Jackson Free Press

The Mississippi State women’s basketball team began the season ranked No. 10 in the nation in the Associated Press poll and No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches poll. Since the preseason rankings were released, MSU has steadily climbed in the poll with each win.

In week two of the season, the Bulldogs stayed at No. 10 in the AP poll but moved from No. 11 to No. 9 in the USA Today Coaches poll. MSU leaped to No. 7 in both polls after beating the University of Texas 79-68.

MSU outscored Texas 26-9 in the second quarter, taking control of a game where the first quarter ended with a 16-16 tie. The Bulldogs kept pace with the No. 8 ranked Longhorns for the rest of the game, but Texas outscored MSU in the second half.

That explosion in the second quarter allowed the Bulldogs to cruise to a win and up the polls. Week four of the polls saw the Bulldogs move up to No. 6 in the nation.

It looked like that ranking might take a major hit in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, which saw MSU traveled to the University of Iowa.

At halftime the sixth ranked Bulldogs were down 17 to the Hawkeyes at 43-26 and in danger of losing for the first time this season. In the second half, MSU slowly chipped away at Iowa’s lead and tightened up on defense.

The Hawkeyes were still up by 15 at the end of the third quarter even though MSU made a couple of runs in the quarter. MSU trailed by eight with three minutes left in the fourth quarter but wasn’t about let its perfect season end.

A three-pointer with 36 seconds left in the game allowed the Bulldogs to force overtime. MSU outscored Iowa 14-10 in overtime, completing the comeback victory.

MSU’s win snapped Iowa’s 96-game nonconference home winning streak and was the first time since 2012 that the Bulldogs won a game after trailing by 10 or more points at halftime. The overtime win propelled MSU to No. 5 in the country in the latest AP poll.

The Bulldogs made history by being ranked No. 5 in the nation. It’s the highest ranking the team ever achieved in program history and marks the 41st week that MSU is featured in the rankings.

The Bulldogs have three players that are averaging double-digits: Junior guard Victoria Vivians leads the way with a 14.6 points per game average; junior guard Morgan William is second with a 11.9 points per game; and junior guard Roshunda Johnson is third at 10.4 points per game.

After the comeback victory over Iowa, MSU moved to 8-0 on the season and rose up in the polls. In front of the Bulldogs are women’s basketball powerhouses, University of Connecticut at No. 1, University of Notre Dame at No. 2, Baylor University at No. …

This season isn’t what fans, players or coaches had hoped for the University of Mississippi football team. It has been a rough campaign for this team since it kicked off the season against Florida State University.

The Rebels have blown leads in the second half against FSU and the University of Alabama. The team suffered a three-game losing streak to the University of Arkansas, Louisiana State University and Auburn University.

Just as things couldn’t get worse for the Rebels, the team suffered a pyrrhic victory against Georgia Southern University. In the 37-27 comeback, UM quarterback Chad Kelly tore his ACL and lateral meniscus.

The injury will sideline the senior for the rest of this season and will have short- and long-term ramifications for the parties involved.

In the short term, the Rebels need two more wins in the last three games to become bowl eligible. Now, it seems like that mission just got even harder to accomplish.

This weekend, UM travels to Texas A&M University. The Aggies might be without their starting quarterback, as well, because Trevor Knight injured his shoulder in a loss to Mississippi State University.

Texas A&M is a better team when Knight is on the field, but his backup, Jake Hubenak, went 11 for 17 for 222 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in relief. On the other hand, UM backup Jason Pellerin went one for five, passing for 19 yards with an interception, and rushed for 29 yards on four carries.

Hubenak gets to play his first start—if he has to start—at home, and Pellerin will make the start in a hostile road environment. UM does have the option of taking the redshirt off highly touted quarterback recruit Shea Patterson.

At this point in the season, no change at quarterback is a great option. Still, the Rebels will have to make a decision quickly.

After Texas A&M, UM hits the road again to face a tough Vanderbilt University. The Commodores are in need of two wins to become bowl eligible, as well.

Of course the Rebels regular season ends at home against MSU. Both teams need two wins to get to six wins, and this game could be a winner-goes-bowling game.

In the short term, UM will struggle without Kelly but should be fine down the road with Patterson at quarterback. Getting to a bowl this season will help whoever starts at quarterback for the rest of the season with the extra practice time for the postseason game.

Long term, this injury might hurt Kelly’s draft status. The injury he suffered normally requires four to seven months of recovery time.

That means Kelly will miss any bowl game and any postseason All-Star games such as the Senior Bowl, the NFL Combine and the Rebels Pro Day. Kelly doesn’t get any more chances on film to impress scouts with his abilities.

CBSSports.com …