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. …

The College Football Playoff matchups are set, and there is little argument that the four best teams made it in the playoffs. The University of Alabama, Clemson University, Ohio State University and the University of Washington are the four teams playing for the championship.

There really aren’t any teams that can complain about being left out of the playoffs. If someone wanted to, he or she could make a small argument for Pennsylvania State University, the University of Michigan and the University of Oklahoma.

Personally, I have always favored an eight-team playoff. That means all the teams above would be in, and the University of Wisconsin or the University of Southern California would be the eighth team.

In most years, an eight-team playoff would include all the conference champions from the Power Five conferences and three at-large teams. It took years just to get to a playoff, and adding teams will take time.

Two schools from our state got bowl bids. Another blog post will break down these two games before the teams play them.

The University of Southern Mississippi received an invite to the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and will face the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. Mississippi State University, thanks to a high APR score, ended up in the St. Petersburg Bowl against Miami University from Ohio.

USM earned the six wins for a bowl and will play on Dec. 17 in New Orleans. That is a short drive from Hattiesburg, so Southern Miss fans should help fill the Superdome up for this game.

MSU finished the regular season at 5-7 but is still in a bowl game. The Bulldogs will play the day after Christmas, Dec. 26, in sunny Florida. Miami went from 0-6, winning six straight games to make this bowl.

Besides the playoff games and teams from our state, other bowls have good matchups. Here are the games I plan on making time to checkout.

The University of Houston and San Diego State University clash in the Las Vegas Bowl, which Geico will present on Dec. 17. Two Group of Five teams are exciting to watch, but this game loses some luster, as the Cougars head coach has left to take the same job at the University of Texas.

Boise State University will try to take down another Power Five team in Baylor University during the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl on Dec. 27. The Broncos normally play some inspired football against teams from the major conferences, but Baylor floundered down the stretch this year.

On Dec. 28 in the Russell Athletic Bowl, two former Big East teams, the University of West Virginia and the University of Miami in Florida, will battle. Now the Hurricanes are in the ACC, and the Mountaineers are in the Big 12.

Former Big 12 member Texas A&M University faces current Big 12 member Kansas State University. The Aggies are now in the SEC and need to …

Gov. Phil Bryant created a task force today to address drug abuse in the state, specifically for the abuse of opioids and heroin.

Opioid abuse is up nationally and has been for the past two decades. Opioids include prescription pain killers, some nervous system depressants and some stimulant drugs, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Gov. Bryant's proclamation claims that Mississippi is one of the leading prescribers for opioids. The governor will appoint voluntary members to the task force, but the proclamation does not specify a date when the task force will meet or for how long.

The Centers for Disease Controls tracks overdose related deaths, and from 2013 to 2014, the state saw a slight increase, from 316 deaths in 2013 to 366 in 2014. That number is not specific to opioid-related overdoses, however.

Some people might argue the SWAC championship game took place last week when Grambling State University crushed Southern University 52-30 to win the west division. Both teams entered the contest undefeated in conference play, and the winner earned a spot in the title game Saturday, Dec. 3.

Grambling State ran roughshod over the SWAC this season, winning by an average of 38 points in conference games. The Tigers steamroll of the conference included two shutouts, and they only gave up 21 or more points twice.

Alcorn State University won its final two games of the season against Mississippi Valley State University and Jackson State University to win the east division. The Braves now have three consecutive east titles and are looking to become the first team since Grambling State from 1999-2001 to win three SWAC championships in a row.

In last year’s title game, Alcorn State beat up Grambling State, winning 49-21. ASU set championship records for points (49), rushing yards (411) and total offense (613). The Braves are the only team with multiple championship-game appearances without a loss.

Grambling State is playing in its ninth championship game and owns an 8-2 record in its previous trips. The Tigers are 5-0 against SWAC teams from Alabama but just 1-2 against SWAC teams from Mississippi.

When Alcorn State traveled to Grambling State during the regular season, the Tigers routed the Braves 43-18. GSU rolled up 534 yards total offense with 400 yards coming through the air.

Former University of Mississippi quarterback DeVante Kincade leads GSU on offense. He threw for five touchdowns against the Braves in that regular-season meeting.

Interestingly, both teams scored a safety in that game. Alcorn State held an 8-7 lead in the first quarter before Grambling State recorded a safety in the second quarter and never gave up the lead again.

The championship game will feature a battle between two of the top offenses in the SWAC. Grambling State is first in total offense (507.6 yards per game), scoring offense (44 points per game) and passing offense (300.3 yards per game). The Tigers are also fourth in rushing offense with 207.3 yards per game.

