The picks; or how the Egg breaks

The two old-timers picked some pretty clean cotton this past week. Orley Hood was 13-2, including that Stanford over Oregon pick, while Rick Cleveland went 12-3, despite ignorantly picking USM over UTEP. Hood and Cleveland head down the stretch all tied with 94-37 records.

Orley's picks 

Mississippi State at Ole Miss: Rick called earlier, asked me who I thought was going to win. Uh … I don’t know, I told him. Still don’t. So, I’m going to do the other games first. Maybe inspiration will strike by the time I get to the Saints.

Southern Miss at Memphis: Memphis has won three conference games. The Tigers scored a ton last week. And they’re at home. So … It’s 0-12 for the Golden Eagles after 12-2 last season. Unbelievable. Memphis 30, USM 20.

LSU at Arkansas: Can the Tigers recover from the Ole Miss game to kick around the Hogs on the road? You laugh, but I’m not kidding. OK, they do and they do. LSU 38, Arkansas 21.

Georgia Tech at Georgia: Lots of these BCS analyzers seem to have forgotten Tech, which has a big-time triple option running game and will play for the ACC championship against Florida State because Miami is trying to duck NCAA wrath. What if Tech beats Georgia and Georgia beats Alabama in the SEC championship? Fugeddaboutit: Bulldogs 42, Jackets 31.

Auburn at Alabama: Parents, don’t let your children watch. Tide 52, Auburn 17. Call if you get work, Gene.

Archie had to choose two Egg Bowls

(Writer's note: This is the third in a series of Egg Bowl memories from the players, both from State and Ole Miss, who have made the game so special.) 

When it comes to picking his most memorable Egg Bowl, Archie Manning can't choose just one.

No, he has to pick one as a player and another as a father.

Interestingly, both were played in Starkville. And both games were played in rain.

“In 1969, my junior year, we had to beat Mississippi State to go to the Sugar Bowl,” Archie says. “I remember we played on Thanksgiving Day and I remember that it rained pretty steadily all game long. If you look, I think you'll see we were tied at halftime.”

They were, 14-14.

“And then we put it on them pretty good in the second half,” Archie says. “I can't remember how many we scored but it was a bunch.”

Final score: Ole Miss 48, State 22. Manning threw two touchdowns and scored two on the ground. Ole Miss scored the first 34 points on the second half, including 27 in the fourth quarter.”

Here's the unedited version. . .

(Writer's note: Here's the unedited version of the column that ran on The Clarion-Ledger op-ed page today. Thanks again to editors for the space:



Hello, old friends. Nice to visit with you again. More than half a year has passed since my columns appeared on these pages. I'd like to begin with a sincere thank-you to the editors of The Clarion-Ledger for allowing me to tell you a small bit about my new job.

For more than four decades I wrote sports stories and columns about Mississippi's sports heroes, who also happen to be some of the planet's most marvelous athletes. As executive director of your Misssissippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, my job is to preserve those sports legends for this and future generations.

The Magnolia State has a sports legacy second to none. Let's put it this way: Just during my sports writing career, I covered pro football's all-time leading scorer and receiver Jerry Rice, pro football's all-time leading passer Brett Favre, pro football's second all-time leading rusher Walter Payton and the patriarch of America's first family of football, Archie Manning. All hail from small-town Mississippi. And that's just one sport. Mississippians have excelled at many others.

If you're like me, you read all the time about Mississippi being the poorest, least educated and fattest state. At the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, we display what Mississippians do better than anyone. We celebrate what Mississippians do best.

I want to pick up where my good friend, the late Michael Rubenstein, left off. This is, I have discovered, a daunting task. On July 4, 1996, the museum opened, a $4 million treasure chest of Mississippi's sports history. It was billed as Mississippi's first museum for the 21^st century, and it was.

More than 16 years later, what was once cutting edge technology is now nearly obsolete. Just look at your cell phone. Look at what it does now, and remember what your cell phone was like back in 1996 if, indeed, you had one.

Glen Collins and 'that quarterback'

This is the second of a series of Egg Bowl memories of Ole Miss and State greats from yesteryear.

Jackson's own Glen Collins, one of Mississippi State's all-time great defensive linemen, played in four Egg Bowls, all in Jackson.

“Seems like we always played them on a dreary or rainy day,” Collins says. “It was always gray.”

And the games, says Collins, always were competitive.

His favorite?

“That's a tough one, but it's got to be my junior year (1980),” Collins says. “That was the year we beat Alabama and went to the Sun Bowl. As I recall, Ole Miss wasn't having that good a year, but they always played us tough.

“Funny what I always remember most about playing against Ole Miss was playing against that quarterback,” Collins says.

John Fourcade?

“You got it,” Collins says, chuckling. “I just call him that quarterback. Never heard a guy talk so much trash on the field. Man, that guy talked trash to his own teammates, but he made the games interesting, I will say that.”

