders.
|
OLEMISSLEADERS|
RUSHING GP Att Yrds Avg TD Long YPGJeff Scott 6 92 562 6.1 5 48 93.7Randall Mackey 7 49 233 4.8 3 28 33.3BoWallace 7 80 225 2.8 5 25 32.1Barry Brunetti 6 32 161 5.0 1 24 26.8I’Tavius Mathers 7 18 104 5.8 0 15 14.9Total 299 1478 4.9 17 48 211.1
PASSING GP Cp-Att-Int Pct Yards TD Lng YPGBoWallace 7 107-168-8 63.7 1371 9 75 195.9Barry Brunetti 6 19-27-0 70.4 177 1 36 29.5Randall Mackey 7 3-5-1 60.0 59 1 32 8.4Total 129-200-9 64.5 1607 11 75 229.6
RECEIVING GP No. Yards Avg TD Long AvgDonte Moncrief 7 31 480 15.5 5 75 68.6Ja-Mes Logan 7 19 180 9.5 0 40 25.7Vince Sanders 7 17 184 10.8 0 41 26.3Korvic Neat 4 15 160 10.7 0 30 40.0Jamal Mosley 7 10 1 06 10.6 1 28 15.1Randall Mackey 7 9 152 16.9 0 68 21.7Total 129 1607 12.5 11 75 229.6
DEFENSE GP Solo Ast Tot. TFL Sack Int.Denzel Nkemdiche 7 21 23 44 9.0-28 2.0-14 1-8Cody Prewitt 7 24 20 44 2.0-12 1.0-9 2-23Mike Marry 7 19 20 39 4.5-14 1.5-10 1-38Charles Sawyer 7 24 13 37 2.5-14 0.5-4 –C.J. Johnson 7 15 17 32 1.5-8 1.0-7 –Joel Kight 7 21 9 30 3.0-14 1.0-6 –
OLE MISSwww.olemisssports.com
S1 Central Arkansas W, 49-27S8 UTEP W, 28-10S15 Texas L, 66-31S22 at Tulane W, 39-0S29 at Alabama L, 33-14O6 Texas A&M L, 30-27O13 Auburn W, 41-20O20 Open dateO27 at Arkansas, 11:21 a.m.N3 at GeorgiaN10 VanderbiltN17 at LSUN24 Mississippi State
APOle Miss QB Bo Wallace.
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8F | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2012 GAMEDAY: WEEK 8 DAILY JOURNAL
BY MARK LONGASSOCIATED PRESS
The Southeastern Conference could begetting anothermakeover.This onewould have nothing to dowith expansion.The league that has won six consecu-tive national championships hasmorecoaches on the proverbial “hot seat” thanin any recent year, with potential open-ings at Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky andTennessee. The Razorbacks are seem-ingly in disarray, while theTigers,Wild-cats andVolunteers have had all sorts ofon-field problems.With the season a little past thehalfway point, talk about possible re-placements ismore rampant than specu-lation about the upcoming recruitingclass or even basketball season.Well, notat Kentucky.Still, all that conjecture canmake a longseason feel like it’s never going to end.“There can be outside distractionswhether you’re doing great or whetheryou’re doing not as well as you certainlywould like to be doing,” Auburn coachGene Chizik said. “The great thing aboutcollege football is everybody’s got anopinion. It’s the greatest sport on theplanet, and part of whatmakes it so greatin this part of the country is that every-body does have an opinion.“When you get into this, if you’re notstrong enough to handle that, then you’rein the wrong business – both as a playerand as a coach.”
