Ole Miss defeated LSU, 31-17, this past Saturday and moved up to No. 9 in the AP College Football poll this week. Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1) used an ever-improving defense and a solid ground game to take down LSU for the first time since 2015. This week the schedule is no easier as the Rebels will visit No. 21 Auburn. Enjoying the win was former Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning, who during a halftime ceremony saw his jersey placed next to the jerseys of his father, Archie, and the late Chucky Mullins. A much-humbled Eli stated, “Seeing my No. 10 hang up there next to my dad’s will be one of the greatest moments of my life.”
Mississippi State (4-3, 2-2) passed Vanderbilt silly in posting a 45-6 win in Nashville. Will Rogers passed for four scores and 386 yards in leading the Bulldogs offense. This week the Bulldogs will celebrate Homecoming by hosting No. 12 Kentucky.
In other SEC action, No. 3 Alabama, No. 14 Texas A&M and Arkansas also came up winners. This week’s SEC schedule is abbreviated as Georgia and Florida meet in the annual matchup and Vandy hosts Missouri.
Southern Mississippi made the news off the football field this week as they enjoyed the open week. The Golden Eagles are expected to join the Sun Belt Conference this week. The current Sun Belt members are Coastal Carolina, Appalachian State, Troy, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, Louisiana (Lafayette), UL-Monroe, Texas State, South Alabama and Arkansas State.
SWAC
Alcorn rolled over Texas Southern, 44-27, to remain undefeated in conference play. The Braves (5-2, 4-0) will travel to Southern University Saturday night. Jackson State (6-1, 4-0) downed winless Bethune Cookman, 42-12, and travels to Mississippi Valley this Saturday at 3 p.m. Valley (2-5, 1-3) fell to Florida A&M, 31-28.
Small Colleges
Delta State (3-5, 1-3) pulled the upset this week as they traveled to West Alabama and outscored the Tigers, 35-30. Mississippi College (3-4, 2-3) fell to Valdosta State, 41-14, while Belhaven (5-2, 4-2) won for the fourth straight time as they beat previously undefeated Howard Payne, 24-10. Millsaps (1-6, 1-3) lost to Centre, 66-34. This week DSU hosts Shorter, and MC entertains West Florida. Belhaven visits Mary Hardin–Baylor while Millsaps travels to Sewanee.
JUCO
No. 13 Gulf Coast shocked No.1 Jones, 27-23, and Hinds won over East Central to create a three-way tie in the South Division. If Jones wins over Co-Lin and Hinds beats Pearl River this week, they will enter the playoffs as the No. 1 and 2 teams, respectively, while Gulf Coast will be left out. Gulf Coast hosts Southwest this Saturday. Undefeated East Mississippi is the No. 1 seed in the North, and Northwest is the No. 2 team. The JUCO playoffs begin on Saturday, November 6.
World Series
The Atlanta Braves took down last year’s champs, the Los Angeles Dodgers, in six games and will now meet the American League winner, the Houston Astros, in the 2021 World Series. The Braves last played in the World Series back in 1999.
Odds & Ends
The ageless wonder Tom Brady became the first quarterback ever with 600 touchdown passes. Brady threw his record-breaking touchdown pass to Mike Evans in the first half of Tampa Bay’s win over Chicago on Sunday.
Kentucky edged Alabama in the SEC Basketball Media predictions for the upcoming season. Mississippi State was ranked 8th and Ole Miss 9th in the overall 14-team standings. MSU opens the season on November 10th by hosting North Alabama while Ole Miss opens on November 9 against New Orleans in Oxford. Southern Mississippi also hosts William Carey on November 9.
Dale is a Waynesboro resident who has been writing sports in Mississippi since 1973. Listen to Dale’s Brouhaha Sports Show with Marshall Wood on Tuesday and Friday at 6 p.m. on WABO FM 105.5 in the Waynesboro area. To listen to the broadcast on your computer or smart phone anywhere in the world go to Google Chrome, go to wabo105.com and click listen live. This week’s guest is former Ole Miss All-American quarterback and baseball player Jake Gibbs.
