Jackson Free Press

Charles Barbour

In response to the Supreme Court's ruling today on same-sex marriage, the National Association of Evangelicals sent a statement to media, that begins:

God designed marriage for humanity. As first described in Genesis and later affirmed by Jesus, marriage is a God-ordained, covenant relationship between a man and a woman. This lifelong, sexually exclusive relationship brings children into the world and thus sustains the stewardship of the earth. Biblical marriage —­­ marked by faithfulness, sacrificial love and joy — displays the relationship between God and his people. [1] While commentators, politicians and judges may revise their understanding of marriage in response to shifting societal trends, followers of Jesus should embrace his clear vision of marriage found in Matthew 19:4-6...

The most interesting thing about the NAE's statement is that it gives Jesus' answer to a question (Matthew 19:4-6) while omitting the question itself (Matthew 19:3). The passage in question has to do with divorce, not with same-sex marriage. Here's the NIV translation of the full exchange:

(19:3) Some Pharisees came to him to test [Jesus]. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”

(19:4-6) “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’[a] and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’[b]? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

While the NAE takes this statement to prohibit homosexuality (a topic Jesus never addresses), the National Association of Evangelicals does not take it to completely prohibit divorce. There are compelling pastoral reasons why it would be a bad idea to interpret it in that way.

The possibility that there may be similarly compelling pastoral reasons not to read the passage out of context as a condemnation of homosexuality does not seem to occur to our friends in the NAE at this time.

That said, it is worth mentioning that support for same-sex marriage among white evangelical Protestants has nearly doubled—from 14% to 27%—in the past ten years.

If this trend continues, the NAE is likely to follow Jesus' example and stop condemning homosexuality sometime around 2025.

The city's new water billing system, part of the controversial $91 million Siemens contract, is scheduled to go live at the end of August.

According to a city press release: "Residents will soon experience updates to their water billing as part of comprehensive upgrades the City of Jackson has initiated with Siemens through its water infrastructure improvement project. The Customer Care and Billing System (CC&B) implementation will provide the City with a modern software platform and enhanced management tools that will greatly improve the customer experience."

The new system should increase "efficiency of meter reading and water billing, eventual elimination of the need for estimated bills, and a reduced need for personnel to enter property" and "will also be able to track usage patterns, allowing the city to potentially detect leaks on a property through abnormal usage patterns. Implementation of the new system will occur in two phases."

Three key changes become effective Monday, August 31:

· Water bills will be sent MONTHLY (instead of every other month) for more timely information and more efficient budget management. Payments will be due on a monthly basis and bills paid through an automatic bank draft will be drafted every month.

· Customers will have a NEW ACCOUNT NUMBER that will need to be used for payment to be processed.

· The new bill format will be EASIER TO READ and provide more detailed account information. During the initial installation period for the CC&B, the City may need to estimate bills every other month as it verifies the system upgrade. The estimated bills will be based on an average of actual consumption from prior billing periods, and will be identified on the bill with the abbreviation (EST) immediately after the reading. Once implementation is complete, bills will begin moving to the monthly cycle and eventually will be based on actual meter reads/consumption each month.

The city continued: "Phase Two of the CC&B implementation is expected in late 2015, and will involve rolling out the system’s full capabilities so customers can experience the complete benefits of the system. This includes the ability to view water usage online, online payment options, and the ability to consolidate irrigation and residential water bills. Customers will be notified when these features are activated."

For more information on the CC&B implementation and the water infrastructure improvement project, please visit: www.jacksonms.gov/water. Customers with specific concerns about their bill should contact the City’s Water and Sewer Business Administration Office at 601-960-2000.

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves seems less concerned with creating a budget this year than he is with making sure Initiative 42 does not pass in November. During the Legislative Budget Office hearings on Monday and Tuesday, while most department heads were able to fend off taking sides, they were forced to answer obviously leading questions, primarily orchestrated by Reeves.

When the Department of Education presented their budget on Monday, they asked for the full funding of MAEP and funding for several additional programs including: the third grade reading gate, the MSIS system, state special schools and early education pilot programs.

Reeves asked state Superintendent of Education, Dr. Carey Wright several questions about the effectiveness of the additional programs in a way that indirectly asked about MAEP.

After questions from representatives and senators, Reeves asked several of his own. A small portion of the back-and-forth is below:

Reeves: How long have you been in Mississippi now? Has it been two years?