CRUNCH TIMETheway things have unfolded atArkansas, Auburn, Kentucky andTen-nessee, it could be gut-check time for allfour coaches and their assistants.The Razorbacks fired coach BobbyPetrino in April for hiring hismistress to aposition in the athletic department andinitially lying about her presence duringamotorcycle accident. Athletic directorJeff Long then hired formerMichiganState and Louisville head coach John L.Smith to a 10-month contract.Arkansas (3-4, 2-2 SEC) went 1-4 inSeptember, including home losses toLouisiana-Monroe and Rutgers.Makingmatters worse for Smith, hemistakenlyreferred to Arkansas as Alabama during aspeech and told reporters to smile twodays after a 52-0 loss to the top-rankedCrimsonTide. Smith also ismaking
headlines for his $40.7million bank-ruptcy.Long saidMonday hewould like tohave the team’s next coach in place twoweeks after the regular season. He hasnot ruled out Smith as a candidate, butgiven all that has happened this season,it’s hard to fathom any scenario in whichSmith stays in Fayetteville.“In the end, it becomeswho is inter-ested in us,” Long said. “Even though Ihave had quite a long time to look at andresearch coaches, I don’t knowwho istruly interested in us andwewon’t knowthat really until almost the end game be-cause we’ve all seen other searcheswithin this conference where they’veended upwith their second, third choiceso to speak.”Auburn secretly interviewed Petrinolate in the 2003 season –whileTommyTuberville was still theTigers’ head coach– andmanywonder whether Auburnwould go after the offensive-mindedcoach again.Of course, that wouldmean firingChizik two years after winning a nationalchampionship.TheTigers (1-5, 0-4) rank last in theSEC in total offense, clearly strugglingwith the transition fromGusMalzahn’sspread offense to Scot Loeffler’s pro-style
system. Auburn has lost six consecutiveSEC games by a combined score of 192-68 and is trying to avoid the program’sfirst 1-6 start since 1952.Maybe themost tellingmark is Chizik’s17-15 recordwithout 2010HeismanTro-phy CamNewton.“You have to be strong enough to beable to block out the positives whenthey’re telling you how great you are be-cause you’re never that great,” Chiziksaid. “You have to be able to block outthe negatives when they tell you how badyou are because you’re never that bad.That’s themessage that I give to our teamon a daily basis. Howmuch they chooseto listen and buy into what everybody’sopinion, I can’t control that.”
NOT GETTING LUCKYKentucky (1-6, 0-4), meanwhile, haslost 13 of its last 17 games under coachJoker Phillips. TheWildcats have failed tobuild off that 2010 bowl berth, promptingthe fan base to clamor for change.Phillips saidMonday he talks with ath-letic directorMitch Barnhart a couple oftimes a week, but just about “small talk.“He’s been very encouraging,” Phillipssaid. “It’s nothing which youwant to getat. One thingMitch and I are:We’refriends. That’smore important tome
than anything on the business side.Weare friends.“And I can tell you this: there are not alot of people out there that can say thatthey’re friendswith their AD.There are nota lot of them.One thing that I do cherishand I do appreciate is our friendship.”Expectations at Kentucky hardly com-pare to those at Tennessee, where coachDerekDooley has come under fire afterconference losses keep piling up.TheVolunteers (3-3, 0-3) are 14-17 inDooley’s three seasons, but just 4-15 inSEC play. They also are 0-13 against Top-25 opponents, andDooley’s first twoyears produced the program’s first con-secutive losing seasons since 1909-11.There have been signs of progress,though.Tennessee, outscored by an average of19 points in seven SEC losses last year,led Florida in the second half and trailedby a score in the fourth quarter againstGeorgia andMississippi State. But willthat kind of improvement be enough tokeepDooley in Knoxville?“More than anything, you have to de-finewho you are, not somebody else,”Dooley said. “It’s a life lesson.You can’t letsomebody else definewho you are.Thebest way to definewho you are is whenyoumake amistake or you don’t playwell, you don’t dwell on it.You don’tmakean excuse.You don’t try to defend it.Youjust focus on the nextmission and beproud of what you put into it every day.“When you do that, you feel goodabout yourself as aman.You feel goodabout yourself as a player and you go dothe best you can. Right now, we haven’tdone the best we can. That’s what weought to be concerned about.”TheVols have plenty of company inthat department.Four coaching changes would be rarein the SEC, which hasn’t had thatmanysince Florida, LSU, OleMiss and SouthCarolina hired new coaches following the2004 season.“I’ve been through tremendous, fan-tastic things as a coach in college foot-ball,” Chizik said. “I’ve been throughsome battles. I understand how thewhole ebb and flow of the nature of a col-lege football seasonmay go, good or bad.... I thinkmost of our kids hear that andthey understand it and they learn les-sons, because a lot of our guys on ourteamhave heard the same story twoyears ago, but it was flipped.”
