Jackson Free Press

New Orleans got their first win of the season against San Diego right before heading into their bye week. A week off set off a new round of bounty gate but that doesn't matter because all the players appealed their suspensions and will be allowed to play this week and keep playing until their appeal hearing has taken place.

College football hasn't been bad to Mississippi for the most part this season. There is hope everywhere, unless you're a USM fan, and you can check out last week's games in the JFP print edition or [follow this link][1]. The big winner last week was Mississippi State. The Bulldogs took care of everything in front of them to setup a showdown this week against Alabama.

Currently there are 11 undefeated teams in college football. Louisville stayed undefeated after escaping at home against Cincinnati on Friday night with their 34-31 win. Only 10 of the undefeated teams have any hope of playing in a BCS game. Ohio State is undefeated but ineligible for a bowl game this season because of NCAA sanctions.

This is worth repeating after Tampa Bay proved me wrong on Thursday and beat the Minnesota Vikings. Parity is in full effect in the NFL this season.... There is going to be a team that started slowly and makes the NFL Playoffs. My personal pick is the New Orleans Saints and that pick looks even better if the Saints win against the Broncos on Sunday night.

New Orleans gets a chance to get one game away from .500 tonight on Sunday Night Football against Denver. The Saints need to win this game to keep their slim playoff chances alive and the Broncos (contrary to how the national media portrays them) are a beatable team. Last week the Saints got their second win of the season in a 35-28 victory against Tampa Bay. New Orleans started slowly before quarterback Drew Brees went off in the second quarter against the Buccaneers defense.

Sure it is November but that doesn't mean I won't dole out some late treats to you guys a day after Halloween. Before you settle in to see the Loser Gets Fired Bowl tonight night between the San Diego Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs, I have two great stats I found this week for you.

Last week was a tough week for the college football teams in Mississippi. Nearly every team lost but Ole Miss and Belhaven. It was the type of week you just want to forget about but if you missed any of last week's action you can pick up the current issue of the JFP and read the round up or [follow this link][1]. Things don't get any easier this week for college football teams in Mississippi. Southern Miss is still searching for win one, Mississippi State faces a tough test in Texas A&M and Ole Miss will look to avoid a blowout against Georgia.

The quest for six wins for 70 teams continues this week. Currently there are 42 teams that are bowl eligible and five of those teams are undefeated and still in play for the national championship. Ohio State is also undefeated but unable to play for the title due to NCAA sanctions. Speaking of teams not able to play in a bowl game, there are 25 teams unable to play in a bowl game currently due to seven losses, NCAA sanctions or moving from FCS to FBS transition.

Monday night football, tonight, will end the debate of who has been more underachieving in the NFC this season. New Orleans (2-5) faces Philadelphia (3-4) in a game many would have thought before the season was a playoff preview. That was before the Saints stumbled out of the gate losing their first four games and the Eagles lost four of their last five games. Now both of these teams come into this game knowing that loss could damage their their playoff hopes beyond repair.

When [Jackson State][1] (7-4)meets Arkansas-Pine Bluff (9-2) in the SWAC Football Championship Game this Saturday the Tigers will be looking for their first conference title since 2007 and to add to their 16th conference titles. Only [Southern][2] with 17 titles and [Grambling State][3] with 23 titles have more SWAC titles than JSU.

I've seen a lot of comments of Facebook, Twitter and other social media or in just every day conversation of should Ole Miss fans root for Mississippi State in the College World Series?

One thing is for sure, the rest of the SEC is rooting for MSU to win a national championship. You will hear a loud and proud "SEC" chant breakout today if the Bulldogs beat Oregon State when the two teams meet today at 2 pm on ESPN.

SEC fans have pulled for the SEC team in the national championship game for football while the conference has won seven straight titles. SEC fans have rooted for Florida and Kentucky when they were playing for a national title in basketball.

South Carolina, LSU and Georgia have gotten love when playing for the title in previous College World Series. It stands to reason that the other 12 members not named Ole Miss will be rooting for the Bulldogs.

Which brings me back to my original question. Should Ole Miss fans root for Mississippi State?

I believe the Rebels fans out there should swallow their hatred of their arch-rival for just a bit. Ole Miss fans should root for Mississippi State to win the College World Series or at least until the Bulldogs get eliminated (knock on wood that they don't).