Wright: November the 11 will be two years.

Reeves: So you’ve had an opportunity to be in lots of school districts and a lot of schools across our state, my question is do you think Mississippi has an efficient system of public schools?

Wright: (Pause) Can you define efficient?

Reeves: Let me ask you a follow-up, can you define efficient?

Wright: Thinking about it from a superintendent’s hat, if I was a district superintendent, efficient to me would be am I utilizing funds the way they should be utilized, do I have an appropriate number of people at the school and central office level and am I efficient in my time and my management, and how I am executing my plans...

The verbal sparring continued, but few questions were asked about the extra $250 million that the department is asking for (over the FY16 Level of funding). Reeves' questions stem from the assumption that if Initiative 42 passes, the Legislature will be court-ordered to fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Formula (MAEP), which has been fully funded only twice since 1997. Republican leaders, mainly Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn, have vocalized what they see as the danger of Constitutional power transferring to the judicial branch of government.

For more MAEP coverage visit: http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/maep/

The Times-Picayune in New Orleans is reporting that Rob Ryan, defense coordinator for the New Orleans Saints, has been fired after a particularly embarrassing 47-14 loss to Washington on Sunday.

Conference USA heads to Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Miss., for the sixth time to hold the conference’s baseball tournament. The University of Southern Mississippi also hosted in 1996, 2005, 2009, 2014 and 2015.

Being back in the friendly confines of home might be just what USM needed after the final weekend of C-USA play. The Golden Eagles hit the road to play against Florida International University.

USM was in first place in the conference before the series with FIU and led Rice University, Marshall University and Florida Atlantic University by a half a game to a full game. Instead of having a chance to capture its fourth C-USA regular season title, the Golden Eagles lost to FIU three times.

The losses dropped USM from a possible No. 1 seed in the eight-team C-USA Tournament to the No. 3 seed. Florida Atlantic and Marshall were able to pass the Golden Eagles for the top two seeds this week. Rice was the only team that USM was able to stay ahead of in the final weekend of conference play.

The tournament begins on Wednesday, May 24, at 9 a.m., as the No. 5 seed, Louisiana Tech University, faces off against the No. 4 seed, Rice. USM will play in the third game of the day against Old Dominion University, who is the No. 7 seed.

USM didn’t face Old Dominion during the regular season. Most of the season, the Golden Eagles have been ranked in the top 25 polls, going as high as No. 13, but are currently ranked 23rd in the nation.

Florida Atlantic and Rice are currently ranked at 18th and 24th, respectively.

If the Golden Eagles win, they will face the winner of the nightcap game between No. 7-seed FIU and No. 2-seed Marshall. The winner of the first game of the day faces the winner of the second game between topseed FAU and the No. 8-seed University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

This is a double-elimination tournament, meaning it takes two losses, excluding the championship game, for a team to be eliminated from contention. USM is the only team to have taken part in all 21 C-USA Baseball Tournaments.

For Southern Miss to reach the championship game, the Golden Eagles will have to defeat the other three teams in their side of the bracket: Marshall, FIU and Old Dominion. The winner of each side of the bracket will meet at 1 p.m. for the conference-title game, which will air on the CBS Sports Network.

The championship game is single elimination. The winner of the championship game earns an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Four years ago in London, gymnast Gabby Douglas became a household name when she became the first African American woman to win the gold medal in the individual all-around competition. She won a gold medal in the team competition when the United States won the women’s artistic all-around.

Flash forward to 2016, and Douglas isn’t the top women’s gymnast for the U.S. At the recently held 2016 U.S. Championships, Douglas finished in fourth place overall.

No, Douglas isn’t the top woman to watch in U.S. gymnastics anymore. Simone Biles has taken over that role.

If there is one Olympian you should take time out of your schedule to watch, it is Biles. She is the winner of the 2016 U.S. Championship with a personal best score of 125.000 points. It was the fourth-straight win in the U.S. Championships.

Second place belonged to Aly Raisman, who scored 121.100 points. Raisman won two gold medals and three overall in London.

Without question, Biles was the star of the show as she won the vault, floor and balance beam, in addition to the overall title. She is the first woman in 42 years to win four straight U.S. Championships since Joan Moore Grant accomplished the feat from 1971 to 1974.

Biles isn’t just the best American women's gymnast; she is the best gymnast in the world. She has won the last three World Championship All-Around titles.