Alcorn State is fourth in scoring offense (31.3 points per game), third in total offense (417.9 yards per game), second in rushing offense (217.8 yards per game) and seventh in passing offense (200.1 yards per game).

It is on defense where Grambling State separates itself from the rest of the conference. The Tigers top in the conference in total defense (allowing 323.6 yards per game), scoring defense (allowing 16.4 points per game) and rushing defense (allowing 120.9 yards per game. GSU is also second in passing defense, giving up just 202.7 yards per game.

ASU is third in total defense (allowing 391.7 yards per game), sixth in scoring defense (allowing 29.2 points per game), third in …

The Department of Justice announced a series of reforms for federal prisons today. Reforms include building a school district within the system and improving the halfway houses that serve as re-entry homes for inmates in the system.

The DOJ also announced plans to improve programs for women in prison and provide inmates that are released with ID cards, free of charge. The reforms are a part of the department's intense focus on lowering recidivism rates across the country and rehabilitating former inmates. Earlier this year, the DOJ announced that they would phase out all contracts they had with private prisons due to the lowering number of inmates in the country as well as not finding real advantage in cost savings or enhanced services with private facilities.

There are two federal prisons in Mississippi: one in Yazoo City, and one in Natchez. The facility in Yazoo City is privately operated and run by the Corrections Corporation of America, or CCA, whose stocks soared after Donald Trump won the projected electoral college votes on Nov. 8.

President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general could change some of these reforms, and Democrats fear what Sessions' prosecutorial reputation and Trump's promises for "law and order" on the campaign trail could mean for reforms made in the past eight years.

If you're driving around Jackson today, consider tuning in to Mix 98.7 for a special "telethon" program they're doing for Batson Children's Hospital.

And, when you do, listen closely to the new voice you're hearing at that remote alongside Shannon Steele -- that's Brian Stauffer, my (Todd Stauffer's) brother.

Brian's got 20+ years experience in radio, but this is the first time he and I have been in the same town doing media work. I'm excited to have him here and for Jackson to get to know him.

Wish him luck!

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This week could end up being extremely fruitful for the New Orleans Saints. If there was ever a week to catch up in the NFC South and the playoff race, it is this week.

At 5-6, New Orleans sits two wins behind the 7-4 Atlanta Falcons, who lead the NFC South, and a game behind the 6-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Atlanta hosts the 8-3 Kansas Chiefs out of the AFC West, and Tampa Bay travels to face the San Diego Chargers, also out of the AFC West.

The Chiefs are solidly in the playoff picture and battling with the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos for the division title. San Diego is still alive in the AFC playoff picture but can’t afford to lose many more games.

If both the Falcons and the Buccaneers lose this weekend, New Orleans would move into a tie with Tampa Bay and end up just a game behind Atlanta. The Saints need to beat the Detroit Lions at home this Sunday, Dec. 4.

New Orleans must gain ground this week on Atlanta. The Falcons, after playing the Chiefs, face the 4-7 Los Angeles Rams, the 1-10 San Francisco 49ers, the 4-7 Carolina Panthers and the Saints to end the season.

Atlanta has a chance to win every game and the division, but if New Orleans can win out and get a little help from another team, the Saints could win the division. There is little room for error, but the Saints could be peaking right now.

New Orleans has played vastly better on defense over the past two months and is getting healthier by the day. The Saints’ offense has been its normal explosive self but needs to cut down on turnovers.

Catching Tampa Bay will be easier for New Orleans. The Buccaneers, after playing the Chargers, face the Saints, the 10-1 Dallas Cowboys, Saints (again) and Carolina.

If New Orleans can sweep the Buccaneers and get some help from, say, the Cowboys, then the Saints would easily pass Tampa Bay. The Saints would need help to get in the wildcard picture, with the New York Giants, the Washington Redskins, the Buccaneers and the Minnesota Vikings ahead of the team.

Dallas could really help New Orleans out with games against the Vikings, Giants, Redskins and Buccaneers, but New Orleans needs to keep winning, as well.

New Orleans just has to win its remaining six games, and the playoffs should be in reach. One loss might not hurt but more than one could end any postseason hopes.

The Saints will have something else to play for this weekend, too. Head coach Sean Payton is tied with Jim Mora for most wins in franchise history. Both coaches have 93 wins, and a victory over the Lions will mean that Payton has the most wins of any head coach in Saints history.

It would seem fitting to reach the …