For some SEC teams, coaching seats heat up
BRUCE NEWMAN | OXFORD EAGLEJust two seasons after winning a national title, Auburn coach Gene Chizik is feelingthe heat as his Tigers have stumbled to a 1-5 record this fall.
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BY MIKE HERNDONMISSISSIPPI PRESS
HATTIESBURG–Anotherweek, anotherloss for Southern Miss, which has yet togive Ellis Johnson his first win as head
coach.Can the GoldenEagles put it behindthem to focus on
today’shomecominggamewithMarshall?Last Saturday’s 38-31 double-overtimecliff-hanger against Central Florida wasparticularly excruciating.“It was a very heartbreaking, disap-pointing loss for our players,” said John-son,whoseGoldenEagles arenow0-6and0-2 in ConferenceUSA.“I’mnot going to sayweoutplayedCen-tral Florida. I think theydid the things theyhad to do to win a close ball game. ... Ithought toward the end of the game, wewereplayingwith a littlemomentum.Thekids were playing with a lot of heart. We
had to come frombehindandwereable todo that. I’m not sure that five or six weeksagowe could have done that. I don’t knowifwehad theconfidenceor executionbackthen to do that.
“It’s a tough loss and then tackedon topof fiveprevious losses, it’s a load that theseplayers have to bear right now.”There is no more time to dwell on that,asMarshall invades for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
HERD HAS STRUGGLED, TOOThe Thundering Herd, led by quarter-back RakeemCato (2,311 yards, 18TDs) is2-4 after a 45-38 loss to Tulsa two weeksago and is coming off a bye week.“I think their record is a little deceiving,”Johnson said of theHerd. “They’ve playeda pretty tough schedule, too. Defensively,they’ve been giving up a lot of yards andpoints, but they look very capable and aremaking somestops. ... I think they’re abet-ter ball club than two wins, but I thinkwe’re a better team than nowins.”Today starts a stretch of games againstteamswith losing records that could be inreach for a team that can still finish theseason on a high note.After Marshall, the Golden Eagles play
Rice (2-5),UAB (1-5), SMU(2-4),UTEP (1-6) andMemphis (1-5).While the season has already been along one inHattiesburg, Johnson said he’sconfident that his team’s competitive fireis still there.“Everyweek they’ve comeback – there’sabit of pouting, a little frustration, just likeanybodywould be goingwhatwe’ve beenthrough – but there hasn’t been any atti-tudes or give-up,” Johnson said. “Theycomeback onSunday andhave good atti-tudesabout correctionson film.Theyhavegood work habits on the field. That’s allyou can ask of them. I think they’ve beenprepared every week.“Would you change anything in a gameplan?Yeah, you’d change something everytime you come homewhether youwin by30 or lose by 30. As far as what we’ve beendoing and executing it and all that, it’sbeen good. I thought we showed somesigns that other night that we’re growingup.”
Golden Eagles take another shot at elusive first win
MARSHALL ATSOUTHERN MISS
APEllis Johnson is 0-6 in his first season ashead coach at Southern Miss.
SOUTHERN MISSsouthernmiss.com
S1 at Nebraska L, 49-20S8 Open dateS15 East Carolina L, 24-14S22 at Western Ky. L, 42-17S29 Louisville L, 21-17O6 Boise State L, 40-14O13 at UCF, 2OT L, 38-31O20 Marshall, 6 p.m.O27 at Rice, noonN3 UAB, 6:30 p.m.N10 at SMUN17 UTEP, 7 p.m.N24 at Memphis, 3:30 p.m.