The 19-year-old has a tear-jerker story NBC will promote until everyone knows it by heart. Her grandparents adopted her after her mother gave her up.

Finishing third was Lauren Hernandez with a score of 120.500, and Douglas was a distant fourth with a score of 117.800 for the two-time gold medal winner. Madison Kocian finished in fifth with a 116.450 score.

Biles is a lock to head to Rio, but the other four spots on the U.S. team are up grabs. If the same score from the U.S. Championship holds up, the team will be Raisman, Hernandez, Douglas and Kocian.

The U.S. Trials will be held from July 8 to July 10 in San Jose, Calif. to name the official team. Besides just the top five finishers, also in San Jose will be Amelia Hundley, Alyssa Baumann and Ragan Smith earned automatic berths to the trails.

USA Gymnastics added Christina Desiderio, Brenna Dowell, Rachel Gowey, Ashton Locklear, Maggie Nichols, Emily Schild and MyKayla Skinner to compete at the trails. The U.S. looks to defend its all-around medal from London.

A new poll paints Mississippi purple, calculating Trump's lead over Hillary Clinton in the state to be only three points, in a four-candidate race. The online-only survey had over 800 respondents from Mississippi, who are registered voters, and over 74,000 voters in the country. The results put Mississippi in the "tossup" category—not a red state.

The U.S. Southern District Court issued an opinion and order this evening denying attempts to dismiss the lawsuit filed by five voters who allege that the Mississippi House of Representatives "intentionally discarding their ballots to change the outcome of the election," the order states.

In the order, United States District Judge Carlton Reeves wrote that the State of Mississippi's three attempts to dismiss the case, citing the intention behind the disqualification of the votes of plaintiffs Billie Faye Keyes, Joshua Allen, Courtney Rena Fortune, Karli Ford Matthews and Shelton S. Matthews.

"Taking these allegations as true, as the Court must at this stage, they state a claim that defendants intentionally treated plaintiffs differently from others voting by affidavit ballot, and there was no rational basis for the disparate treatment beyond an impermissible desire to alter the outcome of the election," Reeves' order states.

The late 2015 District 79 race between incumbent Representative Blaine Eaton, D-Taylorsville, and challenger Mark Tullos. The race ended in a tie, one that was broken through the implementation of an antiquated state law that demanded the two draw straws, which they did in a ceremony Nov. 20, 2015 in front of the governor and other state officials, and Eaton emerged victorious.

Tulles challenged the results, and a majority-Republican special committee was convened.

The Jackson Free Press reported the decision of the committee, to throw out some votes, ending the tie and handing the seat to Tullos.

"The House relied on the special election committee's report and testimony from Baker that five of the affidavit ballots should have been disqualified because voters violated a part of Mississippi law that requires voters to notify their county clerk if they move more than 30 days before an election," the JFP reported. "After two days of testimony from "five or six" witnesses, the House special election committee voted 4-1 to disqualify five of the affidavit ballots counted in the District 79 race, which was decided in November by drawing straws, as state law requires. By disqualifying five votes, the race was not technically a tie because, Baker said, even if the remaining four votes were for Eaton, Mark Tullos, the Republican challenger, would have won by one vote."

Reeves, as expressed in his opinion, disagrees. The judge instructed both sides to move forward with the trial, beginning with contacting the magistrate judge to coordinate the next stage.

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 …

The regular season for college softball is over and now conference tournaments for Division I teams kickoff this week around the country. On Wednesday, the SEC, SWAC and Conference USA tournaments all get started with opening-round action.

SWAC

All the teams that made their respective conference tournaments will be in action on Wednesday. One notable exception is Jackson State University. The Tigers failed to make the SWAC tournament this season.

In the SWAC, the top four teams in the East and the top four teams in West make the tournament. Jackson State finished dead last in the East and failed to qualify. The Tigers finished with just six conference wins, which is tied for second fewest wins with the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

JSU missing the tournament means conference Player of the Year and Hitter of the Year Canessa Swanson’s career as a Tiger is over. It also means the best player in the conference misses the tournament.

The SWAC tournament will be played at Ironside, Ala., at the Shea Brothers Softball Complex. The complex has two fields, so two games will happen at once.

Alcorn State University finished second in the East and will begin play in the tournament against Prairie View A&M University, which finished third in the West. That game begins at 3 p.m.

SWAC Coach of the Year Josef Rankin and SWAC Newcomer of the Year Paige Breal leads the Braves. If ASU wins, the team will play at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday but if the team loses, the Braves will play at 5 p.m. that day.