I will take it a step farther. As a state we should get behind this baseball team.

For the next few days, there shouldn't be Golden Eagles. There shouldn't be Tigers.

There shouldn't be Braves, or Delta Devils. No Statesmen/Fighting Okra, Choctaws, Majors Blazers, or anything mascot.

We should all be Bulldogs. If just for awhile.

When Millsaps was in the Division III College World Series, this year, we all should have been Majors. When Delta State was playing for a Division II national championship in football, in 2010, we all should have been Statesmen or at least Fighting Okra.

We all should have been Tigers last fall when Jackson State was playing in the SWAC Championship Game.

Anytime we have a school that can accomplish something special, we should put our allegiances aside for awhile and support one of our state schools.

I always support our schools when they are playing for something special. I rooted for all the schools mentioned above and Ole Miss this year in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

It is a personal decision but I feel it is o.k. to let go of rooting for my school (if I had a school) when the school I root (theoretically) can't accomplish the same goal. I rooted for both MSU and Ole Miss in their bowl games last season.

I root for our schools to do well because it also spotlights our state for something positive. Even if you don't agree with college athletics, these young men are putting the best face forward for our state.

We should all be Bulldogs. We should all be Maroon and White.

When working on this week's Super Bowl preview and prediction, I came across more information than I could fit in a single article for the paper. So, I figured with the big game just a couple of days away, why not share some of the rest of the information I found that I couldn't use in print.

Between the print article and the paper, you should be able to have plenty of stats and information to spread around at any Super Bowl Party you are attending. If you missed the print article here is the link.

Also, if you missed my rant this week, here is a link to it as well.

If anyone is hoping for the weather to warm up on Super Bowl Sunday, it is Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. In the playoffs when the temperature is under 40 degrees, Manning is 0-3 (to be fair as well all three of those games were on the road).

The coldest non-domed Super Bowl was at Super Bowl VI when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins 24-3. The game was played in New Orleans at Tulane Stadium and the high was 43 and the low was 24.

Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks quarterback, has only played in one game under 40 degrees. That was week 15 of this season against the New York Giants, in what will be stadium the game will be played in this Sunday. The Seahawks won that game 23-0.

Manning and Wilson will set a Super Bowl record when the game kicks off. The two quarterbacks will set the record for biggest age difference between two quarterbacks. There is a 12 year and 250 days difference in age between the two starting single callers.

At 25, Wilson would join both Joe Montana and Joe Namath also won the big game at the age of 25. The Seahawks quarterback also has the most wins at 27 (including playoffs) for a second year quarterback starting the Super Bowl.

Manning has the Super Bowl experience, which is good but Wilson has some recent Super Bowl numbers on his side. Quarterbacks with previous Super Bowl experience have been in 19 Super Bowls and those quarterbacks have a 10-9 record.

Wilson has the recent history on his side. The quarterbacks with experience haven't fared so well as the quarterbacks without experience have won the last three straight (Eli Manning over Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers over Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees over Manning).

Both these teams meet in the preseason this year. That is important if anyone tells you the preseason meeting doesn't matter.

This will be the seventh time, since 1994, teams who faced off in the preseason play in the Super Bowl. The team that won the meaningless game went on to win five of the six previous Super Bowls.

In the preseason Seattle beat Denver 40-10.

These two teams have meet 52 times in regular …

The New Orleans Saints defeated the St Louis Rams 26-24 in the preseason opener for both teams. While the win is great if you are a Saints fan, in the preseason the final score doesn't really matter much.

What does matter is how individual players look in game action. As New Orleans looks to build this year's team, questions must be answered, jobs must be won and future stars need to shine.

Here are my quick thoughts:

Ingram shines in first half

Mark Ingram looked like he was entering a contract year. The running back out of Alabama looked lighter, had more speed, quicker feet, made defenders miss and finished off runs.

Ingram had 30 yards on his first three carries of the night and he finished the night with 83 yards on 8 carries and a touchdown. His night was done before halftime but he looked impressive and picked up where he left off late last season.

