Entry
St. Petersburg Bowl Preview
By bryanflynnIt’s the day after Christmas. All the gifts have been opened, and family is being family. What better time to find an empty room and watch football? Lucky for us all, the St. Petersburg Bowl kicks off at 10 a.m., Monday, Dec. 26, on ESPN.
This bowl game features two teams that got into the bowl picture late in very different ways. Both teams should be more than happy to be going to a bowl game, which should lead to highly motivated opponents.
Mississippi State University entered the 2016 season needing to replace the greatest player in program history, quarterback Dak Prescott, who now plays for the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL. MSU struggled with close losses against the University of South Alabama, Louisiana State University, Brigham Young University and the University of Kentucky, all by 13 points.
Thanks to a high APR score and a blowout win over the University of Mississippi in the Egg Bowl, the Bulldogs are playing a bowl game with a 5-7 record. It is a chance for a young team to get extra practice and build for the 2017 season.
Ohio’s Miami University, on the other hand, made NCAA history on its way to a bowl game. The RedHawks started the season 0-6, and any hope of a bowl game seemed like a distant wish.
Then, sophomore quarterback Gus Ragland returned from an offseason ACL tear and put the team on his back, carrying the RedHawks over the next six games. Miami won six straight games to finish the season 6-6 and earn bowl eligibility.
No team in the history of college football has started the season 0-6 and finished at 6-6. It was one of the most remarkable turnarounds this season and sent the RedHawks to a bowl for the first time since 2010.
MSU is making its school-record seventh consecutive bowl game. That record looked in danger before the Egg Bowl win, so there is some momentum for both teams.
The Bulldogs feature a stout rushing attack that averages 233 yards per game and is 24th in nation. Miami features the 33rd ranked rush defense, which only allows 140 yards per game.
This game will feature strength against strength, as the RedHawks’ rush defense tries to corral MSU’s rushing. Miami will focus on stopping Bulldogs quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, who rushed for 1,243 yards with 14 touchdowns, and running back Aeris Williams, who rushed for 656 yards and four touchdowns.
The RedHawks have one of the weakest rushing attacks in college football, averaging just 134 yards for 109th in the nation. MSU features a middle-of-the-road run defense that is 69th in the country and gives up 178 yards per game.
Stopping Miami for the Bulldogs begins and ends with Ragland, who has passed for 1,274 yards with 15 touchdowns and zero interceptions in six games. He is the man who makes the RedHawks’ …
Story
Best of Jackson
Best of Jackson 2017: Doctors & Lawyers
We all need doctors, dentists and sometimes a lawyer, so a couple of years ago, the Jackson Free Press added a special pop-up for Best of Jackson: Best Doctors and …
Story
Organic On A Budget
One of my mother's favorite family dinners is "Shake and Bake" chicken, made with a store-bought box of flavored bread crumbs used to coat the chicken pieces. Mom always serves …
Story
City Moves Forward with Redistricting Contract
After a polarized discussion about the city's ward-redistricting hire, Jackson City Council Rules Committee Chairman Quentin Whitwell decided Thursday to move forward with the Council's December decision to hire D.L. …
Story
Reality Check: State of the State
Gov. Haley Barbour laid out his agenda and policies, in many ways for the first time, when he gave his State of the State address on Jan. 26. Of course, …
Story
St. Louis Daily Endorses Obama ... with Style
Perhaps egged on by the hate week that John McCain and Sarah Palin just put the country through, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch decided not to wait to publish its endorsement …
Story
Politics
OPINION: Mississippi Community Leaders Support Removal of the Mississippi State Flag
"In Mississippi, the state flag is the most visible symbol of white supremacy. For many black Mississippians, the flag is traumatizing because it is a constant reminder of oppression."
Story
Education
The State View: News from MSU
"As we launch our 2020 Summer Semester, I want to update everyone in the MSU family on our ongoing planning processes for the 2020 Fall Semester."
Story
Business
Pregnancy Discrimination Case Reaches Supreme Court
Today the U.S. Supreme Court will hold oral arguments in yet another blockbuster case at the intersection of sex discrimination, workplace law and reproductive justice.
Story
Education
Public-Ed Foes Swooping In to Block Ed Funding
The war is on against public-education funding with large political advocacy groups and GOP donors' dollars pouring into anti-Initiative 42 Political Initiative Committees (PICs).
Story
Economy
Everything We Know About What's Happened Under Sequestration
When the annual White House Easter Egg Hunt faced cancellation this year due to the package of mandatory budget cuts known as sequestration, the National Park Service kicked into high …
Story
Creating a 'Brand of Passion' for Voting
New York Times reports: "WHILE partisan political ads continue to dominate attention, a rapidly growing number of nonpartisan campaigns from recently created groups are trying the tactics of Madison Avenue …
Story
Sports
Wednesday's Starting Five
Golden Eagles hold off Bulldogs. Tougaloo is on the big stage tonight. MSU's Justin Varnado is a center of attention. Majors climbing.
Story
Instant replay, Sept. 16
Unless you're a USM, Valley or MC fan, Saturday was a disaster. Here's your report:
Southern Miss 37, N.C. State 17: Eagles, wearing ugly-ass all-black unis, dog Wolfpack
Story
National
Seven of the Most Striking Ways States Have Loosened Gun Laws
States have often relaxed their gun laws, making it easier for individuals to obtain guns, extending the places where concealed guns are permitted, or giving gun owners more robust protections.
Story
National
Obama Administration Helped Kill Transparency Push on Military Aid
The U.S. spent roughly $25 billion last year on what's loosely known as security assistance, a term that can cover everything from training Afghan security forces to sending Egypt F-16 …
Story
NFL Instant Replay: Fred, Brett and Eli
Panthers 31, Saints 21: The Saints put false pride aside and let their reserves do most of the work. Hey, it was great to see Fast Freddie McAfee score. But …
Story
Entertainment for Good Causes Tops Weekend Events
http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/v3/images/uploads/Nicole_Marquez_2.jpg
Story
BP Funded Microbe Study
Last week, major news outlets ran with headlines about how scientist have found a new microbe eating up BP's oil and how microbes have degraded the hydrocarbons so efficiently that …
Story
Spring Arts Preview: Dance
"Cinderella" presented by the Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet March 1 at 7 p.m. and March 2 at 2 p.m. On March 1, a Cinderella Ball will follow the performance at the …
