Jackson Free Press

October is the time of year when college football begins to show who is contenders and who are pretenders. This Saturday the SEC West will begin to find out who are contenders and who are pretenders, in earnest.

Mississippi State and Mississippi will have the focus of most of the college football world. The Bulldogs and Rebels could be dark horses for the SEC West title and a spot in the new college football playoff.

Texas A&M and Alabama (who are this week's visitors) are already favorites for both the SEC title and the playoff. The Aggies and Crimson Tide will be expected to win by most but there is no reason not to believe in the Rebels or Bulldogs.

There has been a ton of speculation about both these games. Article after article has been written and I'm sure I haven't read them all by this point.

Let me say one thing. Football is simple.

Don't get caught up in all the long drawn out breakdowns of each position. Football games are rarely won by one single player.

Both these games are going to be won or lost by the team that can control the line of scrimmage on the offensive and defensive lines, who doesn't turn the ball over and gets turnovers and being sound in the kicking game. It is that simple.

IF the Bulldogs and Rebels can control the defensive line of the Aggies and Tide on offense to give Dak Prescott and Bo Wallace time to throw and the running backs a holes to run, offense won't be a problem.

IF Ole Miss and MSU can get penetration with their defensive line against the Texas A&M and Alabama offensive line, they can disrupt the running game and get pressure on quarterbacks Kenny Hill and Blake Simmons.

One more thing on defense, both the Rebels and Bulldogs must tackle well. There is no doubt that the Aggies and Tide are going to get yards and points but don't make things easy by missing tackles and giving them free easy yards.

As much busted coverage as I have seen already this season, Ole Miss and MSU better make sure they know what coverage they are in each play. I have seen the Aggies and Tide score a few easy touchdowns this season by blown coverage.

This is nothing revolutionary. It is just sound football. Block and tackle. Cover receivers.

Mississippi State and Ole Miss have the offensive and defensive lines to control the line of scrimmage. Anyone who watched the LSU game can't deny that MSU can be the more physical team. I have no doubts the Rebels can do the same.

No turnover is really ever good but some are worse than others.

Here are what the Bulldogs and Rebels need to avoid, turnover wise. Don't turn the ball over for guaranteed points (with Alabama's field goal kicking problems, that means from the …

In just three weeks, the dreams of 253 college football stars will come true. They'll will be lucky enough to hear their name called during the 2016 NFL Draft.

The NFL released the names of the 25 prospects that will be in attendance at Roosevelt University’s Auditorium Theatre in Chicago for the draft April 28-30. Ohio State University ties the 2012 University of Alabama record for the college with the most invites, but plenty of prospects from our state will be there, as well.

Highlighting the list is University of Mississippi offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, who is projected to go in the top few picks. Tunsil could be the No. 1 overall pick if the Tennessee Titans don’t choose cornerback Jalen Ramsey out of Florida State University.

Tunsil has all the skill you want in a left tackle to protect your quarterback for the next decade in the league. He won’t last long, and,I believe he will be gone in the first five picks of the draft.

Rebels fans might not have to wait long to hear the next UM player off the board. Wide receiver Laquon Treadwell is expected to be off the board quickly. He might be picked as high as sixth by the Baltimore Ravens, but he shouldn’t last any longer than the 15th pick of the Los Angeles Rams.

Treadwell is considered to be one of the two top receiver picks. If he isn’t the first receiver off the board, it will more than likely be Will Fuller out of the University of Notre Dame.

While much has been made about his lack of speed, the fact that he doesn’t have sprinter speed didn’t stop Treadwell from coming back from a broken leg, which he suffered last year, to be one of the most productive receivers in the nation. He has a big body; he knows how to use it to shield defenders, and he has strong hands. He competes for the ball, and when it is in the air, he goes and gets it.

The final Rebel to get an invite is defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche. A ton of speculation surrounds Nkemdiche as he heads into the draft.

There are questions about off the field issues, disappearing at times during games, his conditioning and so forth. What is not in question, though, is when he plays at his peak, he is a top five pick.

Will a team take him on his potential over his production or will his red flags force him to slide down the draft board? It seems highly unlikely that Nkemdiche will slide out of the first round, but stranger things have happened in the draft.

One lone Bulldog out of Mississippi State University will be in attendance for the draft. Defensive tackle Chris Jones will represent MSU, and where he could land is a mystery.

Seven other defensive line prospects were invited to the draft besides Jones such as …

“Monday Night Raw” and “SmackDown Live” held their “go-home shows,” the last shows before a pay-per-view event, earlier this week, so the card for WrestleMania is set. That is, if the WWE doesn’t decided to add another match during WrestleMania 33.

Neither go-home show made me feel any better about this WrestleMania. Both shows were solid, but they didn’t leave me with an uncontrollable desire to see what happens this Sunday, April 2.

I lost count of how many times a wrestler mentioned in his or her promo that WrestleMania is “the ultimate thrill ride” the tagline for this event. The announcers saying the tagline, as well, seems to just be overkill in promoting the show. How many more times will they say that catchphrase on Sunday? It is just too much at this point.

Still, there is plenty of potential for this to be a good WrestleMania, depending on what the company sees itself doing after this show.

WrestleMania 33 has 13 matches on the card, with three matches on the kickoff show and the other 10 matches on pay-per-view or the WWE Network. The kickoff show will also air at 5 p.m. on the USA Network.

If it was my show—and it's not my show—I would start the kickoff show with the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Personally, I would have this match on the main show, but since it is in the kickoff, I would have it go first.

Alexa Bliss, the current champion, will face five other women from the “SmackDown” roster for the title. The winner will be whoever gets the pinfall or submission, and the event could start fast and furious with each woman executing her finisher in the build up to the ending.

There is no reason for Bliss to lose unless the WWE wants to see Naomi win in her hometown of Orlando, where WrestleMania 33 is taking place. Bliss should keep the title to help build a feud with one of the other five women down the line.

Neville, the current cruiserweight champion, will take on Austin Aries for the cruiserweight title on the kickoff show. The WWE can’t go wrong here unless neither man puts on a great match. Both are solid performers, and either as champ works well.

The finish of the cruiserweight match could end up being tied to the winner of the women’s match. A title change should happen on the free show, so if Naomi wins the title, then Neville retains, and if Bliss retains, expect for A-Double to win.

Finishing up the kickoff show is the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Thirty wrestlers will start in the ring, and an opponent must throw them over the top rope to eliminate them. There is only one possible winner of this match, and that is Braun Strowman.

The “monster among men” should be allowed to just run through the field. He could eliminate half the ring by himself, …