While Alcorn State is facing Prairie View A&M on field one, Mississippi Valley State University, which finished No. 3 in the East, will take on Southern University, which finished No. 2 in the West, on field two at 3 p.m. The Delta Devils will play on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. if they win and 5 p.m. if they lose.

The championship game for the SWAC will be played on Saturday at 2 p.m., and fans can watch it on ESPN3. A tape-delayed replay will show on ESPNU at 9 a.m. on Sunday.

Conference USA

Day one of the C-USA Tournament is single elimination. The University of Southern Mississippi is the No. 3 seed in the tournament but will be in action on day one.

The Golden Eagles will face the winner between No. 6 seed University of Texas-El Paso and No. 7 seed Florida International University. USM will not play until the final game of day one at 7:30 p.m.

If USM wins, the team will play No. 2 seed University of Alabama-Birmingham at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The top seed in the C-USA tournament is Florida Atlantic University.

Interesting note: The University of North Texas is hosting the tournament but didn’t make it. The championship game for C-USA will be played on Saturday at noon, and CBS Sports Network will televise it. …

When the New Orleans Saints returned to the Superdome in 2006, a year after Hurricane Katrina, a punt block turned around that first game against the Atlanta Falcons. Flash-forward to 10 years later, and a punt has changed the fortunes of those two teams again.

During their matchup on Monday, Sept. 26, New Orleans was leading 7-0 in the first quarter when an injury-decimated defense forced Atlanta into a quick punt on the Falcons opening drive. When the Falcons punted, Saints players De’Vante Harris and Tommylee Lewis crashed into each other.

Players colliding into each other looks bad enough, but the problem compounded when Harris tried to grab the ball and return it. Several Falcons ended up hitting Harris causing him to fumble.

Atlanta recovered and tied the game at 7-7 three plays later, taking all momentum away from New Orleans. The Superdome went from rocking and ruckus to nearly silent in just a couple of minutes.

New Orleans’ next drive was three straight incomplete passes, followed with a punt. Atlanta went on an 11-play, 74-yard drive to go up 14-7. The Saints answered back with a 12-play drive for a touchdown to tie the game at 14-14 but never tied or led in the game again.

The first half ended with Atlanta outscoring New Orleans 14-3 to lead 28-17 at the half. Atlanta opened the third quarter with a touchdown drive, but the Saints answered with a touchdown and two-point conversion to bring the score to 35-25.

Atlanta would add a field goal on its next drive to go up 38-25 late in the third quarter. New Orleans drove to the Falcons 11 yard line with a solid shot at getting at least a field goal, but a touchdown would have made the final 15 minutes very interesting.

Instead, on first down and 10 yards, Falcons linebacker Deion Jones tipped and picked off quarterback Drew Brees’ intended pass to rookie Mike Thomas, taking the interception 90 yards to essentially put the game out of reach.

Brees put up respectable numbers, going 36 for 54 passing for 376 yards with three touchdowns. But if you happened to watch the game, several of his passes wobbled down the field, and several more were low throws when they didn’t have to be thrown low.

The Saints’ defense struggled again and couldn’t stop the run or cover the Falcons’ receivers most of the night. Two of the biggest plays in the game were fourth-down conversions for Atlanta, both ending with the Falcons scoring touchdowns.

The first fourth-down conversion gave the Falcons a 14-7 lead late in the first quarter and took more momentum from New Orleans. Atlanta’s drive to start the second half also featured a fourth-down conversion that gave the Falcons a 35-17 lead.

New Orleans’ defense is missing several players, including cornerbacks Delvin Breaux, Damian Swann and P.J. Williams, safety Kenny Vaccaro, linebackers Dannell Ellerbe and Hau’oli Kikaha, and defensive tackles …

Mississippi State University completely dominated the University of Mississippi in the 2016 Egg Bowl. The Bulldogs’ players ran around and over the Rebels in a 55-20 road win.

MSU quarterback Nick Fitzgerald set a school record for most rushing yards in a game at any position with 258 rushing yards. The quarterback also broke Dak Prescott’s school record for most rushing yards in a season by a quarterback with 1,243 yards.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 27-10 lead in the first half before the Rebels mounted a comeback. UM cut MSU’s lead to only seven points at the break, but the second half belonged to the Bulldogs, who outscored their main rival 28-0 over the final 30 minutes.