Fourcade led the SEC in total offense in 1980 and led the Rebels to a fourth quarter touchdown that gave them a 14-13 lead. This was the first Egg Bowl played in expanded Veterans Memorial Stadium, before 62,500 fans, and half of them were going wild.

But John Bond then took State on a touchdown drive for a 19-14 victory.

“I remember hitting that quarterback so many times but it was always after he had thrown the ball,” Collins says. “He'd throw it in the stands and then get up laughing. But I finally got him, and The Clarion-Ledger ran a picture of it. I've still got that paper somewhere.”

Egg Bowl memories: Deuce leads off

Today we'll begin a week-long Egg Bowl series, involving former players on both sides of the rivalry, and their favorite memories from Egg Bowls past.

We begin with Deuce McAllister, who almost became a Mississippi State Bulldog before he went to Ole Miss.

"My cousin, Michael Davis, was a great player at Mississippi State, and I had a good relationship with Coach Sherrill," McAllister said Sunday. "I probably visited Mississippi State and spent more time of their campus than I did Ole Miss."

But McAllister chose Ole Miss and became one of the Rebels' all-time greats, before going on to a productive career with the New Orleans Saints.

His best Egg Bowl memory?

"Got to be the last one (a 45-30 Ole Miss victory in 2000)," McAllister said. "That was the last time I ever walked off my homefield at Ole Miss and I walked off knowing we had won, we had beaten our arch-rivals and that I had left everything I had on the field."

Boy, did he . . . McAllister rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another to lead Ole Miss to a  Thanksgiving night victory. On Senior Night at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, McAllister hit his good friend and fellow fourth-year Rebel Romaro Miller on a 20-yard halfback option touchdown pass and  finished with 121 yards rushing on 24 carries. State had won the previous two Egg Bowls.

"I've got so many memories from those games," said McAllister, who finished 2-2 in his career against State. "My first one was when Cory Peterson caught the two-point conversion and we won."

Tomorrow: Mississippi State great Glen Collins.

C Spire Conerly nominees shine

Six of the 10 C Spire Conerly Trophy nominees played Saturday and all played well. In alphabetical order:

Mississippi State cornerback Johnthan Banks: All American candidate Banks had another outstanding game in State's 45-14 crushing of Arkansas. In man-to-man coverage, he gave up only one catch for five yards and that was to Biletnikoff semifinalist Cobi Hamilton. (Hamilton had six catches for 83 yards and a touchdown otherwise.) Banks was also a force against the run, recording five tackles.

Alcorn State offensive lineman Cornelius Brown: “Had another really solid game for us,” said Alcorn coach Jay Hopson said after the Braves' 37-11 loss to Jackson State. “Our staff voted unanimously he was our most outstanding player for the season.”

Southern Miss defensive end Jamie Collins: Make seven solo tackles, one assist, two tackles for losses and one quarterback sack in USM's 34-33 loss to UTEP. Collins continues to lead C-USA in both sacks and tackles for losses.

Jackson State wide receiver Rico Richardson: Caught four passes for 54 yards and a touchdown and recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown in JSU's 37-11 victory over arch-rival Alcorn State.

Mississippi Valley State defensive tackle Robert Simpson: Had six tackles, two for losses and 1.5 sacks in Valley's 34-3 victory over Texas Southern.

Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace: Ran 11 times for 54 yards and two touchdowns and completed 15 of 35 passes (three intercepted) for 310 yards and two touchdowns in Rebels' 41-35 loss to LSU.

The other four C Spire Conerly nominees — Delta State offensive tackle Kendall Hunter, Millsaps quarterback Garrett Pinciotti, Missisisippi College defensive back Keith Villafranco and Belhaven cornerback/kick returner Isiah Wiley — were off Saturday.

Ballots will go out early this week to a panel of more than 50 statewide media members. The C Spire Conerly Trophy Awards Banquet will be held Nov. 27 at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. For tickets, call 601 982-8264. Banquet tickets are $100. Mezzanine seating will be available for $25.

Un-team always will be remembered

The Un-team from Lake (undefeated, unscored upon)...Photo Courtesy of Chris Allen Baker, Scott County Times

(Author's note: In the summer of 2011, I went to Lake to do a column on the 1974 lake football team that not only went undefeated but was un-scored upon. That's right: They didn't give up a point. I was amazed that there was no sign or anything to commemorate such an amazing feat. That omission was corrected recently when the team was recognized with a plaque at the new ticket booth.)

Here's the piece from July 3, 2011, courtesy of The Clarion-Ledger.

A team to remember

In the tiny town of Lake, they are known and revered simply as the UN-team. They were the 1974 Lake High School football Hornets, UNdefeated, UNtied, UNchallenged and UNscored upon.
That's right. Thirty-seven years ago, a band of 29 mostly lean, raw-boned, rough-as-a-corn-cob country boys - led and inspired by a bright, cocky and maniacally demanding 26-year-old coach, Granville Freeman - finished 11-0. They scored 321 points, allowed zero. None. Nada. Null set.