MARSHALLHerdZone.com
S1 at West Virginia L, 69-34S8 Western Carolina W, 52-24S15 Ohio L, 27-24S22 at Rice, 2OT W, 54-51S29 at Purdue L, 51-41O6 Tulsa L, 45-38O13 Open dateO20 at Southern Miss, 6 p.m.O27 UCF, 7 p.m.N3 Memphis, 1 p.m.N10 at UAB, 3:30 p.m.N17 Houston, 11 a.m.N23 at East Carolina, 1 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME AT A GLANCEWhere: Roberts Stadium (36,000), HattiesburgKickoff: 6 p.m. TV: CBS Sports NetworkRecords: Southern Miss 0-6 (0-2), Marshall 2-4 (1-1)Series: Southern Miss leads 5-2. Last year:Marshall, 26-20.Coaches – Southern Miss: Ellis Johnson, 17-34 overall (fifth sea-son), 0-6 at Southern Miss;Marshall: Doc Holliday, 14-17 atMarshall (third season).
Statistical leaders – Southern Miss: RB Desmond Johnson 70-410-1; QB Anthony Alford 30 of 38m 373 yards, 0 TDs, 3 INTs;WR Dominique Sullivan 12-173-1,WR Tracy Lampley 9-144-0;LB Jamie Collins 48 tackles (31 solo), 10.0 TFLs, 5.0 sacks, 3pass breakups.Marshall: RB Steward Butler 61-321-2, RBKevin Grooms 53-312-4; QB Rakeen Cato 218-312, 2,311yards, 18 TDs, 6 INTs; WR Tommy Shuler 58-562-1; DominickLegrande 69 tackles, 38 solo, 3.0 TFL, 1 INT.
Trends: Southern Miss has posted 18 consecutive winning sea-sons – a streak that would be assured of ending with a losstonight. ... Four of the seven games in this series have been de-cided by a touchdown or less.
Notes: Southern Miss will wear 1970 throwback uniforms tonight.... The Golden Eagles are 56-19 in homecoming games, with 10wins in the last 11 years. ... Marshall is second nationally inpassing (396.0) and third in total offense 558.3. ... SouthernMiss is averaging 4.7 yards per play, while its opponents are av-eraging 5.9 yards per play.
Summing it up: “Where we are is where we’ve been the wholetime.We’re working with quarterbacks that had never taken acollege snap before this year. There are some growing pains.Has there been some improvement? I think there has.” – EllisJohnson, Southern Miss head coach, on working this seasonwith a group of inexperienced quarterbacks.
Prediction: Marshall, 34-27.JohnL. Pitts Do
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State colleges: At a glance
ALCORN STATE (3-4)S1 Grambling W, 22-21S8 at James Madison L, 42-3S15 Ark.-Pine Bluff* L, 24-6S22 at Arkansas State L, 56-0S29 Alabama State* (HC) L, 54-14O6 Southern* W, 20-17O13 at Alabama A&M* W, 21-20O20 at Prairie View A&M* 1 p.m.N3 at MVSU* 1 p.m.N10 Texas Southern* 2 p.m.N17 Jackson State* 1 p.m.
*–SWAC game
BELHAVEN (3-4)S1 at Cumberlands (Ky.) L, 21-10S8 Louisiana College L, 24-13S15 at Cumberland (Tenn.)* L, 36-30S22 Campbellsville* W, 70-28S29 at Virginia-Wise W, 52-14O6 Kentucky Christian L, 13-10O13 Bluefield* (HC) W, 66-10O20 at Lindsey Wilson* 1:30O27 at Faulkner* 1:30N3 Pikeville 1:30N10 Bethel* 5 p.m.
*-Mid-South Conference game
DELTA STATE (3-3)S1 Fort Valley State L, 31-23S8 at Elizabeth City State W, 26-7S22 North Alabama* L, 20-12S27 Abilene Christian L, 34-28O6 at Tarleton State W, 35-35O13 West Georgia* W, 33-24O20 at Valdosta State* 2 p.m.O27 West Alabama* (HC) 4 p.m.N3 at Univ. of Indianapolis 5 p.m.N10 at Shorter* 12:30
*-Gulf South Conference game
JACKSON STATE (3-4)S1 at Mississippi State L, 56-9S8 Tenn. State L, 38-12S15 at Texas Southern* W, 45-35S22 Southern* L, 28-21S29 Prairie View A&M* W, 34-13O6 at Arkansas-Pine Bluff* L, 34-24O13 at Alabama State* W, 37-34O20 MVSU* (HC) 3 p.m.N3 at Grambling State* 4 p.m.N10 Alabama A&M* TBAN17 at Alcorn State* 1 p.m.