New Orleans didn't pick up Ingram's fifth year option. The reason Saints declined to pick up the option because they would owe Ingram $5.2 million (way too much to pay for a running back in today's NFL) and Ingram hasn't played like a first round pick due to injuries and being inconsistent.

Tonight Ingram looked like he wanted to be the lead man in a crowed backfield. Another running back Khiry Robinson also had a good night with 23 yards on five carries.

New Orleans has plenty of talent at running back. Ingram is not just playing for this season but for next season as well when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Backup quarterback battle

Drew Brees didn't play tonight while he recovers from a strained oblique. Brees will be fine as long as he gets some work before the season begins.

The injury does give the Saints a chance to figure out their backup quarterback situation. Veteran Luke McCown is battling second year player Ryan Griffin for the right to sit behind Brees.

Tonight, McCown got the start, he didn't look terrible as he got to play with the starters but he wasn't super impressive either. His final line of the night was seven for ten for 49 yards with no touchdowns.

McCown did have an ugly interception that killed the Saints first drive. New Orleans had been moving the ball very well on the St Louis starting defense.

Griffin replaced McCown and went 11 for 16 for 103 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions at the half. In the second half, Griffin went five for seven for 76 yards and a touchdown (Saints first touchdown of the preseason).

I have been hearing how the Saints were impressed with Griffin. Tonight he looked impressive with a strong arm, the ability to avoid the rush, nice pocket awareness and some quick feet.

If Brees doesn't play or plays sparingly in the next preseason game, New Orleans should give Griffin some work …

The score never matters in the preseason but it is always good to get a win. It is even better to win on a night where the Saints were sloppy on offense and defense.

New Orleans was once again without Drew Brees. That doesn't matter unless he doesn't play in the third or fourth preseason game. Sure, Brees doesn't need a ton of preseason work but some action with a live defense being thrown at him is a good thing.

The Saints get to head to Indianapolis knowing they are 2-0 after their 31-24 win over the Tennessee Titans. That should be a good dress rehearsal game against the Colts who were in the playoffs last season.

Here are my quick thoughts on tonight's game.

Both offense and defense was sloppy

New Orleans started the game sloppy and it ended the game sloppy. The team piled up penalty yardage like they were trying to break a record.

Jimmy Graham had two 15 yard penalties himself after he dunked after his two touchdown grabs. Hopefully Graham was getting the dunking out of his system before the season starts. Sean Payton won't be happy if he does that in a game in the regular season.

After the first quarter the Saints had five penalties for 44 yards. They broke the hundred yard mark before halftime and ended up with 14 penalties 109 yards after the first 30 minutes.

The Saints had eight penalties for 68 yards over the third and fourth quarter. Overall, the Saints had 22 penalties for 177 yards. That doesn't even count all the penalties that were declined.

New Orleans must clean up this sloppy before the season starts. The Saints were lucky and good to win tonight with this type of penalty yards.

Saints defense forces five turnovers

I can count five reasons why the Saints did win tonight. That is five turnovers the defense forced tonight.

New Orleans almost had a turnover on the Titans first drive but it was overruled by replay. The Saints would allow Tennessee to score thanks to penalties and poor defense.

On a play were Cam Jordan missed a sack, a New Orleans defensive back missed an interception. That was two turnovers among a few others the Saints could have had on the night.

In the second quarter, New Orleans got a forced fumble from Kenny Vaccaro and Cam Jordan would get a strip sack to cause a fumble. When the Saints didn't get turnovers in the quarter the Titans got a touchdown and a field goal.

In the second half, New Orleans got a interception that ended up as fumble by Stanley Jean-Baptiste on a wild play. The Titans receiver bobbled the ball and popped it into the air right into the waiting hands of Jean-Baptiste.

Vinnie Sunseri got into the act with a interception in the fourth quarter. The final turnover came in the fourth quarter …

The Saints stayed perfect on the preseason with a 23-17 win over the Colts. New Orleans dominated the first half as Drew Brees saw action for the first time in the preseason.

Indianapolis couldn't get much going on offense and the Saints defense played pretty well the whole game. The Colts played their starters into the third quarter but New Orleans had pulled most their starters by halftime.