The Hornets trounced 10 straight opponents and then discretion won out over valor and the 11th opponent, French Camp, opted not to play. Can you blame them?

"When I went to Lake in 1973, I told them we were going to have a team that when opponents got ready to play us, they were going to be shaking in their shoes," Freeman says. "I'd say we accomplished that in 1974."

That Lake team was led by linebacker/offensive tackle Freeman Horton, recruited by every college in the state and Alabama and Bear Bryant, as well. And this will tell you something about Granville Freeman. Ken Donahue, Bryant's right-hand man and defensive coordinator, stopped by Freeman's office one day to watch film on Horton, who played right outside linebacker, and later started four years at Southern Miss.

"Coach, I have one question," Donahue said. "Why would you not take your best and biggest athlete and put him at middle linebacker instead of on the outside?"

Youth vs. experience, sort of

In Mississippi's World Series of college football prognosticating, Rick Cleveland took a one-game lead over the older, more experienced Orley Hood this past week. Young Rick posted a 10-4 showing, compared to wily veteran Hood's  9-5. That gives the much-wetter-behind-the-ears Cleveland an 82-34 season record, slightly better than the grizzled Hood's 81-35.

"Everything I know about this prognosticating business I owe to Orley," Cleveland said. "He's forgotten more than I'll ever know. I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me to be a game ahead of such a knowledgeable, veteran football expert headed into the last three weeks of the season."

Rick's picks

Ole Miss at LSU: Could've, would've, should've. That's the Rebels' mantra after Vandy. LSU is a different animal. Could've? Should've? Won't. LSU, 34-24.

Arkansas at Mississippi State: Time for Mississippi State to get well and add to Razorbacks' misery, but it won't be easy. 27-20, MSU.

UTEP at USM: Go ahead, laugh. I deserve it.  USM 27, UTEP 26.

Texas Tech at Oklahoma State: Oklahoma State can score. So can Tech. Cowboys score more, 42-35.

Northwestern at Michigan State: Northwestern should have beaten Michigan and will beat Michigan State. Well, maybe. Wildcats, 26-24.

Southern California at UCLA: Whenever it's a close call, I am morally and ethically bound to pick against Lane Kiffin. UCLA, 28-24.

Central Florida at Tulsa: I am continually amazed at how Tulsa, such a small school, plays such good football. Tulsa, 31-24.

Duke at Georgia Tech: Did I mention last week how much I enjoy watching Tech's offense operate? I do. Tech 38, Duke 31.

Wake Forest at Notre Dame: Notre Dame, 35-17. Sorry, Bama.

Deuce talks about Saints, Ivory

So, I was talking to Deuce McAllister this morning and the conversation turned immediately to the Saints' 31-27 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

I told Deuce I hadn't seen anybody in a Saints uniform run like Chris Ivory did Sunday since Deuce himself.

“You are not the first to mention that,” Deuce said. “I take that as a compliment. Ivory is running angrily and violently. That one run was special. He showed speed, agility and power. You can tell he was running with a chip on his shoulder.”

Deuce was talking about Ivory's 56-yard run for the Saints's first touchdown after the Falcons had taken a 10-0 lead. Ivory made Falcon defensive backs look like toy soldiers on that run, breaking several tackles.

It was the Saints longest touchdown run since, well, since Deuce went 57 yards against the Bucs in 2006.

The victory knocked the Falcons from the unbeaten ranks and raised the Saints to 4-5 on the season. It also has rekindled some talk of the Saints somehow reaching the playoffs.

Such talk, McAlister says, is premature.

“The Saints have got to win some games, period,” he said. “Win these next two, beat Oakland at Oakland and San Francisco at home, and then they can be part of the discussion. But they've dug themselves a deep, deep hole. This isn't going to be easy.”

My take: 9-7 might get the Saints a wildcard berth. A 10-6 record would for sure, but that would require the Saints to win six of their last seven. It's possible, but not likely.

Sunday's game showed how important it is for the Saints to run the ball successfully, to take some of the load of both Drew Brees and the defense. Ivory gave them a spark and a badly needed one at that.

Darrell Royal's Mississippi connections

Darrell Royal, at Mississippi State in 1954.

Royal made his mark in the Magnolia State.

The death of the renowned football coach Darrell Royal deserves more than passing notice here in Mississippi where Royal honed his legendary coaching skills.

Actually, there are many connections between Royal and Mississippi, which we will examine here.

An Oklahoma native who starred for Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma, Royal first came to Mississippi in 1952 as the backfield coach for Murray Warmath at Mississippi State. Those Bulldogs had a 5-4 record.

Royal left after one season to coach the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League, but returned to Starkville in 1954 as head coach of the Bulldogs. He stayed two seasons, coaching State to 6-4 records in both 1954 and 1955. He was 2-0 against Alabama, 0-2 against Ole Miss and Johnny Vaught. He was 1-1 against LSU.

