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Mississippi’s Terrible Football Week

Losing stinks, but this weekend in college football ended up giving the whole state of Mississippi a giant punch to the gut. Every four-year college or university ended up losing this week.

If you are keeping score, that means the state went 0 for 10. All three FBS schools lost by a total of 14 points, all three FCS schools lost and two weren’t even close, both Division II schools lost by 10 or more points, and both Division III schools were blown out.

Our state’s bad week started on Thursday night when University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff upset two-time defending SWAC champions http://www.alcornsports.com/boxscore.aspx?path=football&id=2055">Alcorn State University 45-43. The Braves lost in triple overtime as they let the Golden Lions score two late touchdowns and convert two two-point conversions.

ASU had a chance to win the game in regulation but missed a 47-yard field goal. Both teams fumbled away the ball in their first overtime drives.

In the second overtime, both teams scored, and in the third overtime, the Braves found the end zone but missed on their two-point try. UAPB was able to score a touchdown and convert its two-point try to end the game.

The terrible week continued with http://gomajors.com/boxscore.aspx?path=football&id=3787">Millsaps College and http://blazers.belhaven.edu/boxscore.aspx?path=football&id=3487">Belhaven University kicking off at 1 p.m. with http://www.gostatesmen.com/boxscore.aspx?path=football&id=3091">Delta State University's 2 p.m. kickoff after. The Blazers never led in a 65-21 loss to Huntingdon College, and the Majors never led in a 35-16 loss to the University of Chicago.

The Statesmen jumped out to a 12-0 lead on the University of West Georgia but fell behind 13-12 at the half. DSU rallied late, but the Wolves held on for the 34-24 win.

Things kept getting worse in the afternoon. The http://www.olemisssports.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/091716aaa.html">University of Mississippi jumped out to a 24-3 lead on the University of Alabama.

The top-ranked Tide rallied to cut their deficit to 24-17 at the break. Alabama continued its comeback as it built an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter.

UM rallied to cut the Crimson Tide’s lead down to 48-43, as they scored two quick touchdowns and recovered an onside kick, with plenty of time left on the clock and three timeouts. Instead of going for another onside kick, the Rebels decided to kick the ball deep, and Alabama ran out the clock, winning the game 48-43.

After an 0-4 afternoon, the devastation continued into the night. Five teams kicked off early Saturday evening before the sun set.

http://www.hailstate.com/boxscore.aspx?id=3925&path=football">Mississippi State University faced Louisiana State University in a game that saw the Tigers in control as they built a 23-3 lead at halftime. The Bulldogs held LSU scoreless in the second half and mounted a furious rally in the fourth quarter.

MSU kicked a field goal in the third quarter and scored two late touchdowns, cutting the LSU lead down to 23-20. The Tigers were able to run out the clock on the Bulldogs, holding on for the win.

The http://www.southernmiss.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/091716aab.html">University of Southern Mississippi kicked off the scoring against Troy University with a pick-six for their only lead of the night. Things went down hill from there for the Golden Eagles, as they made mental mistakes the rest of the night.

USM committed three turnovers on the night, a bad snap on a punt and a failed fake punt that led to 27 points for the Trojans. The Golden Eagles tied the game 24-24 in the third quarter but couldn’t retake the lead.

Troy watched as USM drove to its nine-yard line with three seconds left. USM’s final play ended with an incomplete pass, preserving the Trojans’ 37-31 win.

http://www.gochoctaws.com/boxscore.aspx?path=football&id=5997">Mississippi College battled the University of West Alabama most of the night. The Choctaws were down 17-10 at the half and cut the Tigers’ lead to 17-13 early in the third quarter.

West Alabama scored 21 unanswered points, pulling away from MC in the third and fourth quarters. The Tigers won 38-13 over the Choctaws as Mississippi’s night got worse.

Both http://www.swac.org/ViewContent.dbml?CONTENT_ID=1888998&DB_OEM_ID=27400#GAME.NEW">Jackson State University and http://mvsusports.com/boxscore.aspx?path=football&id=1490">Mississippi Valley State University were never in their games against Grambling State University and Texas Southern University. Grambling State and Texas Southern both jumped out to a 21-0 lead at halftime over both schools.

JSU scored two second-half touchdowns, but it wasn’t nearly enough, as they fell 35-14 to Grambling State. Mississippi Valley State failed to score in its 31-0 loss to Texas Southern.

If you are keeping score at home, the state of Mississippi went 0-and-5 on the road and 0-and-5 at home. It didn’t matter where the teams in the state played; the final outcome was the same.

Mississippi teams lost to four teams from Alabama (Alabama, Troy, West Alabama and, Huntingdon), two teams from Louisiana (LSU and Grambling State) and one team from Texas (Texas Southern), Arkansas (Arkansas-Pine Bluff), Georgia (West Georgia) and Illinois (Chicago).

The week was one of the worst in the history of college football in Mississippi. Every fan base in the state earned a loss in just three days.

Here is more bad news to chew on: Every team in the state but Southern Miss and Alcorn State has a losing record. Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State are still looking for their first win of the season.

Good news: This week, nine of the 10 teams that play, get a chance to go out and get a win. Bad news: Belhaven will have to wait two weeks to get another win.

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