As always, the score doesn't matter in the preseason, so here are my quick thoughts:

Brees looks rusty but good

Drew Brees only played one quarter and completed 9 of 15 passes for 128 yards with two touchdowns. Yes, Brees was impressive but he also had some under throws, he almost threw an interception and had a few throws he would like to have back.

Still even a rusty Brees is better than half the starting quarterbacks in the league. And that is way Brees will be wearing a gold jacket when his career has been over for five years.

Rushing attack

New Orleans had a strong rushing attack tonight. The team rushed for 125 yards at halftime but 35 of those yards came from three rushes by backup quarter Luke McCown and Brees add another 10 yards on one rush.

Mark Ingram, Khiry Robinson and Pierre Thomas combined to rush for 80 yards on 19 carries. The rushing attack allowed Brees to take advantage of play action passes. Thomas was also the leading receiver on the night with 66 yards on four catches.

The Saints finished with 160 yards rushing but the offense struggled in the second half. Not a bad night on the ground as it looks like New Orleans is going to commit to the run a little more this season.

Great defense

New Orleans played pretty tough defense most of the night. The Saints either forced a field goal or punt most of the night.

Indianapolis scored their first touchdown because of sloppy play by the Saints defenders by miss tackles and committing penalties to keep the Colts drive alive. New Orleans busted coverage to lead a wide open receiver to tie the game at 7-7.

After that score the Saints defense shut down the Colts until the early fourth quarter. Indianapolis used a big run and a big pass to score their second touchdown of the night.

New Orleans had two goal line stands. The Saints forced a field goal during one goal line stand and stuffed the Colts offense on four down on their other goal line stand.

The Saints even forced a turnover after third string quarterback Ryan Griffin threw an interception. Brian Dixon returned the favor back using tight coverage to get his own interception.

If I was giving the New Orleans defense a grade, I would have to say they were a B+ tonight overall.

Penalties, penalties and more penalties

It was another game filled with penalties for the …

On Thursday Night, the University of Mississippi will finally get to play in the Georgia Dome making Vanderbilt the only current SEC to have never played at the site. If you can't make it to Atlanta to watch the Rebels take on Boise State, there is a place you can go to watch with fellow University of Mississippi fans.

Below is a full press release of times, where to watch and other information:

Are You Ready for August 28th?

Jackson, Miss. (August 26, 2014) –The Ole Miss Rebels are ready to buck the broncos. They will be facing Boise State for their first game of the season on August 28th. While the Rebels will be gearing up at Atlanta's Georgia Dome, the Central Mississippi Ole Miss Rebel Club (CMOMRC) will be cheering them on in Jackson.

The CMOMRC will host a watch party for the game at 7 p.m. at Fondren Public. There will be door prizes and a Rebel of a good time. Anyone is welcome to come watch the game with their fellow Rebels and cheer on the football team.

“We are very excited to kick off another great football season. The CMOMRC is a great organization that celebrates all Rebel things,” said Bob Box, President of the Club. “We hope everyone will join us and come out to Fondren Public to cheer on our team.”

To learn more about your local Ole Miss Rebel Club, please visit OleMissAlumni.com/Clubs and Facebook.com/CentralMississippiOleMissAlumniClub. For more information on Fondren Public, visit their website at FondrenPublic.com.

Finally it is that time of year, the return of of college football. O.k. to be honest there was college football on Saturday when FCS teams Eastern Washington and Sam Houston State played and on Wednesday night Georgia State faced Abilene Christian.

Nearly the rest of the college football world begins play this Thursday through Monday. This weekend offers a plethora of intriguing games with some big matchups sprinkled in the mix as well.

Now that my daughter is sleeping through the night (fingers crossed), I hope I will have time to do weekly picks once more. The upside is having a daughter now, if my picks go badly I can let her make them.

Here are this week's picks (starting with Mississippi teams) with the winners in bold:

Mississippi versus Boise State (Thursday/7 pm/ESPN)

This game is going to be played in the Georgia Dome as Boise State makes the long distance trip. The Broncos are one of the last mid-majors not to have moved to a bigger conference. The Rebels get a national audience to announce to the rest of the country all those recruits have arrived.

Boise State finally lost head coach Chris Petersen and replaced him with Bryan Harsin former BSU quarterback and offensive coordinator. The Broncos have slipped a bit recently from the height of their mid-major power.

