Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk!

 NYUK, NYUK, NYUK!

After the Tennessee game I was sad because we could've easily had another win over a ranked team. Then after the A&M game I was disappointed because we had been competitive for over 3 quarters, but the D just gave out of gas. But after the loss to Florida, I was and continue to be pissed off because we lost to an inferior team.

Okay, let's start with the elephant in the room: Those of you who have been readers for some time know that my practice is typically not to point fingers and name names or to criticize individual players. But dumb is dumb, and Saturday all of us saw it on full display on Steve Spurrier - Florida Field, trailing by 2 with the ball on the Gator 29 yd. line, and 29 seconds left. The culprits -- Stooges, if you will? A second year head coach who has generally been regarded as an offensive wizard and a senior QB playing in his 6th season of D-I college football (3rd as a starter). The coach calls time out and dials up not a running play to perhaps gain a few yards and spot the ball wherever his kicker (who has kicked 7 of 9 FG's this season and holds the school record with a 55 yarder) preferred it to be. Instead he calls for a pass play. The QB, of course, was pressured, as he was all day, but he had time to throw the ball and did ... squarely into the numbers of a 6' 4 1/2", 349 lb. defensive Goliath dressed in vivid blue and a bright orange helmet, who gratefully accepted the gift. (So did his coach, who erroneously thought the win might save his job.)

The Invisible Man?

Game, set, and match. As any football fan would say -- and State fans are most definitely saying (in between retches) -- stupid call and stupid play. Our theme song for this game has to have been [click here  https://youtu.be/gcluQoAiSDM?si=ZHUufBcffV1hO_1C&t=15 ]!

To Blake Shapen's credit, he took responsibility for an inexplicably bad play. He said he didn't see the [I repeat] 6' 4 1/2", 349 lb. defensive Goliath dressed in vivid blue and a bright orange helmet. 🤯But his head coach, who put him in position to make that critical mistake, says, "I love the call." Really?!? You make an indefensibly asinine call that costs you the game, and you can't own up to it? Like the Fonz in Happy Days you can't bring yourself to say, "I was wrong"??? Boy, do you have a lot to learn?! Come on, man!

Let me jump in here and say that I am not advocating, as some vehemently are, that we should bench Shapen and fire Lebby. I have to believe that our coaches, who see these guys in practice every day, must absolutely believe that Blake is our best option at QB and should be our starter. I accept that. Do I want us to figure out a way to use Kamario occasionally to do something other than run a power sweep? Absolutely!  Maybe even give Kromenhoek a chance to do likewise. And the last thing Miss. State needs to do is to fire another football coach and conduct another search that undoubtedly would cost us national debt-size fortunes in salary and buyout (which only a fool would not insist on, knowing he'd get it). We need to hope and pray that Lebby grows into the job ... and does so soon! I firmly believe this is not just our best choice; after 3 coaches in just over a year (no matter the circumstances), it's our only choice. Especially with the way the coaching carousel is spinning this year! Dialing for Dollars, college coaches' edition!

Back to the UF Game ...

As has been the norm this season, this game provided ample reinforcement for both the SOS and DOS contingents. As with nearly all State games this year, it was a back and forth affair. Let's take a quick look:

• The Bulldogs took the opening kickoff and had a 12 minute drive that ended in a TD to go up 7 - 0. 
• UF responded with a drive to close to 7 - 3.
• The teams exchanged punts before State drove to the Gator 31 but were stopped on 4th down by inexplicably running 3 straight QB smashes. (We missed Fluff here.)
• UF then drove for a TD and took the lead for good at 10 - 7.
• The teams exchanged turnovers (MSU fumble, UF INT) before Florida kicked a 54 yd. FG to extend the lead to 13 - 7 to end the scoring in the 1st half.
• To start the 2nd half the 2 teams exchanged punts twice before UF added a TD on a 93 yd. drive to expand their lead to 20 - 7.
• The 'Dogs scored a TD to pull within 6 early in the 4th quarter, and it looked like we had a chance.
• But the Gators added a 53 yd. FG to extend the lead to 23 - 14 with under 7 mins. to play. Looking bleak for DOS.
• State raced down the field, mixing runs and passes, and scored to get it to 23 - 21 with 4:49 to play.
• The Gators went 3 and out, thanks in large part to (the now departed) Sunbelt Billy's benevolent decision to attempt to pass on 3rd and 1 (with a back who had gained 150 yds. standing uselessly in his backfield!), and Lanier sacked the QB to force a punt with 1:47 left.
• Showing poise and patience, Shapen drove MSU to the UF 29 with 29 secs. to go, and Lebby called the last State timeout. You know, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story. 💩

We haven't used this template in awhile, so let's go with it:

The Good

• The Bulldog star of the game was safety Brylan Lanier, who finished the game with 8 tackles, including a QB sack, 2 interceptions, and a pass breakup. The defense had its moments, but Brylan had a game! Not sure that the SEC would give Player of the Week to a defender on a losing team, but if someone had a better game, I'd like to have seen it.
• Devon Booth was very effective running the ball. He gained 105 yds. and averaged just shy of 5 yds./carry. 