It was a disappointing end to the season for the Rebels. Entering the game, the team could have reached six wins to reach bowl eligibility but instead looked completely outmatched on offense and defense most of the afternoon.

MSU racked up 566 total yards with 457 of those yards coming on the ground. The Bulldogs only threw for 106 yards in the game.

The Rebels had 528 total yards but couldn’t keep pace with MSU on the scoreboard. All the rushing attempts wore out the UM defense and kept the Bulldogs’ defense fresh for the second half to finish off the Rebels.

MSU’s victory gave head coach Dan Mullen five wins in the eight Egg Bowls that he has coached. That is something he can hit the recruiting trail with to sell athletes on coming to play for the Bulldogs.

The Egg Bowl win not only denied the Rebels a bowl game, but it also set the Bulldogs up for a bowl. MSU got plenty of help on the final weekend of the regular season.

There are 80 slots for bowl teams with the first priority going to those with 6-6 records. That means the University of Southern Mississippi will get first shot at a bowl before other teams.

Next is the United States Military Academy and the University of Hawaii. Army currently has a 6-5 record but two wins over FCS teams—only one counts toward bowl eligibility—with a final game against the United State Naval Academy on Dec. 10.

If the Army Black Knights best the Navy Midshipmen, they are bowl eligible with seven wins, but in reality, with its current record, Army is already going bowling because there won’t be enough 6-6 teams. No matter how the Army-Navy game turns out, both teams are going to make a bowl game.

Hawaii is 6-7 and will play in the Hawaii Bowl because the Rainbow Warriors get to play 13 games. This is because it is hard to get teams to travel to Hawaii so they get an extra game.

Either way, Hawaii is bowl eligible, but that still leaves two teams that can get six wins this weekend, which are the University of South …

Dallas Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott continues to impress people with his play. The former Mississippi State University star picked up another accolade on Monday, Dec. 20, when he was selected to play in the 2017 Pro Bowl.

Prescott replaced the injured Tony Romo and has led Dallas to an NFC-best 12-2 record. The Cowboys are tied with the New England Patriots for best record in the NFL.

Prescott has thrown for 3,418 yards while completing 292 passes out of 431 attempts with 20 touchdowns and four interceptions. He has rushed for 238 yards on 52 carries with six touchdowns and four lost fumbles.

While breaking records and playing the most scrutinized position for one of the most scrutinized teams, Prescott has completed 67.7 percent of his passes with a quarterback rating of 103.2 during his 14 starts.

Prescott has only lost to the New York Giants twice during his short time as the Cowboys starter. He struggled against the Giants in a 10-7 loss, which is when he had his first two-interception game of his career.

His rookie struggles led to talking heads debating whether Romo should start. The former Bulldog shut down talk of anyone replacing him when he threw for 279 yards on 32 of 36 passing with one rushing touchdown.

Prescott hit a rookie wall in early December but is now bursting through it in late December. Prescott’s and fellow rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott’s plays are a major reason for the Dallas turnaround, as the team went 4-12 last season.

Former MSU teammate Fletcher Cox will join Prescott on the NFC Pro Bowl roster. The Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle has been a solid star and budding superstar since he was drafted with the 12th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

This season Cox has totaled 37 total tackles, 23 solo tackles, 6.5 sacks, two passes defended and one forced fumble. He has started 14 games and is two away from starting 16 for the fourth straight season at the defensive line.

During his five-year career, Cox has amassed 249 total tackles, 182 solo tackles, 28.5 sacks, nine passes defended and six forced fumbles. The former MSU star is working on what could end up being a Hall of Fame career.

Three other former Bulldogs were named as alternates to the Pro Bowl. If an injury keeps a player out of the game or if players selected for the game end up in the Super Bowl, they don’t play in the game, Detroit Lions cornerback Darius Slay and Seattle Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright could end up on the NFC team, and Oakland Raiders offensive guard Gabe Jackson could end up on the AFC team

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is one of the biggest Pro Bowl snubs this year. Despite leading the league in passing yards and touchdowns, Brees isn’t on the roster or listed as an alternate. …

A little while back, I touched on Jackson State University, Mississippi State University and the University of Southern Mississippi all fighting for division or conference titles in baseball. Jackson State finished its quest by winning the SWAC East title over Alabama State University.

JSU finished SWAC play with a 20-4 record and the best record in either the East or West Division. Alabama State ended conference play with an 18-6 record, finishing two games behind the Tigers.

