The “Brandon Bowl” took place this past Sunday in Jacksonville, Florida, as the New Orleans Saints edged past the homestanding Jaguars, 13-6. New Orleans Saints veteran linebacker Demario Davis and Jaguars rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew represented Brandon and the state of Mississippi. Both chose to play at out-of-state colleges. Davis, a cousin of Steve McNair, attended Arkansas State while Minshew played at East Carolina and Washington State. Davis had six tackles in the game and leads the Saints defense in tackles. Minshew passed for 163 yards in the loss.
OXFORD NATIVE LEADS USM
Jack Abraham threw for 421 yards and three scores in leading USM past North Texas, 45-27, during Homecoming at the Rock. Abraham passed for over 400 yards for the third time this year. His top pass catcher was Quez Watkins who hauled in eight passes for 198 yards and a score.
This week the Eagles will travel to Ruston to battle Meridian native J’Mar Smith and the Louisiana Tech (2-0, 5-1) Bulldogs.
Smith on the season has thrown for 1,557 yards and nine touchdowns and only two interceptions. J’Mar’s father, Kenny Smith, is a former Alabama player who played with the New Orleans Saints. The game will air on the NFL Network at 2:30 p.m.
OPEN WEEK DOESN”T HELP
Mississippi State head football coach Joe Moorhead is not a popular fellow these days amongst the Bulldogs football faithful. The Bulldogs looked unprepared in their shocking 20-10 loss to Tennessee. State’s quarterback situation is no better as both signal callers had trouble moving the ball.
The Bulldogs offense entered the final period with only 137 yards of total offense. MSU’s offense was not in rhythm as the leading rusher in the SEC in Kylin Hill was held to only 13 yards on 11 carries. Starting senior quarterback Tommy Stevens threw two interceptions, and freshman Garrett Shrader also was intercepted.
The Bulldogs face LSU this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on CBS and have a road game at Texas A&M the following week. MSU (1-2, 3-3) could be looking at a four game losing streak and the possibility of missing a bowl game for the first time since 2009. Unfortunately, the SEC is a results-driven league, and Moorhead might be in the deep end of the pool.
CAN THE REBS REGROUP?
Ole Miss (2-2, 3-4) went with high hopes to Columbia, Missouri, but left with more questions and not enough answers. The quarterback situation in Oxford is similar to the state of affairs in Starkville. The Rebels used both John Rhys Plumlee and Matt Carroll who both helped the Rebels to score three times in the final period, but the offense was slow starting. Jerrion Ealy was definitely a non-factor in the game. The defense allowed Kelly Bryant a lot of time to throw, as they sacked him only once in the game. He picked apart the Rebels secondary, and then the Tigers’ running game piled over 220 yards during the game. So back to the grind in fixing the defense and getting the offense in sync as the Aggies come to town this Saturday night.
Dale McKee is a native of Waynesboro and has been writing sports in Mississippi since 1973. His column appears in several weekly papers throughout the state. You may contact him at ddmckee18@yahoo.com