  

  Booth

  
  
• 
  
• Our 2 transfer receivers, Thompson and Evans, shredded the UF secondary. Thompson had 7 catches for 155 yds. with a long of 47, and Evans caught 11 for 107 and a long of 48. 

  

  Evans

  
  
• The MSU defense held the Gators to just 2 TD's, 4 of 11 third down conversions, and made 2 interceptions.
• Pulliam boomed 2 punts for a 51.5 yd. average.

The Bad

• The defense allowed Gator RB Jadan Baugh to run for 150 yds. and a TD on a 6.5 YPC average. 
  
• MSU offensive mistakes/failures were converted into 10 points by UF. A fumble by MSU as they were driving with the lead at the UF 16 not only cost State points, but gave FL the ball and led to a FG (any one of which was a game winner). Losing the ball on downs at the Gator 31 started a FL drive that yielded their go-ahead TD. 
• The 'Dogs lost Tillman, our best LB in the last couple of games, to a targeting call that allowed the Gators out of a hole on their side of the field and led to their final FG.
• Shapen completed 67% of his passes for 324 yds., but had no TD passes. Likewise, Evans and Thompson had receptions of 48 and 47 yds., respectively, but neither scored a TD.
• Ferrie missed a FG (according to the eagle-eyed refs).

The Ugly

• State was penalized 7 times for 60 yds., as usual including some costly ones.
• The OL surrendered 4 sacks and 11 TFL's.
• The calls for 3 consecutive QB runs, the last by Shapen, which resulted in a turnover on downs, were baffling.
• And, of course, there was that sudden, fatal episode of brain cramps that resulted in the pass play call that yielded the nauseating interception that sealed State's fate in its 15th straight SEC loss.

So, yeah, I was mad -- in part mad at myself. With the ball well within Ferrie's range, 2nd down, and a timeout left, I thought I had reason to feel pretty darn good. An impressive comeback win ... on the road in the SEC, no less. Then Lebby called timeout, doubt entered my mind, and I found myself falling victim to the SOS mentality, wondering how we could possibly screw this up. Fumble? Holding or personal foul penalty that would move us back out of FG range? Bad snap on the FG attempt? I never dreamed with the way the Gators had been living in our backfield that we would even consider throwing the ball. After I recovered from the initial shock of what I had just seen, my anger went from Shapen to Lebby back to myowndamnself. Why had I, one who had followed the Bulldogs for 68 years, allow myself to think it was a slam dunk to win it?!? Of course, we would find a way to beat ourselves! Hell, State!! I turn to MS native Jimmy Ruffin for a fitting ballad for the occasion [click here I've Passed This Way Before ].

The Road Ahead

Next stop? Davis Wade Stadium for a Homecoming tilt with the disappointing Texas Longhorns, who continued their descent from preseason National Championship contenders to a 5 - 2 team that has followed up a bad loss to Florida with an OT win over a 2 - 4 Kentucky team that, like the Gators, is undoubtedly kicking itself in the butt for extending the contract (including a ridiculously costly buyout) for a coach they knew they were likely to have to fire soon. What does all of this mean for our Bulldogs? While I'm sure that  UT-W has more and better athletes than DOS, their confidence has to have been shaken by their abysmal failure to meet expectations as the season has unfolded. So does State see the team that squeezed in an impressive win over Oklahoma between their 2 woeful performances, or the one that was trounced by the Gators, a team we had to extend a strong helping hand to manage to lose to? 

Perhaps the more burning question is us, i.e., which Bulldog team shows up. Will we see the MSU team that beat nationally ranked AZ State and played nationally ranked UT-E off their feet before losing in OT? Or will we see the team that has lost all 3 SEC games after having roared out of the gate to a 4 - 0 record? What will our state of mind be? What do teams comprised of seasonal workers care about homecoming? Are enough fans still on board with the 'Dogs to show up and ring (responsibly) and boost them along? Once again I find myself hopeful but doubtful ... and again fervently hoping that I'm wrong. I do believe this: Saturday's game may be our best chance to win an SEC game. 

In closing, three thoughts:

1. Should we bring back Prof. Jackie to speak to the team about the virtues of the opponent ... and perhaps conduct a zoological lesson on birth control in bovines?
2. Both uncles of the Texas QB, who share his surname, lost their first games at Davis Wade Stadium. A family curse perhaps?
3. No more Stooges!

Hail, State!!