Mississippi is one of the trendy choices for dark horse in the SEC this season. The Rebels will have more talent on the field and should blow this game open in the second half.

Boise State will keep this game close but they don't have the talent to win as Mississippi is a better team.

Southern Miss at Mississippi State (Saturday/6:30 pm/SEC Network)

Southern Miss might be on the right track under Todd Monken and on road back to where neither state SEC wanted to play them. Mississippi State has slowly built an impressive squad under Dan Mullen.

The Bulldogs have more talent but expect the Golden Eagles to put up a fight for a half. Brighter days are ahead for Southern Miss but not this Saturday. Bulldogs will roll.

Florida A&M at Jackson State (Saturday/6 pm)

These two teams haven't met in a decade. Florida A&M is coming off a losing season and Jackson State is breaking in a new head coach and quarterback.

This game will be close but the Tigers are at home. The Rattlers are going to be a tough out but I trust in JSU.

Virginia University at Lynchburg at Alcorn State (Saturday/4 pm)

Alcorn State wins. In fact, the Braves win big...very big.

University of Faith at Mississippi Valley State (Saturday/4 pm)

The Delta Devils start the Rick Comegy era off with a big win.

Belhaven at Texas College

Just a gut feeling, I'm picking the Blazers.

The rest

Texas A&M at South Carolina (Thursday/5 pm/SEC Network)

The Gamecocks are replacing the number one pick in …

In sports sometimes, it not how you start but how you finish. For the University of Mississippi it was an ugly start but a beautiful finish in the Rebels 35-13 win to open the 2014 season.

It was an ugly first half for Mississippi quarterback Bo Wallace against Boise State. Wallace struggled in the opening two quarters as he threw three interceptions.

The first half wasn't much better for Boise State quarterback Grant Hendrick. The Broncos quarterback also threw three interceptions in the opening half and four interceptions for the game.

Wallace wasn't the only Rebel who struggled on the big stage. UM had several offensive penalties, with most coming in the form of false starts. Linebacker Serderius Bryant didn't have a good night either after he was ejected for targeting midway through the first quarter.

The stars of the first half for the Rebels were the defense and punter Will Gleeson. All night long the UM defense was able to bring relentless pressure on Hendrick each time he dropped backed, tackled soundly and covered pretty well all game long.

After three straight punts by both teams, the interception fest began on the second possession for the Rebels. Wallace threw his first pick on the very first play of the drive. It looked like Boise State would take that turnover in for a touchdown but Hendrick managed to turn things aroung by throwing his first pick on the ensuing drive, with Senquez Golson making the interception in the end zone.

The Rebels would then go on a nine-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Wallace throwing a 36-yard touchdown to a wide-open Cody Core. Boise State's busted coverage on the scoring play gave the Rebels a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Hendrick would throw an interception on BSU's next drive and Wallace would return the favor on the Rebels' next drive. The Broncos would end up kicking a field goal after the Wallace pick to cut the Rebels lead to 7-3 in the second quarter.

Both teams would spend the rest of the half either punting or throwing interceptions. Mississippi would head into the locker room with a 7-3 lead at halftime.

The third quarter wasn't very good for either team offensively as the Rebels and Broncos struggled to get anything going. Boise State managed a field goal late in the third quarter to cut the UM lead to 7-6 heading into the fourth.

With the game on the line, Wallace finally came alive in the final 15 minutes. Wallace found LaQuon Treadwell for a 14-yard touchdown as the Rebels marched 75 yards down the field in 10 plays.

The Treadwell touchdown would give UM a 14-6 lead. Hendrick threw his fourth and final interception on the next Broncos possession.

Wallace would only need two plays to make the Broncos pay, as he found Quincy Adeboyejo for the 36-yard strike to give the Rebels a 21-6 lead and break the game …

Heck of a way to start the season for me. Overall I finished the week 16-3 and correctly picked every game involving a Mississippi team.

I blew the Texas A&M and South Carolina game big time. Who knew Kenny Hill would play his first game as the starter like he has been the starter for the last three years.

I also tripped up on the Rutgers against Washington State game. The Scarlet Knights went across country with a late kickoff and escaped with a win for the Big Ten over the Pac-12 Cougars.