His 1955 Bulldogs won six straight games and rose into the Associated Press Top 20, before a three-game losing streak ended the season. Royal left following that season to take the head coaching job at the University of Washington.

Jimmy Lee Dodd of Starkville played center and linebacker for those Royal-coached State teams.

“He was a great, great head coach,” Dodd remembers. “He was very hands on, extremely organized. The players loved him. We all thought the world of him.”

The relationships lasted for years. Says Dodd, who spent 35 years as an electrical engineering professor at State: “We would have a team reunion every two years and Coach Royal came back to those reunions on several occasions. I think the last time he came was in 2000.”

We're dead even, not brain dead

So, Cleveland and Hood both picked 11 winners and 4 losers last week and remained tied on the season with 72-30 records. The upset of the week was that Orley actually picked the Saints correctly.  You've heard of the Blind Hog  theory that even a blind hog occasionally finds  the acorn? This was the Blind Hood theory at work.

Hood picked Ole Miss over Georgia, which was almost as bad as Cleveland picking USM over UAB. Actually, both missed on USM and both have vowed to not let that happen again.

Orley's picks

Mississippi State at LSU: One could hardly go down to Baton Rouge at a more propitious time, considering Alabama ripped the Tigers’ hearts out last week. But LSU lethargy may not be enough for State, busted flat the last two weeks by Bama and A&M. LSU 24, State 17.

Vandy at Ole Miss: Joker Phillips was most certainly done before last week, but Vandy surely finished him off with a 40-0 victory in Lexington. Can the Comms go into Oxford and hammer Ole Miss, too? Nope. Bowl eligibility is at stake for Ole Miss. It won’t be easy. Rebels 30, VU 27.

USM at SMU: I’m done wishin’ and hopin’ for the Golden Eagles. They may finish oh-for-2012. SMU 35, Southern 17.

Arkansas at South Carolina: Before the season, oooh, really big game. Now? Routine. Chickens 38, Hogs 28.

Texas A&M at Alabama: Big, big, big. A&M gets better every week. Alabama comes off an emotional victory at Tiger Stadium. Danger? Absolutely. But this is the week that Johnny Football runs into big bad linebackers who can scramble his brain pan. Alabama 38, A & M 24.

Musing about Manziel, Bama & more . . .

 

Sunday morning coffee:

Don't know about you, but I wore out my remote control Saturday. And then I dreamed about college football last night, mostly about what might happen when Manziel takes his Johnny Football show to Tuscaloosa this Saturday. Listen, I'm not counting the kid out. He is the truth.

I am left with these three impressions from Saturday:

• There is no reason, none whatsoever, Texas A & M's Johnny Manziel should not be a leading candidate, if not the leading candidate, for the Heisman. The award goes to the most outstanding player in the country and it says nothing about the most outstanding upperclassman player. The kid has it all, including instincts that remind at least this writer of Joe Montana.

• The luck of the Irish has returned to South Bend, Ind. No way Notre Dame was supposed to win that game against 4-5 Pitt. The Irish are a really good team. Brian Kelly is an outstanding coach, and, yes, Notre Dame is still in the national championship hunt. BUT, the Irish aren't in the same league with Alabama — or LSU for that matter. The speed differential is obvious.

A hole-in-one for the (old) ages

Pete Buttross, on his 90th birthday.

Ted Williams, the great baseball slugger, once famously said: “By the time you know what to do, you’re too old to do it.”

Try telling that to Natchez golfer Pete Buttross, who took up golf at age 72 when his wife bought him a set of clubs upon his retirement.

One month after turning 93, Buttross made a hole-in-one, using a 5-wood to ace the difficult 132-yard seventh hole at Beau Pre Country Club. It was Buttross's third career hole-in-one, but, only his first since turning 93.

The seventh at Beau Pre is a challenging par-3 that requites a carry over a deep ravine. Buttross made his ace in tournament play on the second day of the Beau Pre Fall Four Ball.

The odds against a hole-in-one have been calculated at 3,500-to-one; however, no computer has calculated the odds on a 93-year-old accomplishing the feat. Might not be possible.

Buttross apparently is not the oldest golfer to ever make an ace. In April of 2007, a woman named Elsie McLean, 101 years young, used a driver to ace the 100-yard fourth hole at Bidwell Park Golf Couse in Chico, Cal.

It was McLean's first-ever hole-in-one — at 101 or any age.

Roll Tide or Geaux Tigers?

Surely, you, as I, will be glad when next Tuesday's election is over and all the trash-talking and cheap shots return to the football field and message boards rather than the nightly news.

But you, as I, also might be surprised to learn that Tuesday's election could well hinge on the outcome of Saturday night's Alabama-LSU game. How so?

As Paul Myerberg of USA Today reports, the Tide-Tiger outcome has foretold which party would claim the White House in every election since 1984. You could look it up. Myerberg did. And here's what he found:

Over the last seven elections, an LSU win has meant a Republican president, while an Alabama victory has meant a Democrat in the White House. You would think, considering the Crimson Tide's elephant mascot, it would be other way around. It's not.

