Not sure anyone expected the ending last Saturday night in Starkville as the Mississippi State Bulldogs scored with 30 seconds to play to upset No. 12 Arizona State, 24-20. Blake Shapen threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Brenen Thompson for the winning score. Mississippi State jumped out to a 17-0 lead before the Sun Devils stormed back to take a 20-17 lead on a field goal with 1:38 to play in the contest. Five plays later, Shapen led the Bulldogs on the five-play 77-yard winning TD drive. Shapen completed 19-of-33 passes for 279 yards and three touchdowns. Thompson and Anthony Evans III combined for 15 receptions and 241 yards on the night. The Bulldogs (2-0) will host Alcorn (0-2) on Saturday.
Southern Mississippi defeated Jackson State, 38-20, on Saturday in Hattiesburg before a large crowd. Golden Eagle quarterback Braylon Braxton threw for three touchdowns and 214 yards. Jeffery Pittman led the rushing attack with 71 yards as the Eagles' ground attack accounted for 139 yards. It was Charles Huff's first win with USM. The loss snapped Jackson State’s 11-game winning streak. This week, the Golden Eagles (1-1) open Sun Belt Conference play as they host Appalachian State (2-0) while Jackson State (1-1) returns home to begin SWAC play against Tuskegee (2-0).
Ole Miss started slow but ended fast in their 30-23 win over Kentucky in Lexington. The Wildcats jumped out to a 10-0 lead as Ole Miss quarterback Austin Simmons threw a couple of interceptions to give Kentucky the early lead. The sophomore jump started the Rebel comeback as he converted a fourth down play by passing 55 yards to Harrison Wallace III that led to the Rebels' first score, a Kewan Lacy run. Lacy led the Rebels' rushing attack, gaining 138 yards while Simmons threw for 235 yards. Ole Miss (2-0) hosts Arkansas (2-0) this week.
The Southeastern Conference led the way with a record 11 teams in this week’s Associated Press college football poll. LSU is the highest ranked SEC team at No. 3, followed by Georgia at No. 5 and Texas at No. 8. The Big10 had four teams ranked in the Top 10 led by No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Penn State, No. 4 Oregon and No. 9 Illinois. The Fighting Illini are led by former Starkville and Ole Miss quarterback Luke Altmyer. Miami and Florida State of the ACC are ranked sixth and tenth, respectively. The lone independent is Notre Dame at eight. The other SEC ranked teams are South Carolina (11), Oklahoma (13), Tennessee (15), Texas A&M (16), Ole Miss (17), Alabama (19), Missouri (24) and Auburn (25).
Head football coach Todd Cooley became the winningest football coach in Delta State history. The Statesmen rolled over North Greenville, 41-9, as Cooley notched his 77th career win. Quarterback Cole Kirk passed for three touchdowns and rushed for two more in the 40th annual Pig Pickin’ contest. DSU (2-0) travels to UNC Pembroke Saturday.
Belhaven rolled over Millsaps, 50-24, in the “Riverside Rumble.” Belhaven will travel to Trinity (TX) while Millsaps will host Centenary College.
Alcorn fell to Alabama A&M, 41-31, while Valley dropped one to Tarleton State of Texas. This Saturday, Alcorn visits Mississippi while Valley heads to SE Louisiana.
The Saints are back as the NFL season began this last week. They unfortunately lost to Arizona, 20-13. San Francisco will come to town on Sunday.
On the 30th anniversary of Cal Ripken Jr.'s record breaking 2,131 consecutive streak game, the 2025 Orioles did the impossible as they rallied to win, 4-3, which was astounding as the Orioles were being no-hit by Dodger pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto for 8. 2 innings. Jackson Holiday homered to spoil the no-hit bid and three batters later Emmanuel Rivera hit a walk off single to drive in two runs for the unbelievable outcome. Ripken was joined by former 1995 teammates, which included former Mississippi State All-American Rafael Palmerio.
Listen to Dale and Marshall Wood on the Brouhaha Sports Show Tuesdays & Fridays at 6 p.m. on WABO FM 105.5 in the Waynesboro area. This week’s guest will be Magnolia Tribune sports columnist Parrish Alford. To listen to the broadcast on your computer or smart phone anywhere in the world, go to Google Chrome. You may also go to The Brouhaha on YouTube and listen to archived shows.
