Jackson Free Press

Before this weekend’s games kickoff, let’s have some fun with numbers. What are the most important numbers in all of sports? The score.

You can’t have a winner or a loser without the score, and every game counts in college football, so the score means nearly everything. Let’s look at the numbers of the big four teams in this state before their games this weekend.

Mississippi State University plays Louisiana State University at 6 p.m. on ESPN2. The Bulldogs might want work on playing a full 60 minutes. In its two games, MSU has scored 41 points and has given up zero points in the first half. After the break, the Bulldogs have scored just six points and have given up 28.

MSU has the fast-start part down, but playing for four full quarters has eluded this team. Against LSU, the Bulldogs need to start fast and finish strong if they are going to pull off the upset.

The University of Mississippi faces the University of Alabama in what might be the most anticipated game in the SEC. The Rebels are looking to win three straight games against the Crimson Tide. Watch this clash at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.

In eight quarters of football, the Rebels have failed to score in only one. They also have the quick-start down by outscoring their opponents 52 to 16. But they did struggle in the second half against Florida State University in their first game of the season.

Against the Crimson Tide, UM will have a second chance to have a strong second half against a highly ranked foe. Just like MSU against LSU, the Rebels’ play in the second half will be worth watching.

Jackson State University is still looking for the first win of the Tony Hughes era. JSU will try to get that win against SWAC rival Grambling State University. Watch the game at 6 p.m. on ESPN3, and ESPNU will replay it at 9:30 p.m..

While the Rebels and Bulldogs have been great at the fast start, the Tigers need some work on their first half performance. JSU has been outscored 61 to 33 in the first half of the team's first two games. The second half hasn’t been much kinder to JSU. The Tigers have been outscored 42 to six after the break. Overall, JSU has been outscored 103 to 39 this season.

JSU is one of three SWAC teams that is still looking for their first win of the season. Mississippi Valley State University and Southern University are also looking theirs.

The Tigers are only averaging 19.5 points per game and are allowing an average of 51.5 points per game. Starting SWAC play is a great time for JSU to reverse those numbers.

No team in the country might be on more of a roll than the University of Southern Mississippi. The Golden Eagles will try to keep a couple of streaks alive against …

When the New Orleans Saints needed quarterback Drew Brees the most to make a playoff run, the future Hall of Fame quarterback let them down. He has thrown six interceptions and zero touchdowns in his last two games.

The Saints are still mathematically alive for the playoff, but it seems highly unlikely that they get to the postseason. New Orleans will need all kinds of help, Brees must play better, but it seems more likely that the team will miss the playoffs for the third straight season.

On Dec. 4 at home against the Detroit Lions, Brees failed to throw for a touchdown in the 28-13 loss. He threw three interceptions and posted a 63.3 quarterback rating.

It was the first time in 60 home games that Brees failed to throw a touchdown pass. It was a surprising loss of power for one of the top offenses in the NFL, as Brees threw for 326 yards but could lead his team into the end zone just once during the game. That was a one-yard touchdown, which fullback John Kuhn ran.

Brees might have played his worst game as a Saint the next week, Dec. 11, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. For the second game in a row, Brees threw three interceptions and zero touchdowns.

It was the first time since the 2009 season in weeks three and four that Brees didn’t throw a touchdown in back-to-back games, but this is the first time in his career that he has thrown three interceptions in back-to-back games.

Brees posted a 48.5 passer rating and had his lowest output for passing yards this season by throwing for just 257 yards. He did pass 4,000 yards for the 11th straight season, which extends his NFL record for the most straight 4,000-passing-yard seasons.

Since getting back to .500 at 4-4, the Saints have lost four of their last five games. The one bright spot was a 49-21 blowout win over the lowly Los Angeles Rams.

Those same Rams just fired head coach Jeff Fisher on a week that they play Thursday Night Football, which means it wasn’t that much of a bright spot for the Saints overall.

In the four losses, Brees has thrown five touchdowns and nine interceptions. This season. he has thrown 14 touchdowns and three interceptions in wins and 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in losses.

Brees has a 56.2 passer rating in the two games played in December. When the weather gets colder, that is when NFL quarterbacks are supposed to be at their best, but that hasn’t been the case this season with Brees.

It would be wrong to say he was at fault for every interception thrown during the last two games, but he did throw some bad passes that ended up being picked off. Brees will be the first player to take the blame for mistakes the Saints offense made, …

Free agency is off and running in the NFL, and nearly every team is wheeling and dealing to sign or trade players. On Friday, March 10, the New Orleans Saints traded leading receiver Brandin Cooks to the New England Patriots.

