Record-breaking performance leads MSU to big win
Sophomore quarterback Will Rogers broke several Mississippi State and SEC offensive records last Saturday as he led the Bulldogs past Kentucky, 31-17.
Rogers was 36-of-39 for 344 yards and one TD as he completed passes to a dozen different receivers. The Bulldogs (5-3, 3-2) will travel to Arkansas (5-3, 1-3) this week.
Ole Miss was ambushed on the Plains, 31-20, as the Tigers, led by quarterback Bo Nix, roared with four first half scores. A former Mississippi High School Mr. Football in Philadelphia’s Jarquez Hunter caught a Nix pass for one of the Tiger touchdowns. Ole Miss (6-2, 3-2) will host former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze and his Liberty Flames (7-2) on Saturday morning.
The Associated Press Top 25 has seven SEC schools listed. Georgia is the unanimous choice at No.1 with Alabama coming in at third. Auburn moved up to No. 12 while Texas A&M follows the Tigers at No. 13. Ole Miss fell to No. 15 while Kentucky dropped to No. 18. The College Football Playoff Selection Committee will begin releasing rankings of Top 25 teams this Tuesday. The committee will meet each Tuesday in November. The final selections will be released on Sunday, December 5. The top four teams will play in the National semifinals on December 31. Those two winners will play in the championship game in Indianapolis on January 10.
Southern Mississippi (1-7, 0-4) fell to Middle Tennessee, 35-10. The Eagles will try to rebound this Saturday at 2 p.m. as they host North Texas (2-6, 1-3). The Golden Eagles officially accepted the invite from the Sun Belt Conference and will become a member no later than July 1, 2023.
Jackson State edged past Mississippi Valley, 28-19, to stay atop the SWAC Eastern Division. The Tigers (7-1, 5-0) will host Texas Southern while Valley (2-6, 1-4) will travel to Alabama A&M. Southern University downed Alcorn in Baton Rogue, 38-35. The Braves (5-3, 4-1) are one game back of Prairie View (6-1, 5-0) in the West race. This week the Braves travel to Bethune Cookman.
Delta State tripped Shorter, 14-13, while Mississippi College fell to West Florida, 63-28, in Gulf South Conference play. Delta State (4-5, 2-4) will host Mississippi College (3-5, 2-4) on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. Millsaps won over Sewanee, 42-32, while Belhaven fell, 29-0, to undefeated Mary Hardin-Baylor. This week Millsaps (2-6, 2-3) will play at Hendrix while Belhaven (5-3, 4-3) will host McMurry at 1 p.m.
East Mississippi went undefeated for the fifth time under Coach Buddy Stephens to win the North Division and will host South runner-up Hinds (7-2) this Saturday. In the South Division, Jones (8-1) will host North runner-up Northwest (7-2). Both games will kick off at 2 p.m.
The MAIS playoffs enters week two while in the MHSAA the 2-A, 3-A, and 4-A classes will begin opening round play on Friday night. The MHSAA 1-A, 5-A and 6-A classes will all play their final regular season games this Thursday night. One exception is the Laurel Tornadoes will host Hattiesburg in the 100th consecutive Little Brown Jug contest on Saturday night.