Finally, I missed Louisville beating Miami. I thought the Hurricanes would be better this season but they folded as the game went along.

This week every Mississippi team begins play after Milsaps, Mississippi College and Delta State were off last week. Nationally, the schedule has some tasty games but a lot of the top 25 are playing cupcakes.

Here is the list of the top ten of AP Top 25 are playing this weekend: The Citadel, Florida Atlantic, Michigan State, Tulsa, San Jose State, Oregon, Virginia Tech, Lamar and Northwestern State. Georgia is off this week and Michigan State and Oregon play each other and Ohio State faces Virginia Tech.

Even with all the cupcake games there are still plenty of games to waste your Saturday watching. Here are my week two picks starting with the Mississippi games, as with last week, winners are in bold.

Delta State at Fort Valley State (Saturday/1 pm)

This is the first game for both teams this season. The Statesmen make the trip to Georgia to face the Wildcats. I think Delta State will be good this season and this will be a good first test. I'm going with the Statesmen because a gut feeling.

UAB at Mississippi State (Saturday/1 pm/FSS)

The Blazers rolled over Troy last Saturday and everyone knows the Bulldogs demolished Southern Miss. Mississippi State will be 2-0 after this game but I expect UAB to put up a fight.

Mississippi at Vanderbilt (Saturday/3:30 pm/ESPN)

On paper before the beginning of the season, this looked like a good matchup. That was before Vanderbilt got blasted by Temple at home. If Rebels quarterback Bo Wallace can keep from giving the other team the ball, this game should be a blowout win for Mississippi.

Mary Hardin-Baylor at Milsaps (Saturday/6 pm)

The Majors kickoff their season against one of the better teams in Division III. If Milsaps wins this game I think they will run the table. I really think the Majors are going to run the table.

Alcorn State at Southern Miss

The Braves wasted no time dispatching Lynchburg last week. The Golden Eagles played tough against MSU for a quarter.

This game is must win for USM or they are going 0-12 this season. The Braves won't roll over for anyone and will put up a fight. Southern Miss is in a dogfight for …

Preseason is finally over. Starting tonight, when the Seattle Seahawks take the field as defending Super Bowl Champions against the Green Bay Packers, the games in the NFL count for real.

The first four weeks of the NFL season are always hardest to pick. History tells us some team will go from worst to first (it has happened the last 11 years) and at least four (since the playoffs expanded in 1990 there has been four teams at least who didn't reach the playoffs two years in a row) of the playoff teams from the season before will likely not make it back to the postseason.

Another thing that makes picking NFL games so hard the first month of the season is that everything you base picks off is from 2013. No professional league in America changes year to year like the NFL and past performance doesn't dictate future wins.

Most of the time the preseason doesn't help much because teams aren't trying to win preseason games. They are evaluating talent and normally don't game plan or run much more than base defense and offense.

This is truly a throw everything against the wall and see what sticks philosophy. If I pick half these 16 games correctly I will be happy. If I get 12 right I will be ecstatic and if I get all 16 then I know I'm set up for a huge fall for the rest of the season.

So without anymore rambling, here are my week one NFL picks (winner in bold):

Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks

Throw last year's game when the Baltimore Ravens lost their opener as defending champs to the Denver Broncos. The Ravens had to go on the road (the Orioles wouldn't budge on their home game) and the 2012 game that was played on a Wednesday.

Seattle has one of the best home field advantages in the NFL and one of most complete teams as well. The Seahawks crowd will be hyped and loud and that will cause problems for the Packers. Green Bay was injury plagued last season but still found away to get into the playoffs.

Aaron Rodgers is healthy and I expect the Green Bay defense will keep this game close. Seattle pulls out the win with a dominate fourth quarter.

New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons

This is one of the NFL's best rivalry games. It might not have the national appeal as other games but it does feature two fan bases that don't like each other.

Atlanta went from Super Bowl contender to dumpster fire because of injuries last season and Matt Ryan wasn't himself at all. You think this would be a bounce back season for the Falcons but I'm not so sure.

New Orleans has looked the part of Super Bowl contender this preseason. The defense looks deep and the offense always looks dangerous. As long as Drew Brees is healthy there isn't …