A Long Time Coming

Courtesy MSU

Mississippi State will soon play Southern Miss for the first time since 1990.
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by Doctor S
September 30, 2009

Mississippi State and Southern Miss announced last week that they will play a two-game, home-and-home series in football starting in 2014. It's about bloody time.

Game one of the series will be in Starkville Aug. 30, 2014. Game 2 is scheduled for Sept. 5, 2015, in Hattiesburg.

MSU and USM haven't met on the football field since 1990. USM leads the series 14-12-1, including two forfeits by the Bulldogs in the 1970s. The teams met every season from 1964-1990 except for 1971 and 1974.

From 1981-1988, the Bulldogs and Eagles played at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, usually before packed houses. The 1981 game drew a crowd of 55,000 plus, then a record for a Mississippi sporting event. Those were the glory days for Big Three college football in the capital city.

Meanwhile, Ole Miss is unlikely to play USM any time soon. The schools haven't met on the field since 1984. Why has Ole Miss, which leads the series 18-6, avoided the Golden Eagles? The fact that USM won three of the last four meetings has something to do with it.

MSU, Ole Miss and their fans have given many excuses over the years about why Mississippi's two SEC schools shouldn't play USM. They include: "The Bulldogs and Rebels have nothing to gain," "Playing gives USM a recruiting advantage," and "The SEC is so tough, why should we play a tough non-conference opponent?"

UM and State are members of the Southeastern Conference, a BCS league. Southern Miss is a member of Conference USA, a non-BCS conference. What's the difference? Simple: BCS teams are college football's haves. Non-BCS teams are have-nots.

MSU recognizes that it has something to gain playing USM: dollars. An MSU-USM game will generate off-season buzz and pack the stadiums. Playing Louisiana Tech won't. And a meeting of in-state rivals will interest television.

As for recruiting, there are few instances where USM has signed a player that State and Ole Miss really recruited. USM seldom signs the so-called "blue chip" recruits. So what? USM alums Brett Favre, Michael Boley and Adalius Thomas are the latest in a long line of ex-Eagles who are doing OK in pro football. None of them got offers from SEC schools. So I don't think USM gains a recruiting advantage.

Unlike Ole Miss, State's non-conference schedule isn't loaded with lightweights. MSU will host Georgia Tech and Houston, both Top 25 teams, in the next two weeks. Sure, State will be an underdog in both of those games. Ole Miss gets nothing out of its two games with I-AA teams except some tickets sold and two glorified scrimmages.

Ole Miss and State have often played C-USA and other non-BCS teams over the years, both home and away. So don't tell me the Rebels or Bulldogs are somehow lowering themselves if they play the Golden Eagles.

"We view Mississippi State as a leader in this state in everything we do," MSU athletic director Greg Byrne told The Associated Press. "These two games will be exciting for both USM and Mississippi State. We reached out to Jackson State this season and it was a tremendous experience for both schools, and we anticipate the games with Southern Mississippi to generate similar enthusiasm."

The MSU-USM series will be good for both schools and good for Mississippi.


What We Learned
South Carolina 16, Ole Miss 10: The Rebels' SEC West hopes aren't dead. But Ole Miss isn't going to beat anybody who's good unless their offensive line starts blocking.

LSU 30, Mississippi State 26: The Bulldogs came within inches of pulling a monumental upset. Close doesn't count in college football, though. Bulldog fans can take solace in the fact that MSU was competitive against LSU for a change.

Kansas 35, Southern Miss 28: The Golden Eagles hung tough, but see the paragraph above for how much being close means. The question now is whether Damion Fletcher and DeAndre Brown will be sidelined by injuries and for how long?

Millsaps 24, Trinity 6: The Majors won one for their coach, Mike Dubose, whose wife underwent surgery for breast cancer last week.

Belhaven 21, Bethel 13: A healthy quarterback Alex Williams makes all the difference for the Blazers.

Mississippi College 39, Hardin-Simmons 34: The Choctaws finally beat one of the ASC's big two. The Doctor told you that being at home would make a difference.

New Orleans 27, Buffalo 7: The Saints win with defense and the running game. How refreshing.


This Week's Winners
If your team's name isn't on this list, you won't be celebrating: Southern Miss, Delta State, Millsaps, Belhaven, Mississippi Valley State, Mississippi College and Ole Miss.

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