1984: LSU 16, Alabama 14. Ronald Reagan (R) routs Walter Mondale (D).

1988: LSU 19, Alabama 18. George H.W. Bush (R) defeats Michael Dukakis (D).

1992: Alabama 31, LSU 11. Bill Clinton (D) defeats George H.W. Bush (R).

1996: Alabama 26, LSU 0. Clinton (D) defeats Bob Dole (R).

2000: LSU 30, Alabama 28. George W. Bush (R) defeats Al Gore (D).

2004: LSU 26, Alabama 10. George W. Bush (R) defeats John Kerry (D).

2008: Alabama 27, LSU 21. Barack Obama (D) defeats John McCain (R).

Should the trend hold an Alabama victory Saturday would mean an Obama reelection; an LSU win would mean a victory for Mitt Romney. Who you got?

A life-changing experience. . .

This is my first football season in 46 not working for a newspaper. So people ask me constantly: Do you miss the games?

Good question — and there's no easy answer. What I miss most, without question: Seeing my sports writing and broadcasting friends every Saturday. It is a fraternity of folks who love what they do, even though they never fail to complain about the industry, the deadlines, the editors back at the office, the TV timeouts and the press box fare. I really do miss that camaraderie.

What I miss least are those rides home, after midnight, dodging deer and fretting over whether: 1) I got the score right; and 2) I did the game justice.

I have gone to games on three weekends this year. I could have gone to more, but I really wanted to see how the other 99 percent spend fall Saturdays. The truth is, I've watched an awful lot of TV football. I've worked in the yard, gone for walks, barbequed, played golf once (poorly) and spent one Saturday totally void of college football (TV, radio or Internet). That was strange. I didn't much like it.

Some observations:

I miss the pageantry of it all, sitting high above the scene and taking it all in.

I don't miss TV timeouts when deadline is looming and the game is on the line.

We're headed into November, all tied

You've heard of a blind spot? If not, I'll give you a sample. Orley Hood has a blind spot. They are called the New Orleans Saints. I can't tell you the last time Orley forecast a Saints game correctly. His heart gets in the way of his head. 

That blind spot is all that keeps Big O from running away with this picks competition the way Bama keeps running away from everybody the Crimson Tide plays. If Orley could pick the Saints right, he'd be six or seven games ahead, coasting into November.

Instead, Orley and Rick are tied with 61-26 records on the season. It's closer than the Presidential election, although nearly not as contentious.

 So, without further adieu . . .

Orley's picks

Ole Miss at Georgia: Big win for the Rebels last week in Little Rock, even bigger for those Hairy Dawgs, who jumped the Gators in Jacksonville. Ole Miss gave Arkansas a lesson in the two-minute drill … twice. Georgia played terribly but forced Florida to play even worse. No turnovers or dumb penalties in Athens makes me think the Rebs have a realistic shot. But … Georgia 24, Ole Miss 21. No, no, no! Turn it around! Ole Miss 24, Georgia 21. Whew. I’m worn out all ready, and haven’t even gotten to ...

Texas A&M at Mississippi State: Two questions: Can State wake up from the Tuscaloosa nightmare? Can State deal with Johnny Football, who laid 63 on Auburn on the Plains last Saturday? It is a monster test for Dan Mullen’s team. Tyler Russell has to fill the skies with touchdown passes. Dogs 45, A&M 42.

Alabama at LSU: Monster on monster, again. Trade quarterbacks, and maybe LSU’s monsters would have a shot. Tide 31, LSU 14.

Who's laughing now?

As most folks know, I graduated from Southern Miss, so, in a way, I am telling this on myself.

As my friends, from all schools know, I appreciate a good joke, especially a clean one.

So, a really good Ole Miss friend of mine asked me today did I know the perfect solution for what Mississippi State fans can do with their "I believe, 8-0!" signs and posters from last week.

I said, no, but I figured he did.

I was right.

Said he, "All they have to do is give them to their USM friends and tell them to turn them upside down."

Ba-da, ba-da bing! 

Now then, to all my Ole Miss friends, I would point out that Hugh Freeze is a 1992 graduate of Southern Miss, so he must have learned something at the school down south. I would also point out that USM owed Ole Miss for producing College Football Hall of Famer Thad "Pie" Vann, the great USM coach, and Roland Dale, the highly successful USM athletic director and Mississippi Sports Hall of Famer.

Freeze's Rebels are coached sky-high

 Back in August a certain guy who has made a living watching football for more than four decades wrote this:

If Hugh Freeze were to win five games, he ought to be Coach of the Year. If the Rebels win six, they should go ahead and commission a statue. Unfortunately, I think the Rebels are destined for 3-9. Freeze inherits a mess. This is going to take some time.

I stand corrected, but only about the record.