In Conference USA, Southern Miss completed a huge sweep over Florida Atlantic University this past weekend. The Golden Eagles hold a three-game lead at 19-5 in C-USA play over second-place Old Dominion University at 16-8, with six conference games left to play.

USM hosts the University of Alabama at Birmingham this weekend and will finish the season at the University of Texas at San Antonio. UAB is 10th in the current standings at 8-16 in conference play, and UTSA is sixth in the standings at 13-11.

Meanwhile, ODU will finish the season at home against Florida International University and on the road against Florida Atlantic. FIU is ninth in the conference standings at 11-13, and FAU is third in the conference at 15-9.

If both USM and ODU stumble, Florida Atlantic could make a move for the top spot. FAU finishes the regular season with a road game against Western Kentucky University and a home game against ODU. WKU is currently in last place at 4-20 in C-USA play.

Southern Miss just has to avoid imploding over the final two weekends to win the regular-season title. It will also give USM the No. 1 seed heading into the C-USA Tournament.

Over in the SEC, Mississippi State currently sits at 16-8 in conference play. MSU leads the SEC West over Louisiana State University by a single game and is tied with the University of Florida for the best record in the conference.

The Bulldogs have two SEC series left to play—one on the road against the University of Georgia this weekend and another at home against LSU to end the season. Georgia is in last place in the SEC East at 7-17 in conference play, and only the University of Alabama has a worst conference record.

LSU is 15-9 in SEC play and is a game behind MSU in the West, lurking around for the conference crown, as well. The Tigers end the season with games at home against Auburn University, who is 14-10 in SEC play, and on the road against MSU.

Florida, at 16-8 in conference play, will try to hold off the University of Kentucky for the SEC West crown and overall conference title. The Gators end the season with a game at Alabama, who is 5-19 in SEC play, and another at home against Kentucky.

Kentucky ends the regular season with a home game against the University …

The New Orleans Saints ended the preseason doing something they haven’t done since 2006 and achieved something the team had never done in franchise history: It played quarterback Drew Brees in the final preseason game for a series.

Brees hadn’t played in the final preseason game since 2006, which was his first season with the team. That year, he was coming off a shoulder injury and was trying to find his groove again.

As shocking as Brees playing might be, even more shocking might be the fact the Saints would go winless in back-to-back preseasons for the first time in franchise history. Before the 2015 preseason, the last time New Orleans went winless in the preseason was 1971.

When the Saints went winless during the 2015 preseason, they finished the year with a 7-9 record in the regular season. The 1971 team went 0-6 in the preseason and finished the regular season with a 4-8-2 record.

Every preseason you hear, “Don’t put too much stock in preseason games,” but you can glean certain things during these games, such as the fact that most teams that look bad and have issues in the preseason will have issues in the regular season.

When starters are facing starters, it’s another good indication of how well a team could be in the regular season. Plenty of teams win games in the third and fourth quarter of the preseason with players who won’t be on the roster when the regular season starts.

The scores don’t matter. Unless it is first- and second-string players, it is the look of a team that is worth the watch. This season, the Saints have given glimpses to several questions going into the season.

Can the starting and backups on the offensive line protect the quarterback and make holes in the running game?

Can the defense make tackles, stop the run and cover receivers in the passing game?

Can the team force and avoid turnovers?

New Orleans has struggled on the offensive line in pass and run-blocking. Overall, the offense has struggled to keep drives going and score points.

If this team is going to reach the playoffs, the offensive line must play better. Brees needs the running game to help take pressure off him having to make every play.

The New Orleans defense wasn’t terrible in the first two preseason games. Then came the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first-string offense, which took the Saints defense behind the woodshed.

Pittsburgh did whatever it wanted, for the most part, against New Orleans. The Steelers’ passing game torched the Saints’ pass defense.

New Orleans has forced three turnovers but has committed 10 turnovers for a minus-seven turnover margin. It is hard to win games in the preseason when you can’t keep the ball.

Still, winning at least one game in the preseason is a good idea.

Since 1990, 49 teams …

It wasn’t pretty at times, and it seemed insanely long, but the University of Southern Mississippi has back-to-back winning football seasons. The Golden Eagles went winless in 2012, hitting rock bottom after winning 12 games the year before.

USM lost 23 consecutive games before finally getting a 62-27 win over the University of Alabama at Birmingham to end the 2013 season. There was more progress in the 2014 season with three wins.