*–SWAC game
MILLSAPS (5-1)A30 Mississippi College W, 23-17S8 at LaGrange W, 54-7S15 at Point W, 54-28S29 at Centre* W, 33-16O6 Huntingdon L, 45-24O13 Sewanee* W, 42-28O20 at Rhodes* 1 p.m.O27 at Trinity (Texas) 1:30N3 Austin 1 p.m.N10 Birmingham Southern* 1 p.m.
*-Southern Athletic Association game
MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE (1-5)A30 at Millsaps L, 23-17S8 Webber International W, 31-24S15 at West Alabama L, 41-3S29 at Hardin-Simmons* L, 31-0O6 Sul Ross State* L, 75-42O13 at Howard Payne* L, 27-14O20 at Texas Lutheran* 1 p.m.O27 East Texas Baptist* 3 p.m.N3 Louisiana College* 1 p.m.N10 at Mary Hardin-Baylor* 1 p.m.
*-American S’west Conference game
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE (2-4)S1 Concordia College L, 20-19S8 at Alabama State* L, 29-7S15 at Southern* W, 6-0S22 at Northwestern State L, 45-14O6 Alabama A&M* (HC) L, 35-0O13 Grambling State* W, 45-21O20 at Jackson State* 3 p.m.O27 at Ark.-Pine Bluff* TBAN3 Alcorn State* 1 p.m.N10 Prairie View A&M* 1 p.m.N17 at Texas Southern* TBA
*–SWAC game
ALCORN STATELeague: SWAC (NCAA FCS)Record: 3-4 (3-2 SWAC)Last week: Beat Alabama &M 21-20Today: at Prairie View A&M (1-5, 1-3)The buzz: The Braves have won two
SWAC games in a row for the first timesince 2010. They haven’t won three in arow since 2006.
BELHAVENLeague: Mid-South (NAIA)Record: 3-4 (2-1 MSC)Last week: Beat Bluefield 66-10Today: at Lindsey Wilson (2-5, 0-2)The buzz: The Blazers registered a
season-high 555 yards total offenseagainst Bluefield, including a school-record 385 yards rushing. The team isaveraging 221 rushing yards per game.
DELTA STATELeague: Gulf South (NCAA Division II)Record: 3-3 (1-1 GSC)Last week: Beat West Georgia 33-24Today: at Valdosta State (5-2, 2-1)The buzz: Junior Trevor Wooden
leads the GSC in total offense (26/7ypg). He’s accounted for 15 touchdowns(8 passing, 7 rushing). ... Delta Stateleads its series with Valdosta 18-12-1,with a six-game winning streak.
JACKSON STATELeague: SWAC (NCAA FCS)Record: 3-4 (3-2 SWAC)Last week: Beat Alabama State 37-34Today: Home vs. MVSU (2-4, 2-2)The buzz: The Tigers had three
SWAC players of the week – QB ClaytonMoore (newcomer; 400 yards total of-fense, 5 TDs), DB Qua Cox (7 tackles,INT) and PK Ryan Deising (game-win-ning 30-yard FG).
MILLSAPSLeague: Southern Ath. (NCAA D-III)Record: 5-1 (2-0 SAA)Last week: Beat Sewanee 42-28
Today: at Rhodes (4-2, 0-1)The buzz: Sophomore Mike
Barthelemy was named SAA OffensivePlayer pf the Week after rushing 14times for 122 yards and two TDsagainst Sewanee. He leads the leaguewith a 92.2 ypg average.
