Thank you. Long time lurker, first time poster. Avid reader. Some of you might not like what I came here to say, but I mean it with all sincerity. Thank you, Mississippi State. It's been 3 years since Southern Miss has felt relevant in any way regarding its football program. I love USM. Attended there from 2004-2008, and some of my best memories were from watching the games at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
Last night, USM played a Top 20 school, on national television, in front of a capacity crowd. For the first time in 3+ years, it felt "normal" again in Hattiesburg. I'm not saying that we used to win all those games, but we were competitive in most of them. The Rock was full last night and MSU represented themselves well. All the fans that stopped by our tailgate were extremely classy, and everyone in the stadium was nice too. Total class all the way. I know many of y'all hate it, but having the season ticket requirement to get State tickets likely helped the athletic budget a lot, and hopefully encourages more folks to attend other games.
Now on to the game. I don't think many of us expected USM to win, but man it was nice that the outcome wasn't truly decided until the 4th quarter. My observations? State is BIG on defense. Dak is just as good as advertised, even though he had an "off" game, and State's zone defense cost them a ton of yards. I expect those issues to be addressed for LSU though.
In any case, I was proud of my Eagles for going toe to toe with a team that has superior talent and depth. Before the season, I cautiously predicted that USM would win 6 games. After last night, I'm feeling a little wooly and bumping my prediction up to 7 wins considering the schedule. As for State, I believe y'all go as Dak goes. 9 wins is my prediction, for what it's worth. I'll be rooting for y'all in every other game. Oh and Ole Miss can still go to hell. Straight to hell.
Hail State, and Southern Miss to the Top.
Last night, USM played a Top 20 school, on national television, in front of a capacity crowd. For the first time in 3+ years, it felt "normal" again in Hattiesburg. I'm not saying that we used to win all those games, but we were competitive in most of them. The Rock was full last night and MSU represented themselves well. All the fans that stopped by our tailgate were extremely classy, and everyone in the stadium was nice too. Total class all the way. I know many of y'all hate it, but having the season ticket requirement to get State tickets likely helped the athletic budget a lot, and hopefully encourages more folks to attend other games.
Now on to the game. I don't think many of us expected USM to win, but man it was nice that the outcome wasn't truly decided until the 4th quarter. My observations? State is BIG on defense. Dak is just as good as advertised, even though he had an "off" game, and State's zone defense cost them a ton of yards. I expect those issues to be addressed for LSU though.
In any case, I was proud of my Eagles for going toe to toe with a team that has superior talent and depth. Before the season, I cautiously predicted that USM would win 6 games. After last night, I'm feeling a little wooly and bumping my prediction up to 7 wins considering the schedule. As for State, I believe y'all go as Dak goes. 9 wins is my prediction, for what it's worth. I'll be rooting for y'all in every other game. Oh and Ole Miss can still go to hell. Straight to hell.
Hail State, and Southern Miss to the Top.