At around 11:30 p.m. Saturday night, it happened.
Standing in a darkened living room in complete solitude, I was startled when my wife entered the room and flipped the lightswitch.
“Why are you standing in here in the dark, just staring out the window?” she asked.
“Mississippi State football,” I replied.
“Again?”
“Yep.”
And so that was my Saturday night. A season that began with incredible promise in Starkville hit a major road block Saturday night, as No. 14 Mississippi State was beaten and embarrassed at Kentucky.
Let me stop and give some backstory.
I’ve been writing about sports for a long time. Though I have media chops and have spent 14 years as a sports writer, beat writer and all-around media personality, if you peel back the layers, at my heart I am a Mississippi State fan. For years, I plied my trade as an unbiased reporter and I feel like I was fairly good at it. But in 2015, I left sports writing and began podcasting and using new media. Through those means, I communicate with MSU’s fanbase, through the ups and downs. I can be critical, I can be overly positive.
But I am always honest. And I am a diehard fan.
I don’t hide from that.
So there I was, staring solemnly out the front window of my house Saturday night, wondering how a very talented Mississippi State team was so soundly beaten by a basketball school.
Frankly, it’s a stare I’ve known before and will know again. But ultimately, it was a fleeting moment of reflection.
You know why? The season’s not over. It felt like it Saturday night. It felt terrible watching MSU struggle to block Kentucky and it was dreadful watching Benny Snell score four touchdowns.
But it’s September. No season has ever been defined by what happened in September.
I believe this Mississippi State team is very talented and I believe this is a good coaching staff.
They face a challenge now. They’ve been derailed early in the season, losing a game they never thought they’d lose. They could respond to this challenge like losers or like winners. A loser would let this loss fester and let it ruin a promising campaign. A winner would do whatever it takes to fix it.
I believe this program is made up of winners.
We’ll see where the Bulldogs go from here, because my wife is beginning to wonder about me.
The return to Starkville
So here we are.
Nearly a month into the season, Mississippi State now turns its focus to the Florida Gators. Specifically, that means the return of Dan Mullen to Starkville.
I’m indifferent to how fans should treat Mullen. He gave nine good years to the school, and it was a mutually beneficial relationship.
But when push came to shove at the end of last season, he had a choice to be a Bulldog or go somewhere else. He chose somewhere else. That makes him part of them, not part of us.
I’d expect he’ll get more boos than cheers in Starkville this week, though I don’t think it’ll reach toxic levels.
With the loss to Kentucky, MSU now has no margin for error this season, and fans will be more nervous than vicious.
That said, I expect the Bulldogs to bounce back this week and put the Kentucky game firmly in the rearview mirror.
Meanwhile, in Oxford...
I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I have a message I’d like to share with the Ole Miss fanbase: I believe your team is better than you think it is. A week after Ole Miss was drilled by No. 1 Alabama (everybody will be drilled by Alabama this year), Ole Miss played Kent State at home in front of a paltry crowd.
There was almost no one there. I understand the reasons. It was hot, rain was in the forecast. Early-morning kickoffs are the worst. But I guess I’d say this: Don’t give up on this team. I think they’ll lose to LSU but bounce back and win the next two games. That would put Ole Miss at 5-2 more than halfway through the season and on the outskirts of the Top 25.
I’m never going to be known as an Ole Miss fan but I think you’ll regret not giving this team your full support. They’ve got a chance to have a better season than many give them credit for.