MISSISSIPPI COLLEGELeague: American Southwest Con-
ference (NCAA D-III)Record: 1-5 (0-3 ASC)Last week: Lost 27-14 to Howard PayneToday: at Texas Lutheran (3-3, 1-2)The buzz: The Choctaws have lost
four games in a row and are also 0-4 in
road games this season. The team islast in ASC total offense (282.6) andnext-to-last in total defense (462.0).
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATELeague: SWAC (NCAA FCS)Record: 2-4 (2-2 SWAC)Last week: Beat Grambling 45-21Today: at Jackson State (3-4, 3-2)The buzz: Saturday’s win ended a
13-game losing streak in the series. ...WR Julian Stafford was named theSWAC Offensive Player of the Weekafter catching 7 passes for 162 yardsand two TDs and returning a kickoff 88yards for another score.
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DAILY JOURNAL GAMEDAY: WEEK 8 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2012 | 11F
TODAY’S NATIONAL SCHEDULEEAST
New Hampshire (5-2) at Maine (2-4), 11 a.m.Rutgers (6-0) at Temple (3-2), 11 a.m.Sacred Heart (2-4) at Duquesne (4-2), 11 a.m.CCSU (1-5) at Robert Morris (1-5), 11 a.m.Wagner (3-3) at St. Francis, Pa. (3-4), 11 a.m.Bowling Green (4-3) at UMass (0-6), 11 a.m.Penn (2-3) at Yale (1-4), 11 a.m.Cornell (3-2) at Brown (3-2), 11:30 a.m.Bucknell (1-5) at Lehigh (7-0), 11:30 a.m.Georgetown (3-4) at Colgate (3-3), noonHoly Cross (1-5) at Lafayette (4-2), noonBryant (1-6) at Monmouth, N.J. (3-3), noonHarvard (5-0) at Princeton (3-2), noonDartmouth (3-2) at Columbia (1-4), 12:30 p.m.Pittsburgh (2-4) at Buffalo (1-5), 2:30 p.m.Rhode Island (0-6) at Delaware (4-2), 2:30 p.m.Indiana (2-4) at Navy (3-3), 2:30 p.m.Gardner-Webb (1-5) at Stony Brook (6-1), 3 p.m.Old Dominion (5-1) at Towson (3-3), 6 p.m.Kansas St. (6-0) at West Virginia (5-1), 6 p.m.
SOUTHTennessee St. (7-0) at Jacksonville St. (3-3), 11 a.m.Virginia Tech (4-3) at Clemson (5-1), 11 a.m.Auburn (1-5) at Vanderbilt (2-4), 11:21 a.m.Wake Forest (3-3) at Virginia (2-5), 11:30 a.m.Morgan St. (3-3) at Howard (4-2), noonSan Diego (3-3) at Jacksonville (6-1), noonFIU (1-6) at Troy (3-3), noonPresbyterian (2-5) at Charleston South. (2-4), 12:30 p.m.N.C. A&T (3-3) at Delaware St. (3-3), 12:30 p.m.Georgia Southern (5-1) at Furman (2-5), 12:30 p.m.Coastal Carolina (2-4) at VMI (2-4), 12:30 p.m.Edward Waters (1-3) at Savannah St. (0-6), 1 p.m.Western Carolina (1-6) at Elon (2-4), 2 p.m.Boston College (1-5) at Georgia Tech (2-4), 2 p.m.Va. Lynchburg (1-5) at Grambling St. (0-6), 2 p.m.Wofford (5-1) at Appalachian St. (5-2), 2:30 p.m.South Carolina (6-1) at Florida (6-0), 2:30 p.m.Villanova (5-2) at Georgia St. (1-6), 2:30 p.m.Concord (4-3) at Liberty (2-4), 2:30 p.m.South Florida (2-4) at Louisville (6-0), 2:30 p.m.N.C. State (4-2) at Maryland (4-2), 2:30 p.m.James Madison (5-1) at Richmond (4-3), 2:30 p.m.FAU (1-5) at South Alabama (1-5), 2:30 p.m.Norfolk St. (2-5) at Bethune-Cookman (4-2), 3 p.m.MVSU (2-4) at Jackson St. (3-4), 3 p.m.Louisiana-Monroe (4-2) at Western Kentucky (5-1), 3 p.m.Davidson (0-6) at Campbell (1-5), 5 p.m.Samford (4-2) at Chattanooga (3-3), 5 p.m.S.C. State (2-5) at Florida A&M (3-4), 5 p.m.North Carolina (5-2) at Duke (5-2), 6 p.m.