Freeze's Ole Miss Rebels defeated Arkansas 30-27 at Little Rock Saturday to advance to 5-3 on the season. Coach of the Year is certainly not out of the question, because Freeze surely did inherit a mess.

What's really amazing is that the Rebels could just as easily be 6-2 and already bowl eligible had they closed the deal against Texas A & M. By any measure, Freeze and his staff have done a masterful job of coaching up a ballclub that bears little resemblance to last year.

Freeze beat a team that had superior athletes Saturday. That's coaching. The Rebels play hard all the time. That's coaching. They play disciplined and efficiently. That's coaching. They do the little things right. That's coaching. They get the ball in the hands of their playmakers. That's coaching.

What impressed me most about Saturday's effort was the blocking of the Ole Miss wide receivers. They were knocking down Razorbacks like bowling pins. That's coaching and effort. Yes, Jeff Scott sure is fast, but his wide receivers gave him plenty of room to show off that speed. Grant Heard, the Ole Miss wide receivers coach, has coached his guys up.

The Rebels are 5-3 with four games remaining: at Georgia, at home against Vanderbilt, at LSU and at home against Mississippi State. They should get six and they may get more.

Notes, quotes and you know what. . .

Notes, quotes and an opinion or two. . .

Peyton Manning and David Cutcliffe fans — and there are many of both in Mississippi — will enjoy this piece by Jeff Duncan of The Times Picayune in New Orleans. It gives you some idea of the Manning family's high regard for Cutcliffe and an even better idea of Peyton Manning's dedication to detail. Love this quote from Archie Manning: "Cut is so humble and down to earth. He's just good people.”

Duke's 33-30 victory over North Carolina and Larry Fedora last Saturday lifted the Blue Devils to 6-2 and 3-1 in the ACC.

The Clarion-Ledger this week listed it's 10 most anticipated Mississippi football games in the last 30 years. Here's my list of the five most memorable football games since 1980:

1. State 6, Bama 3 (1980).
   
2. USM 7, State 6, (1981).
   
3. Ole Miss 24, State 23 (1984).
   
4. Alcorn State 42, Mississippi Valley State 28 (1983).
   
5. Arkansas 58, Ole Miss 56 seven overtimes (2001). (Toughest deadline I ever had to make.)
   

The first annual Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Roast, featuring Coach Jack Carlisle, was a huge success. Master of Ceremonies Skipper Jernigan and six different roasters all had approximately 200 attendees laughing and reminiscing. The Roast raised badly needed money to help in various refurbishing projects and new exhibits for the museum.

The Roast will be aired in the Jackson metropolitan area on Comcast (Channel 17) and AT&T U-Verse (channel 51) this coming Monday and Tuesday nights at 7 p.m. It will be a 1 hour, 45-minute broadcast.

Also professionally recorded DVDs of the Roast, produced by Anderson Productions, are available from the museum for $40. . . .

Traffic for this website has steadily grown over the past two months, and we appreciate each and every reader. Our website has been a work in progress and we are nearing completion in the next couple weeks. The completed and expanded website will include detailed information on all Mississippi Sports Hall of Famers, museum news and updates, as well as blogs and columns from me, Orley Hood and occasional guests. If you like what you see, bookmark us and tell your friends. Advertising space will be available on the various website pages. Call 601 982-8264 for more information or email me at rcleveland@msfame.com.

Is Bama that much better?

Alabama opened as as a 24 point favorite over Mississippi State. The betting line has moved to 22.

There's a lot of misconception about what all that means.

The first misconception is that Las Vegas oddsmakers believe Alabama is 24 points better than MSU.

Not true. Oddsmakers believe that the betting public perceives Alabama is 24 points better than State. Oddsmakers are hoping to set the betting line to where there will be equal money bet on both teams. That way, the house (the bookie or casino) can't lose because of the 10 percent house advantage. The bettor has to bet risk 11 dollars to win 10 or a 110 to win 100.

When the line goes down, as this one has, it means that considerably more money is being bet on Mississippi State than on Alabama. The line is moved in hopes of enticing more bets on Bama.

You should know than 24-point underdogs win almost every week of the season. State was a 20-point underdog when it beat Alabama in 1980.

The formula for that magnitude of upset usually includes several turnovers by the favorites and some big plays in the kicking game by the underdog. It happens, not all that often, but it happens.

I happen to think Bama would win nine times if they played 10, but this might be the one. It helps State that Bama plays LSU next Saturday. There's no doubt about that.

My man, Strib. . . a Mississippi treasure

Lafayette Stribling and me at the MHSAA State Tournament in 2010.

This is a Clarion-Ledger column I wrote on Lafayette Stribling back in February, 2004, when he was coaching at Mississippi Valley State. Strib retired from Tougaloo Tuesday after a truly remarkable 55-year career in coaching. Strib is a Mississippi treasure.

ITTA BENA − Fifty−one years ago, Lafayette Stribling, the son of poor Leake County sharecroppers, graduated from Harmony Vocational High School in Carthage. He had to borrow a friend's suit for the ceremony.