Finally, a breakthrough happened for USM in the 2015 season. The Golden Eagles had nine wins and went to a bowl game, but lost the final two games of the season.

In the offseason, Southern Miss lost head coach Todd Monken to the NFL. Monken left Hattiesburg to become the offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. USM hired former assistant coach and then-head coach of Alcorn State University Jay Hopson.

There were high hopes entering this season, even with a new head coach, because of all the talent returning from the previous season.

Early on, it looked like USM would live up to those expectations with a 4-1 start to the season, including a win over the University of Kentucky out of the SEC. The University of Troy was the lone loss for the Golden Eagles in the first five games.

Southern Miss lost five of the next six games, suffering shocking defeats to the University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the University of North Texas. All three of those teams finished with losing records after UTSA lost the New Mexico Bowl to the University of New Mexico.

The Golden Eagles needed to defeat Louisiana Tech University just to reach a bowl game, scoring a 39-24 win over the Bulldogs to play in the New Orleans Bowl.

In the bowl game, Southern Miss wide receiver Allenzae Staggers put on a show, making 11 catches for 230 yards and a touchdown to set a New Mexico Bowl record and school record for most receiving yards in a bowl game. USM quarterback Nick Mullens went 25 for 40 in passing, with 346 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and one lost fumble. Running back Ito Smith rushed for 138 yards on 26 carries with two touchdowns and one catch for six yards and a touchdown.

The trio of stars helped the Golden Eagles to a 28-21 win over the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, but USM’s defense did its part with six sacks, three quarterback hurries, nine tackles for a loss and one interception. However, ULL scored two touchdowns off of Mullens’ turnovers as a result of short fields.

Most of the night, Ragin’ Cajuns quarterback Anthony Jennings was under siege from the Golden Eagle defense. USM found ways to bottle up ULL’s star running back, Elijah McGuire, for parts of the game, even as he rushed for 99 yards on just 17 carries.

The New …

If you were holding off on watching bowl games until the main course, this is the post you were waiting to read. This features the steak of New Year’s Six games and filet mignon of playoff games for you to devour as 2016 ends and 2017 begins.

Things get going with a dream matchup in the Orange Bowl, which kicks off Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. on ESPN. The Orange Bowl features traditional college football powers the University of Michigan against Florida State University.

How long has it been since the Wolverines were in the Orange Bowl? The last time was 1999 when some guy named Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes, and the team beat the University of Alabama.

Florida State is making its second appearance in the Orange Bowl this season after beating the University of Miami in Florida earlier in the year. This is the Seminoles’ 10th trip to the Orange Bowl.

Heisman Trophy finalist Jabrill Peppers does a little bit of everything on defense, offense and special teams for the Wolverines. The Seminoles feature running back Dalvin Cook, who is a threat to take any run to the house.

Expect both teams’ quarterbacks to be under constant pressure. FSU leads the nation in sacks with 47, and Michigan is fourth with 44.

New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, features the two semifinals College Football Playoff games. Before the New Year rings in, we will know who is playing for a title on Jan. 9.

The semifinals begin with the University of Alabama against the University of Washington at 2 p.m. on ESPN in the Peach Bowl. Both teams should have plenty of motivation and have had plenty of time to prepare.

Alabama is one of two teams left in the country and has made it this far with freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts and one of the best defenses in college football history. Washington started the season ranked 14th in the Associated Press poll and 18th in the Coaches Poll but are the Pac-12 champions.

Both teams played against the University of Southern California during the regular season. The Crimson Tide overpowered the Trojans for a 52-6 win. USC gave the Huskies their only loss of the season in a 26-13 win.

Washington couldn’t handle USC’s defensive front, and Alabama’s defensive front is even better. That could lead to a lopsided game if the Huskies can’t block.

Hurts has been turnover-prone this season and could keep Washington in the game if he can’t hold on to the ball or if he throws interceptions. Alabama’s defense covers up a lot of his mistakes.

In the second playoff game, the University of Clemson faces Ohio State University at 6 p.m. on ESPN in the Fiesta Bowl. Both teams enter the game with one loss and again should be highly motivated.

NFL talent will be all over the field for both teams. The Tigers have quarterback Deshaun Watson …

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.

The NFL Playoffs gave fans three out of four great games last weekend. Throw out New England’s blowout win over Denver and the other three games were close till the end or late into the fourth quarter.