The Saints got the Patriots’ 32nd pick of the first round and their 103rd pick in the third round. New England received Cooks and the Saint’s 118th pick in the fourth round to complete the trade.

New England is making moves to try to for a couple more runs at the Super Bowl while they still have Tom Brady. The future Hall of Fame quarterback will be 40 years old when the 2017 season begins.

Cooks gives Brady a reliable deep threat that the Patriots haven’t had in recent years. If tight end Rob Gronkowski is healthy next season and Cooks proves his worth, New England could become a matchup nightmare in the red zone.

It is easy, in the short term, to think New England is getting the better end of this trade. Cooks’ salary is $1.56 million this year, but with his fifth-year option in 2018, his salary will jump up to $8.5 million.

New Orleans has shown that it is able to get rid of offensive players and still have one of the top offenses in the in the NFL. The Jimmy Graham trade is one example of how the Saints have moved offensive players while future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees and head coach Sean Payton have kept the offense rolling.

The Saints now own two picks in the first round (11th and 32nd overall), one pick in the second round (42nd overall) and two picks in the third round (76th and 103rd overall) in the first two days of the draft. New Orleans picks 196th overall in the sixth round and 229th in the seventh round to complete its draft.

In today’s NFL, first-, second- and third-round picks are supposed to help a team immediately in various ways. The first- and second-round picks should produce starters at some point in the season, and the third-round picks should make contributions early.

The best-case scenario is New Orleans getting five starters in this draft, but getting three starters out of five picks would be outstanding.

This draft is deep in wide receivers, so finding a cheaper replacement for Cooks isn’t out of the question. New Orleans needs plenty of help on defense, and this draft is also deep with pass-rushing defensive linemen and defensive backs, both areas of need for the Saints.

New Orleans could end up the long-term winner of this deal, depending on how well they draft. New England might just get Cooks for one season, and if the season doesn’t end in a trip to the Super Bowl, it could be a letdown.

The Saints’ other moves in free agency included re-signing defensive tackle Nick Fairley with just $9 million in guaranteed …

Texas Southern University outlasted eight other teams, including Jackson State University and Alcorn State University, and won the 2017 SWAC Baseball Tournament. TSU is one of a handful of teams that have already earned a spot into the 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s Baseball Tournament.

Two other tournaments that feature teams from our state with spot in the NCAA tournament on the line begin this week. Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi will both try to win the 2017 SEC Tournament, and the University of Southern Mississippi will try to take the tournament title in the 2017 Conference USA Tournament.

Both the Bulldogs and Rebels will play on day one of the SEC tournament. The opening day is single elimination, with the teams that advance moving to a double-elimination format.

MSU enters the tournament as the No. 5 seed against No. 12 seed, the University of Georgia, at 8 p.m., Tuesday, May 23, on the SEC Network. Georgia shocked MSU when it won the three-game series between the two teams during the regular season.

If Mississippi State advances, No. 4 seed the University of Arkansas is awaiting the next day. The Razorbacks swept the Bulldogs in the regular-season series.

MSU comes stumbling into the tournament after losing five of their last seven games. This stumble cost the Bulldogs a chance at the SEC and West Division titles.

The Rebels open the tournament on day one at 4:30 p.m. against Auburn University. UM is the No. 9 seed, and the Tigers are the No. 8 seed.

These teams met in the final SEC series of the regular season. Auburn took two out of three games, but the Rebels won the final one of the series.

If UM advances, top seed University of Florida is up next for the team. The Gators swept the Rebels in the regular-season series the teams played earlier this month.

Southern Miss enters the top seed in the C-USA tournament and is on a 14-game winning streak. It is the longest winning streak in program history and the longest winning streak in the nation.

The C-USA Tournament, which is in Biloxi, Miss., at MGM Park, is a double-elimination tournament until the championship game. The top eight teams in the conference earned a spot.

The teams are split into two brackets with the winners of both brackets playing in title game.

USM opened the tournament at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24, against No. 8 seed University of Texas, San Antonio. The Golden Eagles swept UTSA in the final conference series of the regular season.

In the next round Southern Miss will face either the No. 4 seed, University of North Carolina, Charlotte or the No. 5 seed, Louisiana Tech University. USM didn’t face Charlotte in the regular season.

The Golden Eagles swept Louisiana Tech in …