 He has never forgotten.

 "I promised myself, 'One day I'm gonna have me a suit of my own, and I'm not going to have to wear somebody else's clothes,' " Stribling said Monday afternoon in the living room of his Greenwood home.

 Boy, did Lafayette Stribling − Mississippi Valley State's basketball coach and Strib to his friends − ever keep that promise.

 No visit to Stribling's Greenwood home is complete without a visit to his "closet." The closet is actually a converted bedroom containing approximately 200 mostly tailored suits of all cuts and colors, 12 tuxedos, nearly 200 pairs of shoes, about 50 top hats and one mink coat that cost more than Stribling used to make in a year.

Orley cain't figure out his Saints

My pal Orley can't seem to get his Saints right. He picks 'em to win, they lose. He picks 'em to lose, they win. Me? Man, I been watching those guys since I was 13. I got 'em figured out. Yeah, right. . . . The Saints' not-so-convincing win over Tampa Bay Sunday gave me a one-game lead in a two-man picks race. I was 9-2 last week, compared to O's 7-4. For the season, I am 52-20. Orley is 51-21.

So here we go again. . .

Rick's picks

Mississippi State at Alabama: I covered this one — State 6, Bama 3 — in 1980 when the Tide was a 20-point favorite. This time, Bama is a 24-point pick. If anything, Nick Saban's bunch seems even more invincible than Bear Bryant's 32 years ago. (Come on, has it really been 32?) State can win but will have to have help from Bama, and the Tide doesn't seem to want to help anybody. In fact, Saban's guys seem like well-trained assassins. Bama, 34-13.

Ole Miss at Arkansas: Huge game for Ole Miss, which needs two more victories to get to six. This one is a possibility, although Arkansas is starting to look more like we thought Arkansas was going to be. Hogs, 31- 24.

USM at Rice: How much worse can get this get? Winless and down to their fourth quarterback, the Golden Eagles are underdogs to Rice. For good reason. Rice 27, USM 17.

Tennessee at South Carolina: After LSU and Florida, Gamecocks need a break and a home game. They get both. South Carolina, 31-17.

Florida-Georgia at Jacksonville: Both teams can score but only one can defend. Gators, 38-27.

Ray Glier: The SEC is Goliath

Note from Rick Cleveland: Ray Glier, the hardest working sports journalist I know, will sign his book How the SEC Became Goliath Wednesday afternoon beginning at 5 p.m. at Lemuria. I've read it. SEC football fans will love it. I asked Ray to write a short essay from the book for our website and it follows....

By Ray Glier

Archie Manning knew the right question to ask Hugh Freeze in the interview process for the Ole Miss football coach. It wasn’t just what kind of offense you are going to run. It wasn’t who is going to be the offensive coordinator and how are you are going to keep players inside the state of Mississippi.

Ray Glier

The committee, Manning said, asked Freeze, “Who is going to be you strength and conditioning coach?”

“A Tommy Moffitt guy,” Freeze said.

“Which one,” the committee asked.

“Any of them,” Freeze said.

Freeze hired Paul Jackson, who worked for Moffitt at LSU, as his strength and conditioning coach.

This is all in the book, How The SEC Became Goliath. I am signing it at Lemuria at 5 on Wednesday. The chapter is called “Muscle Matters” and it is important because the SEC has won national championships from the inside out, tackle to tackle. The SEC is a line of scrimmage league. Big people beat up little people.

Moffitt makes $300,000 a year. Scott Cochran, the Alabama strength coach, makes a tick more than that. It’s important. Just look on the field before the game. Look at the personnel groups of Bama and LSU. NFL-ready bodies.

The NFL scouts even marvel at the muscle of the kickers in the SEC.

There are some other interesting chapters in the book, if I do say so myself. Alabama’s theories on recruiting are detailed in a 7,000-word chapter. There is the tale of Lane Kiffin at Tennessee and a chapter on defensive linemen. I get into the rebuilding of LSU by you know you and how one coach begged off on the LSU job in 1999 allowing Saban to be hired.

The book is built around the six national championships, but it also looks at the population quake in the south and culture and money.

I’ll talk about it with anyone on Wednesday at Lemuria.

State's 6-3 victory over Bama still resonates

The following was a column I wrote for The Clarion-Ledger Nov. 2, 2005, 25 years after State's monumental 6-3 victory over Alabama and Bear Bryant at Veterans Memorial Stadium. With undefeated State a 24-point underdog to No. 1 Alabama this Saturday, now seems as good a time as any to remember what can happen. . .

Kent Hull played on teams that won four American Football Conference championship games. He played in four Super Bowls. He played for a Buffalo Bills team that once won a game after trailing 35-3 at halftime.

Tyrone Keys and Johnie Cooks played on teams that won Super Bowls.

But all three will tell you - and so will most of their former Mississippi State teammates - they never played in another game so magical or so meaningful as the one they played in 25 years ago Tuesday.

