September 6, 2016
It was a great first weekend of college football, with memorable games from Thursday to Monday. Hopefully the rest of the season will be a great, as the first week has had surprising turnouts.
One interesting thing from this past weekend is that all three FBS teams from this state were involved in games that featured comebacks. Two of those teams, University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University, were on the wrong end of comebacks, and the University of Southern Mississippi stormed back from what looked like a loss to a win.
MSU looked in total control of the University of South Alabama on Saturday in the first half. The Bulldogs were up 17-0 at halftime and looked like they were going to cruise to their first win of the post-Dak Prescott era.
Then the wheels came off in the second half, as the Jaguars outscored the Bulldogs 21-3 in the second half. MSU had a chance to win the game but missed a field goal attempt that bounced off the upright in the game’s final seconds.
It was the first win over a SEC team in USA history. Before then, the team was 0-4 in tits history against the conference, with two losses against MSU in 2012 and 2014. Both teams missed two field goals, but everyone will remember the field goal MSU missed for a long time.
In the second half, the Bulldogs defense struggled to get off the field as the Jaguars had touchdown drives of 75 yards, 99 yards and 71 yards. The MSU offense stalled most of the second half, as the team could only muster 143 passing yards on the day.
Saturday night was a different story between USM and the University of Kentucky. It was the Wildcats that stormed out to a big lead of 35-10 as the game neared halftime.
USM used a late drive to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 35-17 with 22 seconds left before halftime. The Golden Eagles outscored UK in the second half 27-0 and scored 34 unanswered points, winning the game.
The win was on a night when quarterback Nick Mullens was just so-so in the pocket, as he threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns but had three interceptions. It was on the ground where USM tore away at Kentucky’s will to compete.
Southern Miss had 262 rushing yards, and the Wildcats had just 96 yards. Both Ito Smith and George Payne went more than 100 yards rushing that night.
The USM defense struggled in the first half but became the “Nasty Bunch” in second half. The Southern Miss defense forced three turnovers in the second half, including a fumble that ended any hopes for a Kentucky rally.
Southern Miss offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson got ran out of Lexington last year as the Wildcats offensive coordinator. He saw his new team put up 520 total yards against his old team, as Kentucky amassed 409 total yards.
Monday night saw a Mississippi team get hit with a comeback that most of the nation saw. The University of Mississippi looked like they were cruising against Florida State University with a 28-13 lead at the half.
The Seminoles got back in the game with a touchdown right before halftime and added a field goal in the beginning of the second half. FSU outscored the Rebels 32-6 in the second half, as the team completed in the comeback for the win.
One of the biggest differences in the game was each team quarterback’s play. Rebels senior quarterback Chad Kelly threw for 313 yards with four touchdowns but also threw three interceptions.
FSU freshman quarterback Deondre Francois threw for 419 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Francois was turnover free, as Kelly had four total turnovers when he fumbled in the second half.
In the end, FSU dominated the Rebels in nearly every stat. What looked like a signature win for head coach Hugh Freeze and a reason for Rebel fans to crow at their MSU counterparts turned into a nightmare in the second half.
All three teams must regroup from their individual games and get ready to play this week. Both the Bulldogs and the Rebels face must-win situations this week to keep the fan bases happy.
Southern Miss now looks at a schedule that could only see a single loss to Louisiana State University later in the season. USM saw a memorable start to the Jay Hopson era.
But if this opening weekend has shown us anything thing, it is that anything can happen in college football.
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