Georgia (5-1) at Kentucky (1-6), 6 p.m.Idaho (1-6) at Louisiana Tech (5-1), 6 p.m.
Middle Tennessee (4-2) at Mississippi St. (6-0), 6 p.m.Marshall (2-4) at Southern Miss (0-6), 6 p.m.Ark.-Pine Bluff (4-2) at Southern U. (3-3), 6 p.m.Alabama (6-0) at Tennessee (3-3), 6 p.m.East Carolina (4-3) at UAB (1-5), 6 p.m.UCF (4-2) at Memphis (1-5), 7 p.m.Florida St. (6-1) at Miami (4-3), 7 p.m.E. Kentucky (5-2) at Tennessee Tech (2-4), 7 p.m.
MIDWESTNorthern Illinois (6-1) at Akron (1-6), 11 a.m.Purdue (3-3) at Ohio St. (7-0), 11 a.m.Minnesota (4-2) at Wisconsin (5-2), 11 a.m.Valparaiso (0-6) at Dayton (3-4), noonArmy (1-5) at Eastern Michigan (0-6), noonMarist (2-4) at Drake (5-2), 1 p.m.Missouri St. (1-6) at Illinois St. (6-1), 1 p.m.UT-Martin (5-2) at SE Missouri (2-4), 1 p.m.Ball St. (4-3) at Central Michigan (2-4), 2:30 p.m.Western Michigan (3-4) at Kent St. (5-1), 2:30 p.m.Michigan St. (4-3) at Michigan (4-2), 2:30 p.m.Nebraska (4-2) at Northwestern (6-1), 2:30 p.m.BYU (4-3) at Notre Dame (6-0), 2:30 p.m.Montana (3-4) at North Dakota (3-4), 2:40 p.m.Southern Illinois (4-3) at Youngstown St. (4-2), 3 p.m.South Dakota St. (5-1) at N. Iowa (1-5), 4 p.m.Morehead St. (1-5) at Butler (5-2), 5 p.m.North Dakota St. (5-1) at South Dakota (1-5), 6 p.m.Cincinnati (5-0) at Toledo (6-1), 6 p.m.Indiana St. (5-2) at Western Illinois (3-3), 6 p.m.Penn St. (4-2) at Iowa (4-2), 7 p.m.
SOUTHWESTIowa St. (4-2) at Oklahoma St. (3-2), 11 a.m.LSU (6-1) at Texas A&M (5-1), 11 a.m.San Jose St. (4-2) at UTSA (5-1), 1 p.m.Alcorn St. (3-4) at Prairie View (1-5), 2 p.m.Nicholls St. (1-4) at Stephen F. Austin (2-4), 2 p.m.Texas Tech (5-1) at TCU (5-1), 2:30 p.m.Rice (2-5) at Tulsa (6-1), 2:30 p.m.Lamar (3-4) at Central Arkansas (5-2), 6 p.m.Kansas (1-5) at Oklahoma (4-1), 6 p.m.McNeese St. (4-2) at Sam Houston St. (4-2), 7 p.m.Baylor (3-2) at Texas (4-2), 7 p.m.Tulane (1-5) at UTEP (1-6), 7 p.m.