A quarter of a century later, the most improbable of scores remains:

State 6, Bama 3.

Yes, and if you listen closely on a quiet evening at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, you might still hear the faint echoes of cowbells clanging around the horseshoe. Never in this reporter's memory have so many stayed so long and cheered so loudly after the deed was done.

But then, seldom have fans anywhere had such reason to cheer.

Bear Bryant's Crimson Tide, ranked No. 1 in the national polls, was a 20-point favorite. Mighty Alabama had won 28 consecutive games, 26 straight Southeastern Conference games and had defeated Mississippi State 22 straight times. Not a single Bulldogs player that day had been alive the last time State had beaten Bama.

The Saints: after further review

Nothing comes easily for these New Orleans Saints. As the announcers signed off on the Saints' 35-28 victory over Tampa Bay Sunday, one asked the question: "Can the Saints get back in this NFC South race?"

My take: Not unless the defense plays better, much better. They were better in the second half Sunday, but better than abysmal is not saying much.

Before going further: The game ball definitely should have go to safety Malcolm Jenkins. His hustle play to save a Bucs touchdown was the difference in the game. He made up 20 yards in 70 yards on a speedster.

Still, the Saints must improve defensively to make any kind of run. They've got Denver Sunday night at Denver. You think Peyton Manning won't salivate when he watches the lack of pass rush and coverage the Saints have displayed all season?

Drew Brees will get his against Denver's leaky D, but the Saints may have to score 50 to win.

The Saints' other big problem is that they are chasing the undefeated Atlanta Falcons, who do play defense and run the football well enough to keep opponents' offenses off the field for long periods of time.

The Saints have a long, long way to go, but Jenkins' heroic tackle and Brees' impeccable passing have kept them in the discussion for another week.

Sunday morning coffee talk

The Answer Man returns with answers and guesses about what many are asking . . .

Q. Can State hang with Alabama?

A. I would answer that this way: Can anybody hang with Bama? Nick Saban's Crimson Tide now looks to have an offense almost as good as its killer defense and its always excellent special teams. You've got the best talent, with the best coaching, and it is something to watch.

My best guess: State would have to play better than it has to date, and Alabama would have to be flat and put the ball on the ground.

Tyler Russell, with protection, might find some openings in the Alabama defense. But therein lies the problem. Bama just keeps coming — and from all directions.

Q. From 18 straight winning seasons to 0-7 and a 35-point loss at home on homecoming to Marshall? What has happened at USM?

A. The perfect storm. Austin Davis was even better than we knew. His raw QB replacements, all dealing with various injuries, are nowhere near him. They aren't helped by the fact that receivers get zero separation and that protection is spotty. For as long as I can remember, USM has had fantastic linebacker play; not this year. Add to all that: The early schedule was a bear.

And even all that doesn't explain how the Eagles could play so inconsistently, so well one Saturday in a tough, overtime loss to UCF and then so poorly the next Saturday at The Rock against Marshall. Sadly that inconsistency can only be chalked up to a lack of leadership, both among coaches and players. They've got to get some energy from somewhere.

Q. Can Ole Miss, 4-3, get to six wins and become bowl eligible?

A. Maybe, which is far more than I would have said in the pre-season. The Rebels have road games remaining with Arkansas, Georgia and LSU. They have Vandy and Mississippi State at home. They have to get two of the five, which would be a huge accomplishment.

Ole Miss is playing with energy and purpose. I just have a feeling the Rebs will get to six. Vandy, no easy chore (especially for Ole Miss here lately), has to be one of them. LSU would appear far-fetched but none of the others are totally out of the question. Boy, Texas A &M looks more and more like the big fish that got away.

Flip has St. Joe on the go

I see where Madison St. Joe advanced to 10-0 on the season last night, quite an achievement for Coach Flip Godfrey's Bruins.

Godfrey, whom I first covered when he was at Canton Academy, can flat coach, and he has surrounded himself with an outstanding staff.

Years ago, The Clarion-Ledger did a special project called “One Friday in Mississippi.” Writers were dispatched across the state to spend the day and night at high schools of all sizes. I drew Canton Academy.

Flip gave me all-access, from the pep rally to the pre-game meal, to his pre-game talk, to walking the sidelines with him during the game. I will never forget those last two parts.

I can't remember what year it was, but Godfrey was scripting the first series of downs long before it became a common practice in the NFL.

Canton Academy probably didn't have more than 20 players, but Godfrey addressed them in the pre-game meeting and told them: “Tonight, we're only going to over the first two plays because the second one is going to score.”

The first play was a sweep of left end. The second was a reverse back around the right end. Godfrey had seen time and time on film where the night's opponent did not contain on the back side.

Canton took the field, received the opening kickoff . The first play gained about five yards. The second play, as Godfrey predicted, scored. The wide receiver who ran the reverse was not touched.

“Does it happen that way every week?” I asked Godfrey.

“No,” he answered, “but, damn, it's fun when it does.”