Before we get to 2019, college football has some unfinished business — deciding who will play for the College Football Playoff National Championship. The teams who will play for that cherished title will be decided Friday as No.1 Alabama and No. 4 Oklahoma meet in the Orange Bowl and No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Notre Dame meet in the Cotton Bowl.
Alabama will be going for its second consecutive championship and third in four years. The No. 1 seed team has never won the CFP since it began in 2014. Ohio State was the first winner in 2014 as a No. 4 seed as was Alabama last year. Alabama also won as a No. 2 seed in 2015, and Clemson won as a No. 2 seed in 2016.
ANOTHER THRILLER
FOR SAINTS
The National Football League has produced some exciting games, and Sunday was no different as the New Orleans Saints edged the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-28, in a thriller. The win makes the Saints (13-2) the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, assuring them of all home games in this year’s playoffs as well as a first-round bye.
BIG THREE
GET HELP
Ole Miss, Mississippi State and USM all gave their football programs a little hope for improvement as it was early signee day last week. Ole Miss was hoping to replace three receivers, and they think they did. MSU signed a high school quarterback from North Carolina that they think will become another Nick Fitzgerald. USM signed seven offensive linemen in hopes of improving their run game.
SIMMONS TO
PLAY FOR MSU
Mississippi State will head to Tampa for a showdown with Iowa in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day. Some very good news is that potential first-round NFL pick Jeffery Simmons will be on the plane with the Bulldogs. Simmons announced that he will skip his senior year this past week but wanted to suit up one more time with the Bulldogs. The 6-foot-four, 300-pounder is rated as the third best defensive tackle in this year’s draft and seventh best overall NFL prospect.
REBEL BASEBALL
RANKED NO. 11
Ole Miss baseball is ranked No. 11 in the Collegiate Baseball poll while MSU is No. 27 and USM comes in at No. 30. Mississippi Sate’s Jake Mangum and USM’s Matt Wallner were selected fist team All-Americans. Delta State was ranked No. 10 in Division II while JUCO powers Meridian, Pearl River and Jones are in the Top 15 in the junior college poll.
REBELS EXTEND
STREAK TO SIX
Ole Miss head basketball coach Kermit Davis led Ole Miss to a 74-56 win over his former team Middle Tennessee. The win was the Rebels' sixth straight and longest winning streak since 2015. Ole Miss (9-2) will close out the 2018 calendar Saturday afternoon against Florida Gulf Coast. Mississippi State (11-1) downed Wright State in Jackson, 67-63, to extend its winning streak to eight games. No. 17 State will host BYU Saturday at 11 a.m. to wrap up December play.
USM BEGINS
ROAD TEST
USM (8-4) will begin a three-game road test against C-USA foes this Saturday with a stop at Louisiana Tech. The Golden Eagles continue with stops at Rice and North Texas before returning home January 12 against UAB.
I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!
Longtime Mississippi sports columnist is a resident of Waynesboro and has been covering sports in the state for more than 40 years. He can be reached by e-mail at
ddmckee18@yahoo.com.