FAR WESTStanford (4-2) at California (3-4), 2 p.m.Weber St. (0-7) at Southern Utah (3-4), 2 p.m.New Mexico St. (1-5) at Utah St. (5-2), 2 p.m.UNLV (1-6) at Boise St. (5-1), 2:30 p.m.Idaho St. (1-5) at Northern Colorado (1-5), 2:35 p.m.Colorado (1-5) at Southern Cal (5-1), 5 p.m.New Mexico (4-3) at Air Force (3-3), 6 p.m.Sacramento St. (5-2) at E.Washington (5-1), 6:05 p.m.UC Davis (3-4) at N. Arizona (5-1), 6:05 p.m.Portland St. (2-4) at Cal Poly (6-0), 8:05 p.m.Washington (3-3) at Arizona (3-3), 9 p.m.Wyoming (1-5) at Fresno St. (4-3), 9:30 p.m.Utah (2-4) at Oregon St. (5-0), 9:30 p.m.San Diego St. (4-3) at Nevada (6-1), 9:35 p.m.
Times converted to Central
BY RALPH D. RUSSOASSOCIATED PRESS
No. 20Texas A&Mhas become afascinating team.The Aggies are thrilled to be in
the SoutheasternConference, but theirapproach is still verymuch Big 12.
WhenTexas A&Mhosts No. 6LSU and theTigers’ nasty defensetoday, the Aggies will get a chanceto prove what somany Big 12 fanshave thought all along: Those big,bad SEC defenses wouldn’t lookquite so tough if they had to facehigh-powered Big 12 offenses everyweek.SEC fans scoff at this, insist de-fense wins championships, andpoint to the six straight national ti-tles the conference has won asproof.As withmany arguments, there istruth on both sides. But the debateseems to bemore heated than everbecause there is such a clear styledifference between the top teamsin the SEC (Alabama, LSU, Floridaand South Carolina) and those inthe Big 12 (especiallyWestVirginia,Oklahoma, Oklahoma State andTexasTech).Texas A&M can score a victory ofsorts for the conference it left be-hind over the next fewweeks.The Aggies lead the SEC and aretied for sixth in the nation in totaloffense at 543 yards per game, be-hind fabulous redshirt freshmanquarterback JohnnyManziel (akaJohnny Football). They average 47points, run a fast-paced spread of-fense and are everything thatmakes fans (and coaches) of amore traditional approach to foot-ball cringe.
The Aggies lost 20-17 to open theseason against No. 3 Florida,coached by former defensive coor-dinatorWill Muschamp. Chalk oneup for old-school football.Since then they’ve scored 88points combined in victoriesagainst Arkansas andOleMiss, twoteams that prove not everybody inthe SEC plays big-time defense.You can be certain that those onthe defensive side of the ball willpush for some rules changes in thenext few years to slow things downa bit. And you can be just as surethat the guys on the offense sidewill push back.Whether it goes anywhere, whoknows?After LSU, A&Mplays threestraight road games againstAuburn, No. 15Mississippi StateandNo. 1 Alabama.
RUSSO’S PICKSNo. 1 Alabama 42, Tennessee 17No. 9 South Carolina 20, No. 3 Florida 17No. 17West Virginia 45, No. 4 K-State 35No. 5 Notre Dame 24, BYU 13No. 6 LSU 38, No. 20 Texas A&M 24No. 7 Ohio State 45, Purdue 21No. 8 Oregon State 30, Utah 21No. 10 Oklahoma 52, Kansas 14No. 11 Southern Cal 52, Colorado 10No. 12 Florida State 38, Miami 17No. 13 Georgia 45, Kentucky 14No. 14 Clemson 35, Virginia Tech 31No. 15 Miss. State 38, Middle Tenn. 17No. 16 Louisville 28, South Florida 17TCU 35, No. 18 Texas Tech 28No. 19 Rutgers 17, Temple 13Toledo 33, No. 21 Cincinnati 28No. 22 Stanford 28, California 20No. 23 Michigan 27, Michigan State 14No. 24 Boise State 35, UNLV 14
Last week: 15-3Season record: 116-23
Duke, led by formerOleMiss coachDavidCutcliffe,hasn’t played in a bowlsince 1994.TheBlueDevils could get bowl-eligible tonight,but have lost eight in a rowin this series and 21 of the last 22.
There’s more college football coverage at our website, including a linkto our new college football page: collegefootball.ap.org/djournal
TOP 25PREVIEW
High-octane Texas A&Mchallenges LSU
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